Sora Shifter Problem!

[pb71]

Hi all, I posted a few days ago with regards to a gear changing problem on my bike, Sora shifters and fd. I made some slight adjustments and the fd was changing better, but i have now noticed that the shifter has now lost the trim aspect, and now when on middle chainring i am unable to trim up or down, the chain just moves to the next chainring when i push the shifter, however gentle i am. I even disconnected the cable from the fd and used the shifter, and there is not the four clicks that there should be! I am pulling my hair out, as the bike is only 5 weeks old! Has anyone experienced similar problems, could it be the shifters are faulty and may need replacing. If that is the case, how do i go about dealing with warranties, would i have to deal direct with Shimano or would this be an issue with the company i purchased the bike from?
Hope i have explained this clearly enough for someone to be able to respond!
Thanks Paul

 

[pb71]

I got the bike on my emloyers cycle to work scheme, it was through Halfords, but the bike actually came from a supplier from up North, i'm down in Kent. I am taking it to Halfords for a free 6 week check up, being as Halfords sourced the bike for me but they don't actually stock it. It is booked in for a couple of weeks time, so i am getting a bit of a heads up to what the problem is and if i can rectify it myself.

 

[Steve Austin]

If you have adjusted the mech, it is likely you have adjusted it so it does not now work. That is not a warranty issue.

Have a read on the Park Tools site on how to set front mechs, but it is the work of the devil to set them right if you have never done it before.

Where in Kent are you? As i can suggest a few shops that i would rather use then ever getting near any of the Halfords

 

[Steve Austin]

Here you go
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=75

btw, you'll get answers to technical queries in Know How

 

[gwhite]

Hi all, I posted a few days ago with regards to a gear changing problem on my bike, Sora shifters and fd. I made some slight adjustments and the fd was changing better, but i have now noticed that the shifter has now lost the trim aspect, and now when on middle chainring i am unable to trim up or down, the chain just moves to the next chainring when i push the shifter, however gentle i am. I even disconnected the cable from the fd and used the shifter, and there is not the four clicks that there should be! I am pulling my hair out, as the bike is only 5 weeks old! Has anyone experienced similar problems, could it be the shifters are faulty and may need replacing. If that is the case, how do i go about dealing with warranties, would i have to deal direct with Shimano or would this be an issue with the company i purchased the bike from?
Hope i have explained this clearly enough for someone to be able to respond!
Thanks Paul

There should only be three clicks i.e. from the small ring position to the middle which is one, the trim position on the middle ring which is two, and the middle to large ring which is three. That makes three clicks including the trim.
Your problem is one of tension of the cable. That's why the trim has disappeared. These triples can be tricky to set up for a beginner and it may be best to leave it to a mechanic. Don't despair as this is a minor problem and easily sorted if you know how.

 

[pb71]

Steve Austin, thanks for your reply. You say it's not a warranty issue, and that i have adjusted the cable tension so the trim feature does not work. Am i right in saying that this can be sorted out in the right hands, and that i haven't actually stopped the trim from ever working? With regards to where i live, i'm in Sittingbourne!

 

[pb71]

gwhite, when i first rode the bike, i found you would be in the middle chainring with one click from the small chainring, then you could push the brake lever a small amount, one click and the fd would move a small amount to allow you to move through the sprocket, then one click to go onto the large chainring! Does this sound like it is the correct way for the shifter to be working.

Also gwhite, i may have described it wrong in my earlier thread, i mean't four positions, rather thah four clicks of the shifter!

Thanks.

 

[potsy]

gwhite, when i first rode the bike, i found you would be in the middle chainring with one click from the small chainring, then you could push the brake lever a small amount, one click and the fd would move a small amount to allow you to move through the sprocket, then one click to go onto the large chainring! Does this sound like it is the correct way for the shifter to be working.
Thanks.

That's how mine works pb71,although it took me some time to figure that out was forever struggling to change up to big ring before.

 

[pb71]

Posty, that is where my initial problem started, i could not change up to the large chainring, so i adjusted the cable tension. That is where it all went wrong!!

 

[potsy]

Posty, that is where my initial problem started, i could not change up to the large chainring, so i adjusted the cable tension. That is where it all went wrong!!

mine wasn;t silky smooth either til i learnt about 'trimming' now it's much better though still not as smooth as the cheapo stuff on my hybrid tbh.
I tend to stay on middle ring most of the time anyway so it's not too much of a problem.
Hope you get it sorted.

 

[pb71]

Shimano deore lx on my other bike, 5 years old and never had a problem, just new cables!
I'm sure it will all be sorted though!
Cheers Posty

 

[rich p]

Take it to a decent lbs and get them to sort it rather than Halfords, if you can't manage it yourself. The charge will be very small.

 

[bigjim]

Always had trouble with my sora triple. Then I checked the front mech. The inner adjusting screw was loose in its thread and so impossible to tighten cable up. It was hardly used! I bought a new cheapo front mech off e-bay for a £1 plus postage and fitted this. Not a problem since. Not sure if I dislike triples or sora. All doubles on my other bikes and never any problems.

 

[gwhite]

gwhite, when i first rode the bike, i found you would be in the middle chainring with one click from the small chainring, then you could push the brake lever a small amount, one click and the fd would move a small amount to allow you to move through the sprocket, then one click to go onto the large chainring! Does this sound like it is the correct way for the shifter to be working.

Also gwhite, i may have described it wrong in my earlier thread, i mean't four positions, rather thah four clicks of the shifter!

Thanks.

The trim position should only come into play whilst on the middle chainring. When on this ring, a small additional push should move the FD slightly further to the outside. This is to stop the chain rubbing on the outer plate of the FD when on the smaller sprockets on the rear block.
When you adjusted the cable tension, you moved the position of the "trim", which is no big deal to fix. If the tension is correct, when on the middle chainring and the largest sprocket, the chain should just miss the inside plate of the FD cage. This when the "trim" has not been used.i.e. first position on the middle ring.
It's much easier to use the Parktool instructions and start at the very beginning.
Pity that the Campag friction system wasn't adopted instead of this one as it was much more flexible.

 

[pb71]

The trim position should only come into play whilst on the middle chainring. When on this ring, a small additional push should move the FD slightly further to the outside. This is to stop the chain rubbing on the outer plate of the FD when on the smaller sprockets on the rear block.
When you adjusted the cable tension, you moved the position of the "trim", which is no big deal to fix. If the tension is correct, when on the middle chainring and the largest sprocket, the chain should just miss the inside plate of the FD cage. This when the "trim" has not been used.i.e. first position on the middle ring.
It's much easier to use the Parktool instructions and start at the very beginning.
Pity that the Campag friction system wasn't adopted instead of this one as it was much more flexible.

Yeh,gwhite that is how it was working, but it would not go onto the large chainring, so i adjusted the cable tension,which then seemed to produce the other problems.
I like to be able to do minor repairs myself, but this problem is kind of putting me off!!