Downtube friction shifter and rear derailleur

[brokenbetty]

I've just replaced the shifter cable on my London project bike, an el cheapo 70s tourer.

I can shift through the full range of five gears but the shifter only goes through about half its range - ie if I start in the highest gear with the shifter pushed all the way forward then move down through the gears, I hit the lowest when the shifter is only half way round.

Is there any way to change this so the gear selection is more spaced out, or it just a function of how much cable is needed to shift through the range vs how much cable the shifter moves?

Thanks
Liz

 

[TheDoctor]

No way to change it as far as I know.

 

[jimboalee]

Nope.

Is there enough clearance between smallest sprocket and frame to get a six block in there?

 

[brokenbetty]

Yeah, that's pretty much what I thought - thanks.

jimboalee - it's a "minimum to get it on the road" project so I'll stick with 5 gears for now. There's only so much it's worth upgrading. If I decide I like having a road bike I'll spring a few more £££ on a better bike!

 

[fossyant]

That's even common on the better shifters..... My Dura Ace shifter only moves through about 110 degrees, the 'front' shifter starts at about 20 degrees to the frame, then gets to about 70 degrees....

 

[andrew_s]

The start point is set by where the cable is clamped, and you can move it a bit using the rear mech adjuster. The range of cable movement is set by the diameter of the groove in the lever, and you can't change it. How far the cable movement you get moves the mech is determined by the mech.
You may be able to use the extra movement if you use an odd rear mech such as a SRAM X series or old pre-indexing model.