I cannot for the life of me seem to figure out how to get these friction shifters to shift.
Just installed brand new shift cables and housing.
The rear cassette is on the smallest cog. The front is also on the smallest cog (though I realize maybe this should be on the larger?)
I have tried tensioning the cable with the shifters in both the highest and lowest position but the derailleur won’t shift.
Any advice? This is my first time swapping handlebars/shifters.
by analogshooter
5 Comments
It should be noted that I don’t have a bike stand which is certainly making this more difficult
When you hold the bare cable in your fingers and move the shifter, does the cable move?
Are you pedaling forward while trying to shift?
Zooming in on the first pic, there’s a buttload of slack in both cables, point both shifters down, undo the cable fixing bolts on both derailleurs and point the little lever on the down tube cable stop down, then pull all the slack out of the cables and tighten the cable fixing bolts back down
Well for one, [you have the FD cable routed on the wrong side of the bolt](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/htd0hCxqDtHP71CEs_m27369pQDqxdXDzXPnaEbBleTIeC4L3_mtsheKIzVf8x4R3A2UouEzOvbnuWr0ycjajkgZD3B2tFV4XXzV0aL77DPo1okyWUO81nsmHx3sVulSVT-IorIDFe-6NG5U9niuNcNAhytAhM0). Take the anchor bolt all the way off to see what the cable channel looks like
Cables also stretch a little and the housing settles. Reset your barrel adjuster back to all the way in, re-anchor the cable, hold the derailleur while you try to shift. The extra force will get things to settle. Then turn the barrel adjuster out one turn, re-anchor the cable again, then make your adjustments
Also, now that I’m looking closer at the shifters, are you sure those are compatible with the bar-end mounts? It seems like the cable hole is too low and it making the cable rub on the body
I also hope you aren’t done with your front brake. Something is very off about that housing at the brake lever