born2bahick

The bike is a Giant TCR2 Comp, Full Ultegra 9 speed. the front derailer keeps me way to busy on hilly rides trying to avoid chain rub by constatly turning a barrel adjuster by the shifter and by utilizing a "Half Click" on the derailer lever. Is this normal or is the bike in need of adjusting?

Bruco

Depends. For me, the necessity of shifting one 'half-click' is 'normal' only when I cross-gear (big chainring, big sprocket; small chainring, small sprocket).

born2bahick

OK, My cross gearing seems to involve three to four gears, on either of the chainrings, and the very highest gears,and very lowest gears require me to adjust the barrel adjuster back and forth. Keeps, me more involved in shifting adjustments than I want to be. My mountain bikes don't require any adjustment on the fly, But my road experience is limited.

sydney

You have a derailer adjustment problem.The cable adjuster doesn't need fiddling with,and in many cases depending on the setup,the rim may not even be needed.

sch

I have 3 triple setups and none are exactly the same. You 'should' be able to have
the chain on the big CW and shift without chain rub from the smallest cog upto the
7th cog and vice versa if in the small CW from the biggest cog down to the 3d cog without chain rub. Check out the Park site for adjustments. Basically the barrel
adjuster is used only for adjusting cable stretch. The shifter has four positions one of which is for the large chainwheel and the next two will shift the chain onto the next
chainwheel (39T for you, 42 for me with a triple) and the third position is a half shift
of the chain a little further in to reduce chain rub and allow the chain onto the 8-9th
largest cogs if on the big CW without rub. (You dont use the 4th position which is for us triple users only.) Loosen the cable with the chain on the large CW and the smallest cog. Tighten the rear barrel adjuster as far as it will go then back off two turns. If there is an adjuster at the other end of the cable do the same. Get a pliers and pull all slack out of the cable making sure the housings are
fully seated at the shifter, the headtube and in the back. This assumes the der stops are already at the correct point. See Park for stop adjustments. It also assumes the
chain is the right length, ditto Park for this. The rear der should now shift easily through its complete range without der rattle. If there is chain rattle then turn the barrel adjust 1/2 turn at a time to get rid of rattle trying both directions for least noise. Keep track of which direction and how much you turn the barrel adjuster. For the front (your problem) check Park for proper cage height and angle vis a vis the chain and for inside stop placement. Put chain on big cog and little CW. Der cable is then loosened and a
pliers used to take out all slack and being sure all housings are fully seated clamp the
cable in the right groove, tightly. All should be hunkydory but a smidgen of adjustment
of the cable adjuster is allowed, but unlike the rear where the chain has to be precisely aligned with the cogs, the front is more forgiving so adjustment is reserved
for cable stretch, which always happens.
Steve

ewitz

I had the same issue with my TCR Comp, but after a recent upgrade crank upgrade to a set with an integrated BB it went away. Stiffened up the BB area a bit I guess. Less flex/no chainrub.

born2bahick

Ok, general concensus says I have an adjustment problem. Thanks everyone, that's what I wanted to know. I'll take it to the mechanic!