Any tips on adjusting a rear derailleur? My manual says to shift to the second smallest cog and while turning the cranks turn the barrel adjuster counterclockwise till things rattle, then to turn backclockwise till the sound stops. This works pretty well but the manual dosen't say which chainring to put it in. I have a triple and have been using the middle 40 tooth ring to adjust. Right now my Campy 9 speed rear deraillier shifts sloppy going from the smallest cog to the next couple cogs then shifts fine from there. Might be a shifter problem, it's 4 years old .

I have followed Park Tools' website directions with good success.

There's always the possibility of a bent derailleur hanger, but almost always a little tweeking of the cable tension usually takes care of that common problem.

Bob, rather than resetting your derailleur "from scratch", if you are still having trouble getting indexing from smallest cog to next few larger, try just turning your adjuster counter-clockwise a little, then testing, and repeat as necessary. I run Shimano, but I assume Campy has a little "indexed" adjuster. If so, turn it one click counterclockwise. If it is not "indexed", rotate it maybe 1/16 turn at a time. Test after each adjustment.

If it works, also test the lower gears, to see that they haven't been negatively affected. Could just be a little cable stretching. Don't know if it sounds like your shifter, but again, I'm not a Campy guy.

Hi Bob,

How old are the chain and cassette? The only time that I've had problems like you're describing is with a worn out chain or cassette or both.

I have also heard that the index cog (replaceable) in the shifter can wear out and cause shifting problems but I haven't experienced that myself.

I adjust the rear derailleur as you described except I use the large chainring. I check the larger rear cogs with the small chainring.

Hope this helps.

Bob, I had a (Campy Veloce 9s) shifter go on me last year. It was making inconsistent shifts. So unless the rattle is intermittent, you should be fine on that end.

I know the manuals say differently, but I adjust used derailleurs by adjusting it in big ring/small cog first, then shifting through the cogs until I hit a snag, then adjust the tension slightly until it shifts all cogs smoothly. Usually it works the same in the small ring but I check to make sure.

I usually test for clean shifts between largest and second largest cog, and then smallest and 2nd smallest cog, with the chain on the middle chainring. Then I test the rest of the cogs and work out any snags, kind of light urbanknight.

Make sure you set the limit screws first.... nothing like sending the chain into the spokes and behind the cassette

Big chainring.

If there's a lot of gunk in the cable housing (happens especially in the little stretch near the RD) it can make things still sluggish.