Ultegra R8000 woes

scotthunter

Hello,

Since buying a new Giant TCR Advanced Pro last year I have had nothing but trouble with the Ultegra R8000 mechanical groupset. I have had numerous visits to the LBS to fix various issues, most commonly the front mech taking too long to shift from the small ring to the big ring, and routine indexing on the derailleur due to noisy gear combinations, or the chain refusing to shift onto certain sprockets, or jumping two sprockets during a single change.

Is it normal for a new bike gears to need constant indexing? The bike is a year old now and I have only done 430 miles yet the gears are a constant source of annoyance.

Also the 11/30 cassette seems to hate the lightest bit of cross chaining so I find that on the slightest gradients I am forced to shift into the small ring as my legs aren't strong enough to push the pedals in the easier rear sprockets when on the large ring.

I am kind of regretting not going for the Di2 model now.

akh

That's not my experience of R8000. Indexing hasn't needed fussing with in the 6 months plus I've had it on the bike and I've encountered nothing like the shirt problems you've described. I performed the full install myself and used Shimano inner and outer cables.

It sounds like something is seriously out of sorts with your bike. As it affects both front and rear shifting I would be inclined to think it's the cables or installation. Shimano aren't exactly known for crappy quality control, the chance of both shifters and/or derailleurs being shot out the box is very low, but admittedly not impossible. Take it to a different shop or watch some YouTube videos on indexing and have a go yourself.

I believe the bike has internal routing, so tight bends or something wrong internally could be the cause. I once had a bike where the cables ran internally down through the downtube. I managed to get the cables crossed over inside the tube and it caused all sorts of issues with the indexing similar to what you're describing. That isn't possible on some bikes however as they have internal channels for the cable.

Matthewfalle

absoloutely nothing at all to do with mech vs di2 - sounds like your shop is rubbish.

take it somewhere else or watch a few vids and try it yourself: its actually simple.

if your shop has hashed up ult mech the MFs would hate to see what they would do with di2

Alejandrosdog

Matthewfalle wrote:

absoloutely nothing at all to do with mech vs di2 - sounds like your shop is rubbish.

take it somewhere else or watch a few vids and try it yourself: its actually simple.

if your shop has hashed up ult mech the MFs would hate to see what they would do with di2

WOT E SED. (keepin it real for the kids on the street)

cougie

Is this the same bike you crashed and hit the derailleurs on ?

Ultegra is a well thought of groupset so I doubt it's anything to do with the groupset. Either user error or installation or the crash but as a rule Ultegra just works.

Alejandrosdog

Here’s what I would do.

Remove bar tape
Remove all gear cables inners and outers
Remove rear mech inspect for damage, replace if farked
Check rear triangle is true use a wheel not a frame gauge which should pick up any issues with the drop outs.
Feel happy that now you know the frame is fine
Check the gear hanger for alignment using a hanger alignment gauge that you own or have borrowed.
Adjust as necessary
Check for stiff links in the chain discard the chain if necessary
Check the cassette is not bent and that the carriers are intact. (You will be need to take it off the freehub and wiggle the various rings, they shouldn’t move)
Feel happy the cassette is fine.
Reinstall the mech, checking that it pivots properly.
Install new cables and adjust. Ensure the stops are set properly on the mech
Feel happy that the bike works perfectly.
Add new bar tape (preferably white)

It should cost a tenner or less for some cables and outer plus whatever your tape costs.

Time taken 30 to 40 mins.

If you don’t have a cable cutter you should have as an essential for looking after your bikes. I assume you have hex keys and some scissors.

Have fun

mugensi

From experience, shifting on my bike is better/crisper/faster with shimano cables compared to jagwire/other cables. I had trouble with my front deraiileur after a shop fitted new cables (at my request) when I got the bike back I had to put a lot of force/effort into changing from small to big ring on the front. The shop said it would loosen up after a few miles but after nearly 200 miles it was still as bad. I took the bike to another shop and asked them to take a look at it, the first thing they asked was if the new cables fitted by the other shop were shimano,i told them they were jagwire so they said they'd fit shimano cables to see if it helped. It did and 2hrs later I had my bike back and the FD was back to its crisp/easy shifting.