I've ridden bikes with friction shifting for more than 25 years, the majority of that with barend shifters. I've had multiple bikes set up with Suntour shifters and seven speed clusters, and one set up with Shimano Ultegra shifters (always in friction mode -- I prefer friction shifting) with a 9 speed setup. I've used both shaped and unshaped cogs, as well as floating and non-floating deraillers. I share this information to demonstrate that I'm not new to friction nor barend shifting.
So... based on the glowing description on the riv site I set up my new AHH with the Silver shifters that they sell. I really like the look, but so far I've been having a horrible time shifting. I always feel like I'm between gears, and I've had a few unpleasant experiences when the chain jumped when starting from a dead stop. Things that make me think that it's just me: * It seems to be getting a little better over time * Grabbing closer to the pivot, as if it were a shorter lever, seems to have helped a LOT (tried that this morning for the first time) Things that it might be, if it's not me: * When the parts arrived I didn't yet have my frame, so I spent some time playing with them at the table. I noticed that one of them shifted very smoothly in both directions, but one of them had varying amounts of friction through the travel. Perhaps that's the one that ended up being my rear shifter? I did notice at first that the shifter would move slightly after I set it (next bullet) * Grease on the pivot plate. Riv recommends greasing this. Taking it apart and wiping most of it off seems to have improved the shifting notably, and it no longer moves. I remember reading years ago that you should never grease the Suntour shifters. * Mis-aligned der-hanger. I doubt this, it was a brand new frame! * More float in the derailer. It's an LX (high normal) derailler, just like the one on my touring bike, just a newer model. Could they have changed the design to make it float more, making it harder to select a gear? In the past I've replaced pulleys with non floating ones to improve friction shifting. The AHH that I test rode at Riv had the same derailler, though it was a rapid-rise version. Any advice for this? Did anybody else experience this? Did it go away with practice? Do I just have to retrain my brain? Thanks! -Rex -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To post to this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rbw-owners-bunch?hl=en.
