hshearer

I have a new 20-speed 2009 road bike with compact gearing (50/34) and Ultegra shifters. The left shifter is stamped "L9", and the right is stamped "R10".

Is this normal: there is 'room' for a triple crank, according to the front shifter. This means that I have to click the lever over twice to get it to shift between chainrings, and it's really starting to annoy me. I guess I could learn to live with it, but is there a way to adjust this somehow? Could the wrong shifter have been installed (and how do I tell)?

FWIW, the bike is a Giant Defy Advanced 2, stock from a LBS.

Thanks for any advice!

joejack951

REad up at www.shimano.com on the functions of your shift levers. Most likely, the extra click you are feeling is the trim function. It's also possible that your bike was set up to use the last two main shift positions of a triple shifter rather than the first two. If that's the case, there is a fix and those same tech documents will explain how to do it. www.parktool.com is another good resource for front derailler set up.

Yellowbeard

You've probably got too much slack in the cable in the lowest gear position. If you sit down with an allen wrench and a screwdriver and play with the cable and limit screws for a while (definitely helps to have the rear wheel off the ground) you can effectively move the shift positions around the way you want them.

You want the shifter to go fully from inner limit to outer limit with a single throw in either direction, but you'll be able to get a couple of trim positions in the middle, as well.

hshearer

"Trim" is something I'd never heard of... maybe that's all this is? I didn't know there was a way to compensate for cross-chaining! (I just try not to) It's a first road bike for me, so maybe I just need to press harder on the levers when I want to shift.

Thanks for the advice, I had a look at the tech docs. This seems to be beyond my DIY skills, and I don't have 'the special tool' (seriously, that's what it seems to be called) so I'll finish my tune-up (the limit of my DIY skills), and take it for a ride to think about this 'trim' thing some more. If it's still bugging me I'll go back to the LBS to ask about it, and also about something that flew out of the rear shifter on a shift during one of my first rides. I don't see any obvious missing bits, and it seems to work fine, but it's making me nervous. I think a return visit is in order.

joejack951

Yellowbeard, I have to disagree about your method for adjusting the front derailler. Unless you are absolutely sure the limit screws are set correctly, any front derailler adjustments should be done as a fully reinstall. Remove cable and start from step one. Anything else is a waste of time. BTDT.

As for pressing harder on the levers, for a shift from one chainring to the next, you'll want to fully depress the lever. Anything less and you'll only hit the trim click. The best thing you could do is to put the bike on a stand (or figure out a way to hang it) and work the front shifter while turning the cranks. Try both half lever pushes and full and watch the different reactions by the front derailler.

Front derailler set up does not require any special tools. It does require some patience, an understanding of what's going on, and the ability to follow instructions. The basics are letting out all the cable from the shifter, setting the low stop screw with chain in the small/big combo, attaching the cable and adding tension until the shift to the big ring is successful, then adjusting the high stop screw to keep the derailler from throwing the chain while getting clearance for the big/small combo. Triples add in a few more steps but that's of no concern to you.

Al1943

Ultegra 10-speed shifters are double or triple specific. If it's a new bike with a double crankset, as said by the OP, it should have a double only front shifter.
But in any case it should shift from one chainring to the other with a single sweep of the lever. There is no need to ease into the shift, just shove the lever all the way over.

hshearer

Thanks all! The tune-up solved it, and now I know what's going on. Trim.

Yellowbeard

I don't get your meaning. Personally I consider cable and limit adjustments to be independent, but I think my preferred technique is a bit unorthodox anyway.

I didn't mean it as a method, per se, more just a way of exploring how the derailleur works and responds to adjustments. If a "waste of time" is an issue then he'll want the shop to do the work anyway, and if you want to tune the trim positions it helps to know how the whole system works.

Anyway, sounds like you've got it under control, OP.

joejack951

In some cases they are and in some cases they are not. For instance, it's possible to set up a front derailler with no inner stop screw in place; the derailler is located entirely by the cable tension. You can also limit how far out the derailler will swing by limiting cable tension, though you'd need to use the inner stop screw as you'd have too little cable tension on the low end. If you set up a front derailler by the book, cable tension and stop screws are very much dependent on each other.

My main point was that, in general, the stop screws do not go out of adjustment and should not need to be tinkered with. Yet most people without a good understanding of deraillers will attack them first. Messing up the stop screws then attempting to correct things by playing with cable tension and the stop screws will be a maddening experience. You'll only get it right by sheer luck.

Yellowbeard

Fair enough.