deacon mark

Do all compact cranks 50/34 require 2 shifts to make a switch? I have ultegra F and R derailleur with a 11-23 cassette. I like to run the set up so that I get all 10 gears on both chainrings even thought you are not suppose cross extremes. I almost never use the small ring I bet 90% of the time I live on the big ring. I also do not cross chain the extreme but can for a short distance. I do not get any rub with triming the FD as I ride.

I usually have to click twice to get off the big ring and then shift to trim as needed. I have to shift twice usually to get back on if I don't trim, is that pretty standard? I guess I am thinking do most standard doubles require just one shift up and one shift down?

I guess I can set it to shift once up and once down but then I do not get all the back cogs without chain rub. How do you all set up your compact cranks? I hope what I am explaining makes sense.

I almost wonder if I would be better off with a standard double since in the flatlands I never really need to go to low? Sometimes into a huge headwind like yestarday I might stay in the 34/15 for a while but I could push a bigger gear.

DMF 

There's no difference in ring spacing between compact and other crank configurations. The FD can be adjusted to shift with one click.

cachehiker

Do your shifters utilize micro-indexing?

CACycling

You aren't moving the lever far enough. If you do a full shift, one should do it. Same with shifting back down. Move the lever far enough and it should do it in one shift.

BarracksSi

They do, because he already uses it:

But, then again, trimming the FD feels kinda like shifting twice:

cachehiker, do you mean micro-indexing like how Campy's front shifter can almost behave like a friction shifter?

deacon mark, when you trim, does it click?

deacon mark

I have road this bike about 1700 miles and done usual work on it I should know this better. I realize maybe I was not really making the complete shift. If I really shift hard ( 105 levers) then it does go in one shift. I guess I was thinking the front is like the RD which really does not require nearly the shift movement. I can however feel 2 places than click when I go from the large to the smaller chainring. Going all the way takes in down and then maybe the trimming of returning is not really the full movement of the shifter. I suppose I might be thinking that this is shiffting when it actually is trimming the gears. It does in some ways seem to have mirco indexing capabiliities but I realize that is not it.

BTW, it is always the case that the front derailleur is a bit more to get just right? In other words the FD will never shift like the RD in terms of ease and smoothness? It seems to be from all I have read and just riding but maybe some real pro mechanics have these FD's working like the RD.

BarracksSi

For me, the FD was easier to get shifting just right. Disconnect the cable, set the low limit screw so there's barely a hair's clearance from the chain in the small ring-big cog combo, pull the cable snug, and reconnect it. The shifter indexing takes care of the rest.

I do think that some cranksets -- or maybe more specifically, some chainrings -- shift more cleanly than others. I switched from a Truvativ standard crank to Shimano compact as part of a warranty claim, and I think the Shimano shifts easier and more reliably than the Truvativ ever did despite having a bigger jump in tooth count between the rings.

(I'm not a pro mechanic, btw )

But, yeah -- when it's working properly, you'd sweep the shift lever all the way when you want to make the shift. Pull all the cable with the big lever, and release it all with the small lever. Also, in the rear, you can sweep the big lever to downshift as many as three cogs bigger (although each rear upshift still needs an individual click of the small lever). When I shift the front to the big ring, I use the same motion with my right hand to downshift three cogs so that my cadence stays pretty much the same.

DaveSSS 

Post the brand, year model of shifter. Not everyone uses Shimano. Shimano shifters shoudl always drop to the little ring with one puch of the finger lever. It sounds like you are pushing lightly and getting the trim click. I guess you don't know about the trim click?

BarracksSi

^^^ "One punch of the finger lever" means it should shift with one full movement, not just one click of the indexing detent.

(DaveSSS, his are Shimano)