I'm using microshift advent x 10 speed. I am closely maxing out the low limiting screw but the derailleur needs to be moved more inwards. Any suggestions? I am trying to learn. My last resort is to go to the bike shop, but I just want to learn.
Problem with shifting, can't shift to the largest cog.
byu/espanthar inbikewrench
by espanthar
16 Comments
Do you have enough cable tension?
Have you tried adjusting the barrel adjuster on the derailleur? If you do mess with the barrel, make sure it still shifts okay on the other gears afterwards.
Shift as far in as you can then try to push the derailleur in with your thumb to see if it moves inward. If not, you need to loosen the Low limit.
Is your “low” limit screw screwed out enough?
gotta adjust your derailleur to the wheel a little more
I have a feeling you are confusing your H (high) and L (low) limit screws, H referring to the smallest cog and L referring to the largest cog on the cassette. You need to loosen the L a little bit. If you need more cable tension you can add more cable tension with the barrel adjuster on your shifter.
Too much cable tension
Loosen L limit screw. If not that then maybe bent hangar, or you need to adjust cable tension or replace your shift cable and housing altogether.
Given that the chain is the correct length, only three things affect shifting to easier gears, and this case, the easiest (largest cog): low limit screw, cable tension (indexing), b tension.
Shift as far as you can and see if you can push the derailleur so that the centre of the upper pulley sits directly under the largest cog. If it does not, adjust the L limit screw until it does. If it will sit under the cog, then move to cable tension.
To get the derailleur to this gear requires more cable tension. Add tension by turning the barrel adjuster (there’s often one at the derailleur, but not on yours; hopefully there is one at the shifter or at some point in-line along the cable) anti-clockwise until you can cleanly shift to that sprocket. If you run out of cable adjustment at the barrel adjuster, shift to the smallest sprocket, turn the barrel adjuster fully clockwise and release the cable at the derailleur. Pull as much cable as you can through the derailleur pinch bolt and use the barrel adjuster to reset your indexing.
B tension adjustment moves the upper pulley wheel closer to, or further from, the cassette. If the pulley is so close to the cassette that it fouls on the sprockets, it can prevent shifting. If anything yours looks a tiny bit too far. Only adjust it when you have sorted the limit screw and cable tension.
Limit screw..
Start by undoing the cable so the derailleur if free to move without any tension, then turn the limit screw (you should see the derailleur move) until it shifts into top gear.
Then connect the shifting cable back up, ensure it is taught but not tight.
Check that you can shift to easy gear and check the limit to see that it wont go further than the gear and into your spokes
Do I hear one click, an attempted shift, that does nothing at first?
If so, your indexing is off by one track. Increase your cable tension.
Algo: be sure you’ve released ALL the cable from the shifter (shifted to the fastest gear), hook up cable, and then be sure ONE click moves the derailleur and chain over ONE space.
Look up the Park Tools guide about how to set up your shifting, that video is great. I probably watch it every time I go to set up a new bike.
Add a wolf tooth. Might not have enough range as a shadow mech to get to biiiig cog
It could be a bent derailleur hanger or the derailleur itself is bent. It seems like there is some skipping on the first 2 coggs as well. If there is a lot of pressure trying to get the chain to shift to the biggest cog the cable tension is too tight. It could also be that there is a broken part in the shifter if it clicks over but slips back down.
I’ve had a bent derailleur before and it affects just a few of the coggs on either end of the cassette. I had to compromise with the shifting performance on those cogs to get the derailleur to shift ok for the rest of the cassette. In doing so, my overall cable tension was too tight.
If you exhaust all of your other options: cable tension, limit screws, B tension screw. You can start looking at the possibility of diagnosing a bent derailleur or broken shifter to get those replaced.
Just in case, scour the web to make sure you did your setup right the first time, or go to a bike shop to get an opinion from them.
From this view, when you’re in the biggest gear (smallest ring) the chain seems a bit too short. That would definitely lead to a problem like this.