When everyone so casually throws around sentences like "Turn the barrel clockwise..." what do they mean? Should I look at the shifter mech along the barrel, my face is at the center of the bike, looking at the handlegrips, and I need to see the barrel adjuster as a clock, and turn it clockwise?

Or do I have it backwards? Should I be seeing the barrel as a tiny clock as I face the center of the bike from off to one side???? Likewise minor brake adjustments.
Of course, for the barrel down on the rear derailler, there is the same question, but it is 90 degrees turned. What is the system? This is so basic, I feel foolish asking, and I know I can just experiment, but please tell me, thanks.

Not every one will be consistent in the way they tell you, but the way it should be described is such that you are looking from the object being turned toward the object into which it is turning. Thus when turning a spoke you look from the nipple (rim) toward the spoke (hub), when turning a cable adjuster you look from the adjuster along the cable toward the derailleur or lever. It's actually much more helpful in the long run to understand why you are doing a procedure (what the effect is) rather than just memorizing or following instructions by rote.

A google search of the entire www.bikeforums.net website seems to find your quoted phrase only once in the past nine years, and that in a quotation from a much older article (sourced).

So who is the "everyone" you mention? Maybe ask them directly.

Specific to rear derailleurs (or rear mechs), which I think seems to be your question:
- to add tension to a rear derailleur cable, un-screw the barrel adjuster, like you want to loosen a screw. In this case, you would be turning the barrel adjuster counter clockwise.
(why add tension to the cable? because when you shift from small sprockets to big sprockets, it's not shifting or not shifting completely)

- to remove tension, turn the barrel to TIGHTEN (clockwise).
(why remove tension? you are getting poor shifting going from big sprockets to small sprockets, and you've added to much tension to the cable from step one.

- when you install the cable, the shifter should be in the position of the smallest sprocket, the barrel should be all the way "tightened" to the derailleur, and you should pull the cable as much as possible with some needle nose pliers.

or - just go read Sheldon Brown: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html
- I'm going to go read about B-screw adjustment now. Ciao!

Thank you so much for catching this. It's now very obvious to me that the poster was intentionally claiming those exact words were used multiple times when he knew that was not the case. I'm sure he he did so purely to cause trouble, and in fact was not truly confused. I myself did not catch the feigned nature of his question, and foolishly treated his query as genuine.

Gosh, I hope you're kidding.



Learning Here, "clockwise" is used from whatever point of view allows you to look most directly at the barrel, pedal spindle, BB cup, etc from the center of the axis around which the part turns. As if you were looking at the head of a screw so it looks like a circle.

People that use tools all the time take it for granted how seemingly arbitrary orientation can be to questions of direction.

It's hard to convey sarcasm in print - i had hoped the intalics would have helped.

As much fun as this rouse might be it has a real life basis. So many people don't have the spatial understanding to follow "clockwise" or the opposite "counter clockwise". I hear this frequently at work as I talk with/try to explain which way to turn stuff. It's really sad that as we (as a society) race towards the digital future such basic concepts as clock hands direction is forgotten as an important nugget. I find myself referencing a light bulb... Soon even this description will be lost.


What really gets my dander is when people refer to rotational direction as "turn the wrench to the right" (righty tighty). I want to ask which way is the wrench sitting? So many people are not use to critical thinking on so basic a level. Andy

Generally it would be when you're turning something into something else viewing from the top of the bolt/nut/barrel adjuster, is what clockwise and counterclockwise refer to. I have seen exceptions with in-line cable adjusters which can go either direction depending on the mfr. If you're talking about a derailleur in particular that would be turning the barrel adjuster into the derailleur clockwise-Turn it counter-clockwise to unscrew it outwards. Common, of course, is clockwise threading but one side of Bottom Brackets and Pedals can have reverse or counterclockwise threading

I don't think the issue is "what is clockwise?", but how the POV is oriented to read the clock. We take it for granted but many people haven't needed to learn about this kind of spatial stuff. It isn't part of a normal education.

Kontact- I guess you are more right then not. But in the world of bike service I don't see many (any?) try to thread in a pedal from the crank's inboard side. As to cable adjusters I'll sometimes suggest that the person look at the amount of adjuster sticking out from it's housing and just increase or decrease that amount. Andy

No, but most of us deal with the left pedal while standing on the right side of the bike because of the bike stand, and then we thread it in looking at it "backwards".

My usual adjuster advice is "turn the top of the barrel in the direction that you need the derailleur to go more".


Not a big deal, I'm just saying that I'm sympathetic. I took mechanical drafting in high school and most people did not have an easy time picturing spatial relationships at all. Mechanical people often have an advantage they don't even realize.

It's righty tighty, lefty loosey - except when it's not.

#1, can you tell time without a digital watch? /s


Threads can be cut right hand , or left hand.. & Once the bolt head faces away from you , you are in Opposite land.







....

next time, end your statement with "/s" so we know for sure.

I say "screw in" or "screw out" to avoid confusion.

?!? - You mean just to waste people's time in responding? Or some other reason?
That's very discouraging.

mrv

He was sarcastically making fun Anklework's trolling post.

Just another false premise inviting the usual suspects to post at length all about themselves. Thanks for the entertainment.

Nuggets of wisdom can come from poorly motivated discussions. Andy

Here's another way to think of it. Ever heard of the term 'right hand threads'? Now stick out your right hand and make a thumbs up. If you turn the fastener in the direction of your fingers, the fastener will travel the direction of your thumb. For example, if you're looking 'over' your hand, your fingers are curling in a counter-clockwise direction. Turn the nut or bolt the direction of your fingers and the fastener will go up, which is how your thumb is pointed. You can hold your hand up over your head with the thumb pointed down or to the left or right, and the rule still holds true.

The admiration and gratitude is mutual.

It doesn't matter from what direction you look at a helix (or a thread screw). It is either right-handed or left-handed. Your point of view doesn't change that. Only looking in a mirror will make it appear to be different.

But it totally matters when you are told to turn it clockwise.

A couple of years ago I was giving an exam and I realized half my class did not know how to tell time on an analogue clock.