Index Shifting



NewRider22

New Member
May 28, 2004
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Alright, again I'm new to the road, although I've ridden some other bikes for years. Can someone take me to school on how the index shifting works, cause I really have no idea.

Thanks
 
Originally posted by NewRider22
Alright, again I'm new to the road, although I've ridden some other bikes for years. Can someone take me to school on how the index shifting works, cause I really have no idea.

Thanks

There is a click position of the gear shifting mechanism that positions the derailer in the correct position for each cog.
 
Some allow you to shift single or up to three gears by pushing the break lever further to the side. On tripples, some allow you to shift to "half" possitions, which allows the full range of rear gears to be used from one chainwheel without rubbing on the front der. guide.

The main advantages are that you can shift very quickly, and without moving your hands from several positions. Important when riding in a pack.
 
Is it possible to change the indexing space of the shifters?

As mentioned about 'half shifts', I assume that it is made possible for triple chainrings.

I intend to make my front shifting 'click' faster each time I shift from my smaller chainring to the bigger one.

Whenever I shift to the larger chainring, some noise will occur because I need to shift quite a distance before I reach the 'first click', then after that another big distance is needed for the 'second click' to reach the outer chainring.

I tried two other bikes, one with ultegra brifters+derailleur, the other is 105 setup. They both have very 'short clicks'. But mine needs a fair amount of distance to reach the 'second click'.

Hope I make sense, any advice?
 
- its a revolutionary thing that SHIMANO invented and was then copied shamelessly by Campagnolo.

:)

- wait wait ... take number take number ... can kill me , but take number ....

.
 
pistole said:
- its a revolutionary thing that SHIMANO invented and was then copied shamelessly by Campagnolo.

:)

- wait wait ... take number take number ... can kill me , but take number ....

.
I won't kill you, but I don't understand you either
confused.gif
 
xenovier said:
Is it possible to change the indexing space of the shifters?
No, not easily at least. There are some aftermarket eccentric pulley designs that allow you to change the amount of cable pull for a given amount of lever throw, but that won't change the position of the indents(clicks). I'd first make sure your derailleurs are properly adjusted. If you have too much cable slack in the front shifter cable for instance it will take a lot more lever throw to bring you up to the big chainring. The cable should be tight enough while in the small chainring that the derailleur starts moving as soon as you start to move the shift lever. If the lever moves a bit without any derailleur motion then it's likely your cable is too loose. If you're not comfortable making drivetrain adjustments then you should take it to your LBS and have them look at it.


Good luck,
Dave
 
daveryanwyoming said:
No, not easily at least. There are some aftermarket eccentric pulley designs that allow you to change the amount of cable pull for a given amount of lever throw, but that won't change the position of the indents(clicks). I'd first make sure your derailleurs are properly adjusted. If you have too much cable slack in the front shifter cable for instance it will take a lot more lever throw to bring you up to the big chainring. The cable should be tight enough while in the small chainring that the derailleur starts moving as soon as you start to move the shift lever. If the lever moves a bit without any derailleur motion then it's likely your cable is too loose. If you're not comfortable making drivetrain adjustments then you should take it to your LBS and have them look at it.


Good luck,
Dave
Thanks Dave.

I'm pretty sure my front derailleur is properly adjust. There are just two adjustment screws to adjust the derailleur position right? Adjusting the cable tightness is below the bottom tube of my bike.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

I have experiment around, and I thought it may be cable slack as well. But I realise it is the 'clicks' that hold the gears in place. Basically, when it's too tight, it will not shift to the 'final click' or to the outer chainring because the cable is already fully stretched, therefore unable to reach the 'final click' to the outer chainring.

I assume all front shifters must go through two clicks to reach the outer chainring?

I tried an ultegra shifter+derailleur which requires very little lever throw to reach the outer chainring, in two clicks.. Then I tried another bike with same 105 setup as my bike, and it 'clicks' with significantly less lever throw compared to mine as well.

Could it be a manufacturing fault?
 
daveryanwyoming said:
No, not easily at least. There are some aftermarket eccentric pulley designs that allow you to change the amount of cable pull for a given amount of lever throw, but that won't change the position of the indents(clicks). I'd first make sure your derailleurs are properly adjusted. If you have too much cable slack in the front shifter cable for instance it will take a lot more lever throw to bring you up to the big chainring. The cable should be tight enough while in the small chainring that the derailleur starts moving as soon as you start to move the shift lever. If the lever moves a bit without any derailleur motion then it's likely your cable is too loose. If you're not comfortable making drivetrain adjustments then you should take it to your LBS and have them look at it.


Good luck,
Dave
Thanks Dave.

I'm pretty sure my front derailleur is properly adjust. There are just two adjustment screws to adjust the derailleur position right? Adjusting the cable tightness is below the bottom tube of my bike.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

I have experiment around, and I thought it may be cable slack as well. But I realise it is the 'clicks' that hold the gears in place. Basically, when it's too tight, it will not shift to the 'final click' or to the outer chainring because the cable is already fully stretched, therefore unable to reach the 'final click' to the outer chainring.

I assume all front shifters must go through two clicks to reach the outer chainring?

I tried an ultegra shifter+derailleur which requires very little lever throw to reach the outer chainring, in two clicks.. Then I tried another bike with same 105 setup as my bike, and it 'clicks' with significantly less lever throw compared to mine as well.

Could it be a manufacturing fault?
 
xenovier said:
... Could it be a manufacturing fault?
Could be. Just to be clear, the two limit screws on the front derailleur limit motion of the derailleur. If the high limit screw is driven in too far you won't be able to get up onto the big ring. If it's too loose you'll overshift and drop your chain. I generally adjust the limit screws by first disconnecting the cable and checking the derailleur range of motion manually. I make sure the derailleur can move up and over the big ring with a little more than half a chain width of extra throw to make sure I can use the big ring/small cog combo. I do the opposite with the small chainring limit screw.

Then I make sure the derailleur is clicked down to the small ring position and reconnect the cable making it as tight as possible without forcing any derailleur movement. Park makes a very nice cable tensioner tool that makes this part easy:http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=14&item=BT-2
Then I check shifting performance from small ring to big ring and back in all gears making any last minute small tweaks to cable tension or limit screws.

-Dave