24
votes
What exactly is the "clutch" doing on a Shimano M8100 rear derailleur?
I'll try to answer the question of exactly how the clutch works. In essence, the Shimano clutch design uses a one-way bearing that allows the cage to freely rotate clockwise, but adds friction if ...
- 13.5k
22
votes
My bike goes up one gear at a time, but down two: is this normal?
On or off road, but especially off road, it is desirable to be able to shift down more than one gear at a time to deal with abrupt changes in gradient and avoid being stuck in too a high a gear and ...
17
votes
Accepted
What exactly is the "clutch" doing on a Shimano M8100 rear derailleur?
I assume you're talking about Shimano's 12s XT rear derailleur. For disambiguation, 8100 could also refer to the 12s Ultegra groupset. However, the Ultegra group doesn't have a clutch, and I believe ...
- 24.1k
14
votes
Accepted
How to attach cable mounting points to a bicycle frame?
I'd go with full housing for both brake and gear cables and hold the cables on with cable clamps. There are many kinds of cable clamps to choose from. I prefer the type that have a screw clamp over ...
- 19.1k
12
votes
Accepted
My bike goes up one gear at a time, but down two: is this normal?
Depending on the year of your Giant Escape 3, it either has Shimano EF40 or EF41 shifters. Both shifters have the same User Manual which has this information on downshifting:
Assuming you are talking ...
- 236
12
votes
Shifting direction is different for front and rear shifters
The reason why shifting is arranged this way:
Shifting to a larger chainring at the front gives a higher gear ratio, shifting to a larger sprocket at the rear gives a lower gear ratio.
Shifting to ...
10
votes
Accepted
How to lower gearing on Tiagra 4700
Shimano's most recent compatibility chart is available here. Note that these are official compatibility ratings. It is fine to exceed official specs by a bit.
At the rear, you can get a 10s Tiagra ...
- 24.1k
10
votes
Accepted
Derailleur can't shift to 51-T sprocket. Deore CS-M5100 + RD-M5100
Turns out this derailleur needs a 'standard mount' derailleur pad/hanger. I have currently a direct mount.
The Canyon representative thought the SRAM hanger was for 10 speed.
To me, it is now clear ...
- 181
10
votes
Shifting direction is different for front and rear shifters
This is the way most (99.999%) of bikes work. If you really want to change it - I advise against such a move, the only option would be hunt out a (fortunately) now defunct "Rapid Rise" or &...
- 44.7k
9
votes
Is there such thing as an automatic transmission for bikes?
As the Nuvinci system has been mentioned in other answers, I'll mention one more.
SRAM makes the Automatix hub now. It's a 2 speed system (ratios 1:1, 1:1.37) with a centrifugal clutch. There's no ...
- 45.8k
9
votes
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Is there a difference of spacing between cogs on a 7 speed cassette vs a 8 speed cassette?
Yes, there is. Shimano/SRAM & compatible seven speed is 5mm cog-to-cog, and eight is 4.8mm. Generally what you're trying to do here can't be made to work very well. There are some tricks that ...
- 75.5k
9
votes
Rear derailleur cage bigger than cassette necessity
An RD-5701 rear derailleur should work just fine as a replacement for an RD-6600. I've used an RD-5701 with an 11/28 cassette for the last 6-7 months with no issues, including swapping my crankset ...
- 9,386
9
votes
Derailleur mounting position
Welding is probably a bad idea - for several reasons.
Heat changes things - no doubt you have welding skills, but you'll know that relatively thin metals warp and bend and change their temper. The ...
- 111k
9
votes
Accepted
Shifter cable broke in the shifter and now the end is stuck in the shifter
Take off the little plastic cover on the bottom of your 5800 shifter. The line of its edge is visible in your second photo (1 or 2 screws). You will then have good access to remove the head. You can ...
- 12.3k
8
votes
Parking a 3-speed internal hub in 2nd gear permanently
In the 45 minutes since I posted this question, I have developed an elegant workaround using a simple device:
I stuck a pebble in the bellcrank.
Most folks here probably won't be surprised by this ...
- 561
8
votes
Down shift quickly
To answer this part of the question:
Are there any hacks or types of shifters that let you quickly shift down across the gear range
Grip shifters should allow one to click through the whole range ...
8
votes
Accepted
11 speed shifter levers on my 10 speed drivetrain
No, won’t work.
Edit: To be more precise: The indexing will be off. The 11 speed road shifters pull more cable for each gear step (each “click”). So you’ll have shifted through the whole 10 speed ...
- 24.5k
8
votes
45 day old SRAM rear derailleurs jumps gears
When the shifting skips over a cog on the cassette gears, this is because the derailleur hanger (or less often, the derailleur cage) is misaligned. That is, the small sacrificial tab of aluminium ...
- 12.3k
8
votes
Accepted
I can operate any stick shift without the owner's manual; can I operate any front derailleur with no manual?
Many left road shifters, including almost all recent higher end ones, have four positions, i.e. there's a trim stop for both the small and large ring.
There is not, nor in practical terms could there ...
- 75.5k
8
votes
What exactly is the "clutch" doing on a Shimano M8100 rear derailleur?
On top of Weiwen Ng answer, the clutch also has another benefit. Large cassettes have a lot of inertia, when you stop pedaling (at high speeds), it keeps rotating. If the derailleur doesn't have a ...
- 12.2k
7
votes
Accepted
Cannot shift into lowest gear
Either the L screw which limits how far the derailleur can move towards the wheel is too far in or the cable tension is too low.
Try to increase the cable tension first by turning the barrel adjuster ...
- 24.5k
7
votes
Accepted
No trim and can't shift into small chainring
Sounds like you have a bit too much cable tension in your new configuration.
Usually cable tension is tuned with the barrel adjuster you mentioned, but if you cannot get the tension low enough with ...
- 591
7
votes
Why does my vintage Shimano rear derailleur come with brake style cable housing?
I assume that you have a friction shifter? A friction shifter is one that does not click into an indexed position. You just adjust it until the derailleur is lined up where you want it.
Assuming this ...
- 590
7
votes
How to run full length cable housing to front mech on a frame without cable stops?
It looks to me like you may be able to use a clamp-on cable stop. All you need is a round steel-alloy frame tube that is strong enough to accept a clamp. If the clamp is located close to the point ...
- 502
7
votes
Accepted
How to remove the pin on the lower end of the shift cable, to replace the derailleur
The "metal pin" is a crimp-on cover that stops the individual wires from splaying out and making a mess.
You might be able to yank it off with pliers, or you can use cable cutters to remove ...
- 111k
6
votes
Accepted
Do I have to stop pedaling when shifting up the front chainring?
Use the Clutch!
This is what I always tell people when I'm teaching them how to shift gears properly. Chain-rings and Cogs are machined with *pickup points" that assist transferring the chain from ...
- 1,948
6
votes
Poor shifting in dense fog?
I would suggest temperature change may be affecting the cable housing dimensions, which in turn affects the cable tension and therefore the dérailleur settings. I have been noticing this happening to ...
- 30.1k
6
votes
Accepted
replacing shifter cable housing?
Its likely that your bad shifting is due to messed up cables or a misadjusted derailleur.
You can either cut the cable crimp off at the end of the cable with a pair of pliers, or pull it off with a ...
- 45.8k
6
votes
Accepted
How does a RD (rear derailleur) handle variable tooth gaps?
In reality the derailleur doesn't care what the tooth count difference is between gears. The shifter simply moves the derailleur towards or away from the wheel. This causes the chain to be misaligned ...
- 18.2k
6
votes
Accepted
Bike won't shift at all
I'm familiar with RSX brifters (brake and shift combo units) If that's what you have then its likely the grease has gummed up, stopping the under-lever from engaging the release.
You might be able ...
- 111k
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