New bike shifting woes - what's the deal???

[Xrayted]

Actually, why did you think you had 10 in the back? When you shift, is it clicking for 10 or 9 gears? I'm curious only because if you don't match the number from the front to the cassette, it won't fall correctly no matter how you adjust it. It will jump between gears because it can't quite line up. When tightened, it will work for a short time and then be out of whack again almost immediately. We had a bike shop replace Kit's rear cassette and they didn't count the # of gears before the change. Guess what? They had it wrong and couldn't get it set. They put on the correct cassette and no problems after that.
Check your brifters (or whatever set up you have for changing gears) and see how many clicks you get compared to the cassette. Good luck.

[RolliePollie]

Thanks...at least it doesn't sound like it's me doing something weird. I'm afriad the LBS is going to think I have Munchausen Biproxy...you know, that thing where parents make their kids sick to get attention from the Dr.!

I have 10 clicks and 10 cogs on the cassette...but it shifts like this:

1
2-3 together in one click
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
one more click, but nothing happens

So I guess I'm riding to town today. Luckily, the ride to the LBS is mostly downhill so the shifting issues won't be much of a problem. The ride home is all uphill, so hopefully they can get it adjusted!

[pardes]

I'm afriad the LBS is going to think I have Munchausen Biproxy...you know, that thing where parents make their kids sick to get attention from the Dr.!

THAT is sooooo funny and I know just how you feel. As much as I love my Trek, it continually has shifting problems....maybe not as severe as your problems but it grinds and complains, sometimes misses gears, sometimes drops the chain. I just roll it into Bikeline now and Howard tweaks it well enough to get back on the road. It originally had a double and I had a triple put on and it's never been happy since. However, I still love the thing even though my new GT Transeo winter bike shifts much more smoothly and quietly.

Good luck with your bike. Just be firm and polite and eventually you'll find a mechanic that will fix the problem.

[Misandal]

RolliePollie,

I'm so sorry to hear about your persistent shifting problems. I swear to you, my Ultegra components have been completely trouble-free since I got my Madone in May. It sounds like your cables maybe weren't stretched properly before installation or your bike shop just isn't doing a very good job with the adjustments. When you pick it up next time, test it in the parking lot, with the mechanic out there too, and make sure you are 100% satisfied before you leave there. It should shift quickly and definitively, with no hesitations or skips. If it does not shift to your satisfaction, take it right back inside.

[Xrayted]

You should not have 10 clicks for 10 gears. You should have 9. Take it back in like everyone said and get it checked. I went over 600 miles without needing any adjustment. Even then, it was tiny. Something is out of alignment at the very least.

[RolliePollie]

AH HAH!

Rode down to the LBS earlier and they discovered that the back gears were off by one click. The mechanic dude said he was the one who worked on it last time and he thinks he forgot to make sure it was clicking through the gears correctly. The ride home was great...no shifting problems aside from my own adjustment issues with using the half-click trim on the chainrings. I'm coming from Sora/Tiagra so I didn't have that before.

I think I got to experience the niceness of Ultegra for the first time today! Yippee!!!!

[maillotpois]

Oh YAY - so glad you got it working!!!