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I changed out the shifter housing/cable because I felt some friction, and ever since it seems like I can't get the indexing right. If I set it to work well in the high gears, it doesn't work properly in the low gears, and vice versa. It worked fine with the old one (which I indexed myself couple months ago), and the only thing I touched is the housing and the cable.

The derailleur, freewheel, and chain are only couple months old, so I don't think they would be the issue. Although weirdly enough, my chain checker did say it's stretched to 0.5 level. I tried replacing the derailleur hanger and cleaned the whole drivetrain in the process, but no luck. Anyone had a similar issue before?

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  • Cleaning's always a good idea. A photo might show us something, or might not. Otherwise, welcome to the site.
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 0:54
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    Did you clamp the cable in the correct spot on the deraileur? It's possible with some setups to direct the cable to the incorrect side of the clamp. Which in some cases may change the lever arm a little resulting in the pull ratio being different. Basically exactly the effects you're experiencing. It's not a home run diagnosis, but it's possible.
    – Lamar Latrell
    Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 5:40
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    @LamarLatrell Oh my god, that was totally it, I clamped the cable in the wrong part. I thought of that yesterday but I couldn't find any instruction online and I was too tired to actually check it rigorously. Thank you so much for your advice.
    – user72590
    Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 17:36
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    @LamarLatrell If you would like your response to be accepted as the answer, please post it as an answer to this post. Otherwise, I will post your quote as an answer and select it.
    – user72590
    Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 17:48
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    @LamarLatrell could you please repost that as an answer not a comment ?
    – Criggie ♦
    Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 20:45

2 Answers 2

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Did you clamp the cable in the correct spot on the deraileur? It's possible with some setups to direct the cable to the incorrect side of the clamp. Which in some cases may change the lever arm a little resulting in the pull ratio being different. Basically exactly the effects you're experiencing. It's not a home run diagnosis, but it's possible.

Thank you @LamarLatrell, that fixed the issue. I ended up taking out the clamping bolt (washer?) to see where I'm supposed to put the cable in, and that fixed the issue.

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    Happy it worked out 👌
    – Lamar Latrell
    Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 18:21
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Check the outer housings are fully and firmly seated in the ferrules, and those are hard into the cable-stops on your frame, in the derailleur and in the shifter. Also check any barrel adjusters - they should be mostly wound in, and not hanging on the outer end of their travel.

It sounds like you have some extra flex/springiness that allows the rear derailleur some variety in position.

Another thought - did you accidently use Brake outer housing for your gears? Brake housing is often slightly thicker and has one coil-wound wire inside; whereas gear cable has long runs of wire that are held by the plastic. The brake housing can squish a bit, also matching your symptoms.

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  • 2
    Thank you for the reply. I did make sure all the ferrules and the housings are fully seated, and the barrel adjuster is only about half-way loosened, so I think there's something else. Also, I did confirm I'm using a shift housing and cable, and I could clearly see multiple metal strands in the housing.
    – user72590
    Commented Nov 11, 2023 at 17:32

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