Recent Serotta DT cable adjusters...

[benb]

Hey Guys,

This has been bugging me.. I have an 07 Concours with the nice Ti threaded cable adjusters.

I typically clean & grease these each time I do a real thorough tuneup. (Usually 2x per year) I tend to do this as I had an Al Trek years ago that had the adjusters corrode & bond to the frame.. I know that shouldn't be a problem with Ti but I still tend to be careful.

I am wondering if I shouldn't be putting grease on them.. I'm having this oddball issue where my rear derailleur seems to come out of adjustment by a small amount.. the front might be as well but it's much harder to tell there.

What I'm wondering is if it is at all possible that the adjusters are turning too easily and are moving a small amount over the course of a few rides over bumpy/rough terrain? It would seem like they are threading in if this is the cause as I'm basically always having to back them out like 1/10-1/4 of a turn to keep the cable tension where it should be. It's been almost a thousand miles since I last changed the cables so I don't think they're stretching.

Grease or no grease? They do turn very easily and smoothly when they're lubricated.

[dave thompson]

Use teflon tape on the adjuster's threads. Keeps them from turning too easily.

[Brian Smith]

Dave's suggestion of teflon tape is a good one.
Also, if your springs on the adjusters are close to the relaxed state due to the final position of the adjuster after you have corrected the housing position to achieve rear derailer adjustment, it may be that the adjuster has less force on it to keep it in place. If you can pull your cable tighter at the rear derailer, such that the final condition of the adjuster on the head tube places the adjuster head under higher spring tension, it could have a more lasting effect on holding the adjustment steady. Does that make sense? Pulling the cable tighter at the rear derailer instead of backing out the adjustment screw on the head tube produces, in my experience, a more stable adjustment.

[victoryfactory]

I had the same problem on my '03 Concours.
They were head tube mounted, though
I put a red Sharpie mark on the barrel
to watch it and yep it was spinning in
as I rode. Drove me nuts. You can
install an extra spring on top of the other
one or a new stronger one. I ended up
screwing it down tight and using the
adjuster on the rear derailleur
Very frustrating.

IMO, this was a design flaw
but I was not able to convince the
factory at the time that this was a real
issue. Apparently, they still haven't addressed this, possibly
because it doesn't always happen on every bike (see Toyota gas pedal issue)

After much study I feel that the problem
was actually caused by the choice of threads
on the adjuster screw. They were too coarse
so the angle on the threads was too steep
causing the screw to easily turn with the vibration of
the bike while riding. The screw was also too loose in the
threaded stop.
I feel a finer thread with tighter tolerance might have solved
the problem, but since the thread was part of the frame,
I wasn't able to test my theory.

Bottom line: go with a heavier spring, I think.

VF

[130R]

http://www.bluesixbikes.com/tiprep.jpg

need i say more?

[victoryfactory]

How about this:

[benb]

Okay.. my mistake mine are actually on the head tube.. sounds like exactly the same thing VF is talking about...

I have been using synthetic grease, I have Ti Prep, Loctite, teflon tape, and the "Carbon Prep" stuff with the little beads in it.. I'll try some different stuff.

I do adjust it at the rear derailleur as well.. the thing is I end up turning the HT adjuster when it gets wacky while I'm riding, as I don't have to stop to fix it...

I usually try to set everything up so I start with the adjusters in the middle of their range or a little tighter.

Thanks!

[Pete Serotta]

From SEROTTA contact STEVE at SEROTTA either directly or thru Lindsey.


Steve is a "wrench" second to none and also Tech on SEROTTA second to none.
:banana: