Road Cycling - shifting question

I picked up my new giant OCR2 and managed to get out for a short ride yesterday. Wow, what a difference from my old 10 speed!

My question is about shifting. Going up or down on the rear is smooth as can be. (the bike is set up with tiagra/105). On the front, I notice that moving from the smallest chainring to the middle is a bit sloppy, with the chain not always moving perfectly to the teeth. Sometimes have to watch it. Going larger to smaller is fine.

Is this just a case of adjustment? After all, the bike is new and hasn't even been broken in yet. Or is this the way the tiagra component can be expected to work compared to a 105 or above.

Thanks! Happy Holidays!

Sheldon

Going from a smaller front chainring to a larger one is not meant to be done under load. Make sure you're spinning pretty freely with little load when making that shift.

From http://www.chainreaction.com/shifting.htm:

"The front derailleur is another matter entirely. It is not foolproof!

Here's the technique. When you want to shift from a smaller front chainring to a larger one, you push the outside part of the lever all the way in and hold it there for a split second. It is not enough to simply flick the lever inwards!!! For some reason, this is never mentioned in owner's manuals, and I don't think salespeople go over it either, probably because it's become second-nature to them over time and they just don't think about it. But if you don't hold the lever all the way in for a brief period of time, what happens is that the front derailleur moves to where it's supposed to, but the chain will remain on the lower chainring, scraping noisily against the larger chainring that you want it to go to."

Wow, what a difference from my old 10 speed! SheldonThat's the problem!....well, not exactly a problem. Your old friction shifters are so much more effective and precise for front derailleur use..... trimming is infinite. Whereas with indexing you have just several blocks of trim positions available for the derailleur to roughly place the chain over its proper ring. In time, you'll get used to the feel...

George

From http://www.chainreaction.com/shifting.htm:

"The front derailleur is another matter entirely. It is not foolproof!

Here's the technique. When you want to shift from a smaller front chainring to a larger one, you push the outside part of the lever all the way in and hold it there for a split second. It is not enough to simply flick the lever inwards!!! For some reason, this is never mentioned in owner's manuals, and I don't think salespeople go over it either, probably because it's become second-nature to them over time and they just don't think about it. But if you don't hold the lever all the way in for a brief period of time, what happens is that the front derailleur moves to where it's supposed to, but the chain will remain on the lower chainring, scraping noisily against the larger chainring that you want it to go to."

Allen,

Thanks for the link. It describes my problem exactly! I just returned from a ride with my wife and 9 year old (not exactly a speed outing). I did try to change the technique to the suggested one and can see the difference. So, I guess it's not components per se, rather my lack of experience with this type of shifter.

Sheldon

That's the problem!....well, not exactly a problem. Your old friction shifters are so much more effective and precise for front derailleur use..... trimming is infinite. Whereas with indexing you have just several blocks of trim positions available for the derailleur to roughly place the chain over its proper ring. In time, you'll get used to the feel...

George

You're right, George! That old bike of mine did have the ability to really trim the gears in small increments. As you suggested, I'll just have to get used to the new shifters and techniques.

Thanks for the response.

Sheldon

I thought I needed major adjustment on my Shimano front derailleur, but discovered the problem was that little "half click" feature the STI shifters have to keep the chain from rubbing on the front cage. When I shift from a smaller to a larger chainring, I first move the derailleur to the right with a quick movement of the left brake lever, then move then lever all the way to the right. It jumps right up onto the gear quickly and precisely. I checked for this in my owner's manual, and found nothing on it.