Road Cycling - gear noise

new to cycling, have Giant TCR 2, w/105, have put 500 miles on it. Should there be gear grinding noise in some of the gears, is worse on largest and smallest. I have taken back to lbs twice. They adjust it but kind of look at me like I am crazy and it still does it when I get it back. I ride for fun, not competition and it kind of takes some of the peace away when you have to listen to it grind up all the hills.
Thanks for your input.

Probably you aren't trimming your front derailleur....

read this thread to find out about "trimming"http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?s=&threadid=24998

Brendon
:beer:

DZOO,

I had the same problem about 4 months about. My bike was about as ridden as yours. Had the same rubbing sound, especially on the larger cogs on the rear. I made all kinds of adjustments on both derailleurs and it shifted and tested fine on the stand, but when I took it out for a ride, the noice came back everytime.

Frustrated, I decided to clean and lube my chain, and it went away. That was the first time lubing my chain, but that's all it needed. It's been about 4 months now, and the noise hasn't come back. You may have the same problem. If so, it will be a cheap fix. Good luck.

Hard to say with looking at it.

You may want to change to a Non Shimano chain like a SRAM chain. That would be where I would start.

Of course make sure the derailleur is adjusted properly.

I remember when I got my bike that I too had some rubbing on my outer cogs on my 105 cassette. I thought that that was just a fact of life, since it did not get any better after my 60 day tune up.

Now, more than 15,000 miles later my 105 gruppo is humming along nearly silent except for maybe the smallest cogs when I'm on my triple. But those are cogs I don't use, so who cares? The reason why everything is running so smoothly is that when I recently changed my chainrings, cassette, chain, and cables, I learned to tune my drivetrain to the level of quiet that I demanded. It was a little tricky and a bit frustrating, but when I got it done it was better tuned than I ever got it from the shop. It's like having a new bike.

I learned how to do it by using Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance by Lennard Zinn and the front and rear derailleur adjustment instructions on the Park Tool website. IMHO, Zinn is clearer and easier to work with. Some of it you just have top figure out for yourself. And you need to be ready to make on-the-road adjustments to with the barrel adjusters and the high low screws.

I know that it might sound daunting, but if you want to get the most out of your 105 you just might have to do it yourself.

Rich