Originally Posted by
lph
PS. Barrel adjusters work by lengthening the housing, i.e. giving the cable a longer way to travel, ie. tightening the cable, when you screw them out. So start by screwing the barrel adjusters all the way in, clockwise* (you can see them growing longer or shorter after a few turns, you want them as short as possible) before you start tightening the cable by hand. If you've screwed them a bit too far out in advance they de-attach and can be a little fiddly to re-attach. Check by wiggling it sideways.
(*I get the feeling I may be confusing barrel adjusters on brake and gear wires here. Please correct me if I'm remembering wrong, fellow mechanics :))