rear derailleur adjustment: HELP!

[Climb01742]

my parlee DA10 isn't shifting quite right. down shifts are about 90% smooth and accurate. upshifts, though, less so. especially thru the middle of the cluster, 15 to 19 range. skips equally whether i'm on the 50 or 39. this morning i followed zinn's suggestions in "art of road bike maintenance" for RD adjustment, and while it's shifting better, it isn't buttery smooth.

aside from switching to campy :rolleyes: any suggestions? is it better, for example, to adjust the cable tension barrel adjuster on the RD or on the brifter? what if the skipped shifts only happen, or happen most, on certain gears? if you've been adjusting for awhile and it ain't quite right, can you go back to ground zero and start again?

this is pretty basic, i know. sorry. i just ain't that mechanically inclined. thanks for any tips!

[Smiley]

turn the rear barrel adjuster on the RD counter clockwise a fraction of a turn as facing forward the rear derailure , ride and trim accordingly . Do it till it shifts smooth going down and up . Turning the barrell counter clockwise moves the center of the pulleys LEFT , the opposite moves them Right . I hear that the 10 speed stuff works great but needs to be re-trimmed more often then the 9 speed stuff . Tollerances are tighter . So where's the ride report ?

[eddief]

I was having more trouble than usual getting all 9 to shift smoothly up and down the cluster. With the bike in the stand, I turned the cranks by hand and listened carefully for the sloppiness in the rear. With the chain sorta hitting and missing in the mid range cogs, and turning the crank as if pedaling, at the same time I turned the cable adjuster on the rear derailleur first in one direction and then the other. With just a bit of fiddling, things just came together as I stumbled onto the right direction to turn the adjuster. Suddenly all the noise went away and all 9 were working great. Like tuning a stringed instrument.

[David Kirk]

Hey Climb,

It sounds like one of two things to me.

1) cable drag. I would disconnect the rear cable and slowing pull it back and forth. It should glide smoothly with no real drag. If it's notchy or feels tight then that could be the answer. Look at each spot the inner cable passes through anything and make sure it's free to move.

2) derailuer hanger alignment. This is tougher to diagnose if you don't have the tool....but the derailuer should appear perfectly vertical from the rear. If it leaning in or out that will cause issues like you are having.

I don't think I descibed this well at all. I just started my morning coffee.

More coffee.

Dave