steve_sordy
Wedding Crasher
Odd shifting problems that I have had that proved unsolvable by the usual adjustments were caused by one of the following:
Misaligned mech (bent mech hanger, bent mech arm, main bolt loose on mech or hanger).
Axle not clamped properly, or even loose!!
Cable problems (mucky, damaged). The damage could be an impact to the outer cable compressing the inner. Twice I caused problems by simply stepping on the inner wire as it was trailing about the place during fitting.
Mucky mech.
The latter one needs some explanation. The mech looked clean, but where the mech body rests against itself under spring pressure a layer of compressed vegetation, oil and other muck had built up. It was black and didn't show up on a black mech. It was resistant to the usual cleaning because of where it was. The old guy at the LBS advised me to remove the mech and clean it in a wash basin with a solvent such as Hopes Sh1t Shifter. Open it up and really scrub at it, no need to dismantle it, I used a toothbrush. Use hot water as it helps to remove the deposit and also for the mech to dry. Then rinse, dry and re-lube. It worked. The old guy said that when he was stuck he usually found that giving the mech a really good clean solved many problems. Not all, but enough.
Misaligned mech (bent mech hanger, bent mech arm, main bolt loose on mech or hanger).
Axle not clamped properly, or even loose!!
Cable problems (mucky, damaged). The damage could be an impact to the outer cable compressing the inner. Twice I caused problems by simply stepping on the inner wire as it was trailing about the place during fitting.
Mucky mech.
The latter one needs some explanation. The mech looked clean, but where the mech body rests against itself under spring pressure a layer of compressed vegetation, oil and other muck had built up. It was black and didn't show up on a black mech. It was resistant to the usual cleaning because of where it was. The old guy at the LBS advised me to remove the mech and clean it in a wash basin with a solvent such as Hopes Sh1t Shifter. Open it up and really scrub at it, no need to dismantle it, I used a toothbrush. Use hot water as it helps to remove the deposit and also for the mech to dry. Then rinse, dry and re-lube. It worked. The old guy said that when he was stuck he usually found that giving the mech a really good clean solved many problems. Not all, but enough.