Bicycle Mechanics - new sti shifter set-up

This is what i need help with. I just put some Sora STI shifter/brakes on my road bike. I am running an 8 speed rear end. I got a good deal on the shifters and they are set up for 9 speed. I was told before this wouldnt be a biggy. This is what it is doin. When in my highest gear in back, I try to shift up to the next one and it takes 2 clicks to move for the first time. After that it moves just fine. One click for each gear. Once I go all the way up, coming down is the same thing. The last gear takes two clicks to get to the highest. Other than this they are great. Does anyone know what type adjustment I need to make. Thanks as always to those that respond.

Are you sure you took up all cable/index slack set at the smallest cog by completely shifting out originally? It should not take two clicks to get out of your smallest cog.

I will try to tighten up the cable some more. I was in a rush, wanting to finish. And yes the shifter was all the way at the bottom. Thanks a bunch

Are you sure it's set up for 9 speed? I was under the impression sora was an 8 speed group with tiagra through ultegra being 9 speed and dura ace now being 10.

I am positive. Sora comes in either 8 or 9 speed, and either triple or double front chainring. Nashbar has both. I tried tightening the cable and still does the same thing. I will dedicate more time to it tomorrow.

Interesting thread,

OK, so your shifter has 9 positions and the cassette 8 sprockets. Normal setup procedure would be to have the shifter set to the highest gear, and the derailleur & chain on the smallest sprocket - then take up the slack in the cable and clamp it. I would expect this to leave you with an extra (but unusable) shift towards lower gears. The derailleur would (should!) be prevented from running into the spokes by correct setting of the low limit screw. It sounds like you may not have set the shifter all the way to the highest gear in the setup (this would explain needing two shifts to get out of the highest gear), but it is strange that you say you need to shift twice to get back into it. I would tackle this by seeing (as mentioned earlier) if there is a lot of slack in the cable when the system is shifted all the way to the smallest sprocket AND there are no more clicks left in the shifter mechanism. Then see what is happening with the "blank" shift. Also you mention that the bike has an 8 speed sprocket, but is the derailleur compatible with the shifters? Each system is designed to move a specific amount for a given amount of cable movement, so for an STI type system sprocket, derailleur and shifter all need to be matched.

I was not aware of 9 speed Sora components (no reference to this on the Shimano website). I have seen Sora 7 speed though, but it is rare.

Good luck anyhow,

Cheers,

Ed

The Sora system is 8 speed, if you try to use a 9 speed shifter on an 8 speed or an 8 speed shifter on a 9 speed, they will not work, the spacing between the cogs in different and you won't mechanically hit each cog correctly. The Sora systems are not and never were offered in a 9 speed group. As far as the set up goes, try loosening the cable locking bolt, pull on the cable and click the thumb lever untill you get to the end of the action, then, while pulling the cable, shift all the way back up through the gears using the forward lever and count the clicks, then using the thumb lever and pulling the cable, shift all the way back through the gears again, then pull the cable tight and tighten the cable lock bolt. Make sure you have travel in your barrel adjusters before taking up the cable slack. Now, turn the crank slowly and shift through the gears, when you get to the middle of the cassette, shift up a gear, then down a gear, if it shifts better to the larger cog then the smaller one, loosen the barrel adjuster 1 or 2 clicks, if it shifts better to the smaller cog then the larger, then tighten the adjuster 1 or 2 clicks. that's all there is to it.