FSA Gossamer compact and 105 problems
I have searched around a bit and haven't found any accounts of problems to the degree that I'm running into with my wife's Ruby Comp with the Gossamer compact paired with 10 speed 105 drivetrain. Ever since the bike was new the dérailleur has had a hard time making the upshift to the 50 ring. The bike was bought and tuned at my preferred LBS in the area, and worked well enough to 'get used to,' but nowhere near my standard double ultegra F/D shifting quality, which I don't expect it to. I would estimate that she's put around 500 miles on the bike since new, and she's most definitely a spinner rather than a masher. From the very beginning I taught her to ease the pedal force while shifting, even r/d shifts.
More recently the problem has increased and expanded. Not only will it not shift up unless you've released ALL forward force to the pedals, but once in the big ring, shifting back down will often catch the chain between the rings....resulting in the terrible sound of medal scraping on medal for a couple revolutions before realization sets in that she's not going forward. I might add that these conditions are VERY consistent. This problem has continued directly following a tuneup at my LBS, which has been nothing but helpful so far. I'm not writing to simply moan about quality of this setup or the shop's mechanics. I'm just curious about compatibility of parts. I'll say this.
-I do expect an expensive and very new bike to shift consistently in both directions (smoothness asside)
-I do expect brifters to be adjustable so that 'trim' settings can be used when slightly crossed over (this is
sadly a necessary reality with compact cranks as the middle gearing is largely in the crossed-up range)
-I do NOT expect shimano 105 to shift as seamlessly as Ultegra, or even to be as quick at shifting as my
standard double.
My question I guess is about the the design/functional issues with the shimano 105 10 speed stuff (being that they use the same shifter for both double and triple cranks), and especially it's ability to shift between such a steep difference in gearing as a compact. I tend to think that these parts MUST be compatible as this setup is used on MANY bikes by different makers, but I simply can't imagine cyclists dealing with such a poorly shifting bike.
I need to know if smooth shifting is possible with this current setup or if I need to seriously consider unloading this stuff now while it's still young and upgrading to something that will work. My wife loves to ride, but this shifting thing is an inconvenience that nobody should have to accept as standard. I'd love to hear about your experience with this stuff. Thanks for your time, and I'm sorry this ended up as a short essay.
-Jeremy