What are those things on the shifter cables near the Sora shifters?

rs said:

I just bought a my first road bike, a low-end Giant OCR3. The shifter cables
have about an inch of sheathing as they leave the shifter houseing, then
there's an inch long plastic knurled thing, then the sheath/cable continues.

Does it look like this:
http://www.bikemannetwork.com/biking/p/COMPCBLADJ/BR4052

If so, it's an adjuster for the shift cable. This page describes how to
use it:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html

-Mike

none said:

If so, it's an adjuster for the shift cable. This page describes how to
use it:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html

I'd suggest people not fiddle with them more than they need to. I've
found that they loosen and develop the tendency to unscrew themselves
(due to the vibration of riding, I guess) with excessive use.

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

rs said:

I just bought a my first road bike, a low-end Giant OCR3. The shifter cables
have about an inch of sheathing as they leave the shifter houseing, then
there's an inch long plastic knurled thing, then the sheath/cable continues.

Is the plastic thing to tighten of ??

thanks

Barrel adjuster, should be tightened down and then left alone. Rear der
adjustment happens at the rear der. Front der adjustment starts with a
good start position, then cable attach, in conjunction with limit
screws. Barrel adjust for front ders is not needed.

Michael Warner said:

I'd suggest people not fiddle with them more than they need to. I've
found that they loosen and develop the tendency to unscrew themselves
(due to the vibration of riding, I guess) with excessive use.

You say that as if the senseless readjusting of derailer cables had been
a serious problem at some point in the recent past.

-Mike

Quoted message said:

Michael Warner said:

I'd suggest people not fiddle with them more than they need to. I've
found that they loosen and develop the tendency to unscrew themselves
(due to the vibration of riding, I guess) with excessive use.

You say that as if the senseless readjusting of derailer cables had been
a serious problem at some point in the recent past.

-Mike

I'd say inline barrel adjusters have been a serious problem for me (and
actually for a lot of people too i heard). and it's not because we
[censored]-nilly readjust the derailleur cables. it is because the barrel
adjusters have a mind of their own and readjust the cables by
themselves. and that is just senseless.

i have since gotten fed up with these things and i removed them when I
installed new cables on my bikes. result: i haven't had to readjust the
cables yet after installation. and that makes so much sense.

Yes, they are inline adjusters then and thanks for the picture. I tried
adjusting them and they seemed to do nothing, but as others pointed out they
may not be all that functional.

thanks for the info and I'll check Sheldon's article out.

In article <HH6Ye.8157$LV5.4769@trndny02>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

rs said:

I just bought a my first road bike, a low-end Giant OCR3. The shifter

cables

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

have about an inch of sheathing as they leave the shifter houseing, then
there's an inch long plastic knurled thing, then the sheath/cable

continues.

Quoted message said:

Does it look like this:
http://www.bikemannetwork.com/biking/p/COMPCBLADJ/BR4052

If so, it's an adjuster for the shift cable. This page describes how to
use it:
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html

-Mike

Quoted message said:

Yes, they are inline adjusters then and thanks for the picture. I tried
adjusting them and they seemed to do nothing, but as others pointed out they
may not be all that functional.

no, they actually do something. they loosen or tighten your cables. you
have to look at the position of your derailleur closely and you will
see the pulley move sideways as you turn the adjuster. the problem is
not that they do nothing. the problem is that they do something when
you don't want it done. and this affects the precision of your
shifting.

rs said:

Quoted message said:

Does it look like this:
http://www.bikemannetwork.com/biking/p/COMPCBLADJ/BR4052

Quoted message said:

Yes, they are inline adjusters then and thanks for the picture. I tried
adjusting them and they seemed to do nothing, but as others pointed out they
may not be all that functional.

I have those adjusters in my brake cable on my 'cross bike. Simply
spinning the outer cylinder under "normal" conditions doesn't seem to
move the adjuster. In order to get any movement, I need to either relax
the cable entirely /or/ tension the cable (pull on the brake lever). And
sometimes it doesn't work on the first try... I don't know why.

On the other hand, while it won't adjust under normal conditions, it
doesn't slip like some other posters have mentioned. So maybe I have a
lucky one that is a slight pain to adjust, but works well otherwise.

BTW, I can tell if any adjustment is occuring by looking at the
adjuster. The cable ferrule will move in and out of the adjuster, and
that's easily noticeable.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Turning my in-line adjusters for the shifters and there is no visible
difference at the adjuster, no matter how much I turn. But as another poster
pointed out, I will check at the derailleurs.

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

rs said:

Quoted message said:

Does it look like this:
http://www.bikemannetwork.com/biking/p/COMPCBLADJ/BR4052

Quoted message said:

Yes, they are inline adjusters then and thanks for the picture. I tried
adjusting them and they seemed to do nothing, but as others pointed out

they

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

may not be all that functional.

I have those adjusters in my brake cable on my 'cross bike. Simply
spinning the outer cylinder under "normal" conditions doesn't seem to
move the adjuster. In order to get any movement, I need to either relax
the cable entirely /or/ tension the cable (pull on the brake lever). And
sometimes it doesn't work on the first try... I don't know why.

On the other hand, while it won't adjust under normal conditions, it
doesn't slip like some other posters have mentioned. So maybe I have a
lucky one that is a slight pain to adjust, but works well otherwise.

BTW, I can tell if any adjustment is occuring by looking at the
adjuster. The cable ferrule will move in and out of the adjuster, and
that's easily noticeable.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

rs said:

Turning my in-line adjusters for the shifters and there is no visible
difference at the adjuster, no matter how much I turn. But as another poster
pointed out, I will check at the derailleurs.

Try making the cable completely slack before you turn the adjuster.
Shift into the largest cog or chainring. Stop pedaling. Then move the
shifter back to the opposite extreme /without/ pedaling. The chain will
hold the derailer in place, and the cable will be slack.

This *might* allow your adjusters to move.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

Quoted message said:

it is because the barrel
adjusters have a mind of their own and readjust the cables by
themselves. and that is just senseless.

I admit I've never heard of this before; the barrel adjusters built into
the cable stops on my frame seem to work fine. But shouldn't a bit of
loctite on the barrel threads cure the problem?

Quoted message said:

i have since gotten fed up with these things and i removed them when I
installed new cables on my bikes. result: i haven't had to readjust the
cables yet after installation. and that makes so much sense.

Surely you had to adjust the derailers at least once due to cable stretch?

-Mike

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

i have since gotten fed up with these things and i removed them when I
installed new cables on my bikes. result: i haven't had to readjust the
cables yet after installation. and that makes so much sense.

Surely you had to adjust the derailers at least once due to cable stretch?

well not yet. and i have ridden a 6 hour century already on the new
cables. which is a great improvement over the inline adjusters -- which
i couldn't ride 20 miles without loosening. no kidding it just
wouldn't stay put. i tried taping it down, which didn't stop it from
loosening, and only made it harder to retighten.

inline barrel adjusters btw are different from barrel adjusters on the
cable stops. inline adjusters are installed somewhere along the middle
of the cable housing, not at the ends. they are used for bikes that
don't have the thing where you can screw a normal cable stop/adjuster
or a built-in adjuster on the frame. i think these are usually on
carbon frames where the derailleur cable stops are the same style as
brake cable stops.

some people have reported success with loctite. i didn't try that
approach.

none said:

You say that as if the senseless readjusting of derailer cables had been
a serious problem at some point in the recent past.

It was a serious problem when I first got a bike with them, and fiddled
with them because of their novelty :-)

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

none said:

Quoted message said:

it is because the barrel
adjusters have a mind of their own and readjust the cables by
themselves. and that is just senseless.

I admit I've never heard of this before; the barrel adjusters built into
the cable stops on my frame seem to work fine.

I've been told that modern carbon frames can't accommodate
that sort of adjuster, which is certainly better. I have one on
the rear derailleur, but not the front; the only adjustment there
is the barrel in the cable.

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

rs said:

Yes, they are inline adjusters then and thanks for the picture. I tried
adjusting them and they seemed to do nothing, but as others pointed out they
may not be all that functional.

You may need to unscrew them a little way to start getting the effect.
The resistance will suddenly increase.

--
Home page: http://members.westnet.com.au/mvw

Michael Warner said:

none said:

You say that as if the senseless readjusting of derailer cables had been
a serious problem at some point in the recent past.

It was a serious problem when I first got a bike with them, and fiddled
with them because of their novelty :-)

In-line adjusters are pretty common on mountain bikes. Handy to tweak
shifting on the fly. If upshifts are sluggish, screw in (to shorten
housing) a bit, the opposite for downshifts. Works same as adjuster at
the derailer.