I'm having shifting issues on my Transition Regulator and am hoping you guys might be able to give me some guidance. It skips between gears on either the high or low side of the cassette depending on cable tension adjustment.
I've ruled out:
Hanger (replaced)
Cable tension (reset)
Limit screws (H, L, B adjusted)
Chain life (checked)
I'm starting to suspect cable friction issues somewhere between the shifter and derailleur. Does that seem likely based on the symptoms and troubleshooting I've done so far? Are there any surefire ways to confirm that? If it is friction issues, does this mean I need to replace the cable and housing? How involved of a process would doing something like that be?
E-bike cable tourism is notorious for friction, it’s worth checking.
You also should check hanger for alignment, a new hanger is not the same as a properly aligned hanger, and often the hanger will need tweaking to account for frame tolerances etc.
set is up is right, things aren’t worn, and the hanger is straight, then cable routing is next stop.
Oh interesting, I didn't realize the hanger needed further adjustment if it was brand new. How do you go about adjusting and aligning it?
It requires a very specific tool that threads into the hanger with an arm going out to the rim so that you can measure the distance to the rim in several locations around the wheel. So it also requires that the wheel be very straight before it is measured. They're fairly expensive, so I'd recommend a trip to your LBS.
Damn, was hoping to avoid that. All my LBS are slammed right now. Wouldn't see my bike for 1-2 weeks if I have to leave it with them.
I was thinking about that as I was typing.
Being an e-bike, your cassette could be worn out already or the parallelogram in your derailleur is bent. Does it have a rock rash on it?
Yeah the derailleur has seen a rock or two, it's odd though because it's almost like the shifting has progressively gotten worse. Id assume a decent impact would immediate cause issues, not gradually.
When I get home tonight I will try swapping in a deraillier off one of my other bikes and see if that helps at all.
front chainring.
went through similar recently, replaced every drivetrain component thinking the front chainring looked fine. Turns out it wasn't. Fixed my issue
Most likely issues are 1. a misaligned derailleur hanger. Can be fixed with a hanger alignment gauge. (Does not require the wheel to be true, as suggested above -- just use a single point on the rim as reference.) Or, 2. the derailleur itself is bent. And unfortunately the most expedient solution in that case is to replace the derailleur.
I recommend checking your hanger first. Maybe someone you know has a hanger alignment gauge? They're not wildly expensive & many home mechanics have them.
Replacing the cable & housing is never a bad idea. Don't know how difficult it is on that bike specifically. But it is relatively cheap, and then you can at least rule it out.
If you have a straight hanger, a properly adjusted derailleur, and clean/smooth cable & housing and you still experience this symptom of being able to get good shifting of one side of the cassette but not both, your derailleur is probably bent.
Good luck.
oh thats kinda interesting, Im not sure its the issue in my case though. Just recently put a fresh chainring on.
Stole the derailleur off of my other analog bike and shifting seems okay now. Im still a bit tentative on calling it good until i can get it out on proper trails and bang it around down some trails, and put some proper force into it during tech climbing.
Its odd though, because i held both derailleurs in my hand side by side, and i couldnt spot any differences between them.
I've encountered this scenario numerous times. Modern 12-speed derailleurs have less margin for error than older systems. The damage can be subtle enough that it isn't obviously visible, yet still sufficient to prevent proper shifting. If your other derailleur is working better, that's more evidence pointing to a damaged derailleur.
Good point on the wheel. I stand corrected.
Which derailleur? If it's SRAM GX or NX you could have a worn B-bolt interface causing slop. Deore and NX have soft steel in their parallelograms that is easily tweaked whey they meet Mr. Rock, and then they're basically trash.
GX and NX B-bolts are steel and wear the aluminum derailleur body if you do a lot of bumpy miles. Can be fixed with Hall Lock mod where you make the derailleur bottom out firmly on the hanger by modding or shimming the B-bolt. Derailleur can't rotate on hanger any more with this, so wheel swaps are slightly more annoying, but it's blissfully quiet, zero slop and long lasting. I first started doing this to quiet bikes and happily discovered the better shifting and longer life.
XO has a coated bushing in the B-bolt so they fit snugly and don't wear out. You can buy the $30 XO B-bolt and swap it onto a GX der - it's a direct fit. They kinda last forever, so you can re-use the bolts. They're also easier to Hall Lock as all you do is file the bushing until the derailleur bottoms out on the hanger. Easier to source than searching endlessly for juuuust the perfect washer/shim.
The GX derailleur is a funny one. Super long lasting if you replace the B-bolt when new (before it wears), crap durability otherwise. Salvage a worn one to better-than-new with the Hall Lock.
On the durability note, it's worth every penny to buy a $50 hanger with better quality 6061 aluminum vs OEM butter. Robert Axle, Northshore Billet and others sell good ones. This is triple true vs crap OEM SRAM UDH that are half plastic and just way too easy to bend.
Alternatively, Madrone describes how to remove slop from the B-bolt assembly with new o-rings/washers. You don't need to buy their kit, they list the specs in this page and you can source them locally: https://madronecycles.com/collections/sram-upgrade-rebuild-products/products/super-shims
Side note: 11sp X01, XX1 (and I think X1 as well) have the "Configuration A" B-bolt mentioned in the Madrone page.
Possibly cable friction - new shimano sp41 outer and inner is very much worth it regardless but the other one is chain length - modern 12 speed drive trains have ONE correct chain length, where plus or minus a single link will compromise the shifting. If you drop to the smallest gear, the chain should pass well below the bolt of the top pulley wheel.
I’d be looking into this area… if you are on Shimano look into the clutch. Often neglected on the service side.
I also don't have much luck with the X01 b-bolts. They tend to last about 12-18 months before the slop causes bad shifting. So, i'm definitely going to try the mod you described.
Just running the Shimano 6100. Kinda want to invest in something more durable, but it seems Shimano upgrade path doesn't really offer anything more durable, if anything the fancier options are less durable.
Can you elaborate on what "look into the clutch" means?
I went for a ride with this new derailleur yesterday and it's started giving me issues near the end of my ride as well. The trails I ride are extremely bumpy, basically chunky rock and roots... Not sure what I could do to preserve the life of my derailleur. I make sure I shift into a higher gear and activate the clutch, but it still gets violently beaten up every descent.
It’s basically a friction clutch that is in place to stabilize to eliminate chain slap… Shimano calls it a chain stabilizer. Anyhow it’s a serviceable item, there are quite a few YouTube videos that walk through servicing. Essentially it is a bunch of roller bearings with a friction band and when the cutch is engaged it minimizes movement at the b-pivot. Part #21 on the diagram.
https://si.shimano.com/de/pdfs/ev/RD-M6100-4677/EV-RD-M6100-4677A.pdf
At least in my experience, if the clutch is seizing up (which is typically the issue for Shimano -- water ingress, leading to corrosion and very high breakaway force) it is noticeable across the entire range of the cassette. But an easy way to test that is to rotate the derailleur cage by hand with the clutch off and then the clutch on.
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