Rear derailluer hanger alignment

marin_maniac

Hopefully someone more experienced with using a rear mech hanger alignment tool can answer this.

I've recently built a Trek Madone with Ultegra 6800. For the life of me there seems to be more drive train noise from the cassette.

I've purchased a derailleur alignment tool and can't seem to align the vertical and horizontal planes equally.

Once the vertical plane is aligned, when I go to align the horizontal in knocks the vertical out of alignment.

Help!

nicklouse

Work it around the clock face.

marin_maniac

As in aligning 1o'clock vs 7o'clock and so on around the clock?

nicklouse

You just have to keep on going around and around adjusting a bit and a bit.

marin_maniac

That sounds like grief! How come the internet vids just show aligning 12/6 & 9/3 o'clock? Is it just that I'm special (don't answer that)?

Seriously though, when I align horizontally or vertically I can align within about 1mm but the opposite alignment plane gets pushed out by about 9mm. Is that normal and thus requires to align around 'the clock'?

nicklouse

Marin Maniac wrote:

That sounds like grief! How come the internet vids just show aligning 12/6 & 9/3 o'clock? Is it just that I'm special (don't answer that)?

Seriously though, when I align horizontally or vertically I can align within about 1mm but the opposite alignment plane gets pushed out by about 9mm. Is that normal and thus requires to align around 'the clock'?

We'll, if you can't do it at 12/6 and 9/3 then work your way around checking the opposite side 30mins each time.

marin_maniac

Thanks.

I appreciate your help. I'll give it a go and report back.

nicklouse

The problem is you are trying to align something in 3 dimensions by just using 2.

It just takes practice. Reading park tools is better than watching videos of people who have done it often and are not really straightening a hanger but are making a video.

mamba80

its a doddle, just set the 3 and 9 oclock first, then 6 and 12,
remember Parktools say 4mm or less difference is what u aim for, not perfection! also, the tool has movement in it too, so I found laying the bike flat and allow the tool to hang down.
I recently bought a parktools one and its the best money I ve ever spent, sorted one bike that I knew was bent but also made 3 other bikes perfect, took 5mins a bike.
you only do 3 and 9 & 6 and 12 as that's the only 2 planes the rd is working in - with the 3 and 9 unless u remove the chainset, then just get it as close as you can to 3 oclock.
As its an alloy replaceable hanger then you need to avoid continually bending it !

marin_maniac

Well I went out for a ride tonight and I have to say the shifting is very good. My main gripe is its noisey in a few gears which no cable tension getting can get rid of.

My gut feeling is still the derailleur alignment although could it be summat else?

marin_maniac

Bit of an update. I've been on a few rides and the bike actually shifts really well.

There seems to be about four sprockets on the cassette which appear to be noisy. So from smallest to largest sprockets they are sprockets 3/4/8/9. All the others are quiet.

Taking into consideration the bike shifts really well could this still be an alignment issue?

marin_maniac

Bit of an update. Spent a fair bit of time on Saturday with the alignment gauge. I reckon I've got it down to a max of about 2mm. Unfortunately this hasn't sorted out my noise problem as I thought it might.

The noise level across the cassette is no different.

I'm beginning to think the noise might be something to do with the cassette's carbon carrier

on-yer-bike

If its shifting perfectly you've done all you can except maybe the adjustment that sets the jockey wheel distance from the cassette. I have the same gruppo on two bikes one is noisier than the other and all parts are not worn. One also shifts slightly better than the other but that's because its a steel frame with no separate mech hanger.