Gear shifting

[Jase25]

Hi Guys,

Could i grab some advice on gear shifting?

1st time rider since the summer last year and bought my first bike being a Bianchi intenso. It has a campagnolo centaur gear set on it and ive used the bike a fair bit and some of the gears became a bit slow to change, always around 8,9,10/ I have had the gears indexed and it feels much better in that respect. Id also had a few problems when shifting from the small to large chain when in the larger rear cogs and they said it looked like the front derailleur was set to low.

Ive since took the bike out for a short run and its still struggling to move to the large chainwheel when in the larger rear cogs. It has to be at least the 4th gear before it will grab the large chainwheel.

So question is, being a novice should i be avoiding moving to the large chainwheel from the large cogs at the rear or does it need more adjustment?

Thanks for any help

 

[Sharky]

Generally avoid big /big or small/small combos. Stay on the small ring until you get past the middle of the cassette, then usually to avoid a large increase in gears, go up on the front and down one on the rear.

 

[DCLane]

Reading your introduction post elsewhere - by the way - have the cables been changed at all? If it's a 10 speed Intenso I'm guessing you didn't buy it new?

If you've used it then the inner cables can get clogged / dirty from regular use. It sounds like an adjustment issue but you may find changing the outer and inner cables makes shifting a lot better.

 

[Jase25]

Reading your introduction post elsewhere - by the way - have the cables been changed at all? If it's a 10 speed Intenso I'm guessing you didn't buy it new?

If you've used it then the inner cables can get clogged / dirty from regular use. It sounds like an adjustment issue but you may find changing the outer and inner cables makes shifting a lot better.

Hi and thenks for the reply.

Its an 11 speed and the bike was bought brand new in june last year

 

[Jase25]

Generally avoid big /big or small/small combos. Stay on the small ring until you get past the middle of the cassette, then usually to avoid a large increase in gears, go up on the front and down one on the rear.

Yes from around 5th onwards its smooth

 

[Ajax Bay]

its still struggling to move to the large chainwheel when in the larger rear cogs. It has to be at least the 4th gear before it will grab the large chainwheel.

Your drivetrain is 'training' you. It makes entire sense to shift from your largest sprocket 'down' the cassette and only then shift across to the large chainring. Don't worry about it.
If you get the front mech up set up just right you ought to be able to shift across but in normal riding it's neither necessary nor reasonable, imo.
I have assumed an 11-29 cassette and a compact chainset in this, but you can have a play:
http://www.gear-calculator.com/?GR=...23,26,29&UF=2215&TF=90&SL=2.6&UN=KMH&DV=teeth

 

[Cycleops]

As above try avoiding large/large or small/small combos. You'll have to use them sometimes but using a gear which gives a straight as possible chain line is best.
You're front derailleur cage should be about 1-2mm above the chain wheel or the witdth of a regular screwdriver blade. It should also be parallel to it so check.
Changing the inner and outer cables as suggested is also a good idea.

 

[Jase25]

Should it be severe enough for the chain to slip though as that has happened?

 

[T4tomo]

cable should be fine as bike is quite new. Is it as simple as the front derailleur cable tension needs to increase a bit ?

 

[Ajax Bay]

Should it be severe enough for the chain to slip though as that has happened?

Not clear what you mean, or maybe 'severe' is a typo. If by "slipping through" you mean the chain has come off the large chainring to the outside, then two mitigations:
1) as @Cycleops says max 2mm vertical gap (Edit: C std is 3mm max) between the large ring and the bottom edge of the FD cage, and
2) adjust the upper limit screw so that, when the FD is selecting the large ring and with the chain in the smallest sprocket, there is max 1mm (Edit: C std is 0.5mm) between the edge of the chain and the FD cage.
I inferred from your OP in the passive case that you had not indexed the gears yourself ("I have had the gears indexed"). But it's as easy as rocket science (which is easy), not rocket engineering (which is anything but). @Cycleops has a library of favourite videos on gear fettling to share.

 

[Jase25]

Not clear what you mean, or maybe 'severe' is a typo. If by "slipping through" you mean the chain has come off the large chainring to the outside, then two mitigations:
1) as @Cycleops says max 2mm vertical gap between the large ring and the bottom edge of the FD cage, and
2) adjust the upper limit screw so that, when the FD is selecting the large ring and with the chain in the smallest sprocket, there is max 1mm between the edge of the chain and the FD cage.
I inferred from your OP in the passive case that you had not indexed the gears yourself ("I have had the gears indexed"). But it's as easy as rocket science (which is easy), not rocket engineering (which is anything but). @Cycleops has a library of favourite videos on gear fettling to share.

I had the gears indexed yesterday at my local bike shop. With the weather being so bad i couldnt ride it outside to check until this morning...

Basically if i attempt to change to the large chainwheel from any gear lower than 5th the chain wont move to large chainwheel and basically bounces around and sometimes ends up inside the small chainwheel as a consequence. I will take it back to be checked but wanted to know of this is normal to happen.

 

[accountantpete]

Front mech adjustments are sometimes quite difficult to diagnose without being there - there's chainline and seating of the mech etc.

The best bet is to teach yourself - then you can work out the problem. The front mech has two limiter screws - an outer and inner limiter - once you have the mech seated correctly and tuned the limiter screws then everything should work correctly.

Learning what to do is a bit complicated and I can only suggest you watch some youtube videos to get the general idea.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=St3whaq-pmA

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNG7g83lI-s&feature=emb_rel_end

 

[T4tomo]

I had the gears indexed yesterday at my local bike shop. With the weather being so bad i couldnt ride it outside to check until this morning...

Basically if i attempt to change to the large chainwheel from any gear lower than 5th the chain wont move to large chainwheel and basically bounces around and sometimes ends up inside the small chainwheel as a consequence. I will take it back to be checked but wanted to know of this is normal to happen.

No they have farked it up, defo take it back. Its one thing it working on a bike stand, a different thing on the road with the chain under a bit of tension. it sounds like the haven't test rode it. Its not too tricky to do yourself after watching youtube hints, but there is often a bit of trial and error on the road and 1/4 turns on the limit screws and cable tension to get it just right.

 

[Big John]

If you aim to try and fix things yourself and save yourself a small fortune in the process it may be worth investing in a decent maintenance book (I find it easier to pick up a book than rely totally on the net) and some basic tools. Be aware that some of the tools you need will be Campag specific and may not readily be of use on Shimano or SRAM. One of the more useful books I've got is 'Road Bike Maintenance' by Guy Andrews. Failing that there's a Haynes one that's pretty popular.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Basically if i attempt to change to the large chainwheel from any gear lower than 5th the chain wont move to large chainwheel and basically bounces around and sometimes ends up inside the small chainwheel as a consequence. I will take it back to be checked but wanted to know of this is normal to happen.

Consider gearing rationale (see the gearcalculator link I shared).
This comment has taken a little while so crossed with Tomo's above, with which I agree: the LBS should have got this right (and should be embarrassed if it is in fact not right (but see next sentence).
Your Centaur Ergo lever should have 3 clicks so I assume you are 'swiping' it right across all 3, but not getting the shift up you should expect.
If you don't know what 'trim' is (wrt a FD), find out.
Having said that not being able to shift to the large ring is NOT normal: click the LH ergo lever across and the chain should climb with assurance onto the large ring.
Maybe a quarter turn unscrew of the FD upper limit screw will make a difference, but as Pete says, this is difficult at a distance.
Losing the chain inside (ie onto the BB shell) after a failed shift is always possible. The mitigation is to screw in the lower limit screw a tad which limits the chain freedom to err inwards (but see (2) below.
Four tests to quantify the accuracy of the FD adjustment:
1) Cage parallel with the chainrings and, when shifted to large ring chainline, 1.5 to 3mm above the large ring's teeth. Easiest to get right without the chain there.
2) In small ring/largest: max 0.5mm between the chain and the FD cage (adjustment is 'L' limit screw - Campagnolo = 'B' "inner end")
3) In large ring/smallest: max 0.5mm between the chain and the FD cage (adjustment is 'T' limit screw - - Campagnolo = 'C' "end stroke")
4) In small ring/smallest: 8-15mm between the return section of the chain and chain around the (tension (lower) pulley/jockey wheel (Campagnolo standard).
User Manual (English at p35): https://www.campagnolo.com/media/fi...front_derailleur_Campagnolo_Rev00_02_2017.pdf
Technical Manual (last few pages most relevant):
https://www.campagnolo.com/media/files/035_207_Technical manual - front derailleur for dual mechanical units - Campagnolo_Rev04_08_17.pdf