Trsnrtr

Background: new Ultegra derailleur, new Shimano cassette, relatively new chain, etc. Hanger has been checked and is straight and tight. Cable runs freely. limits are good as is the B screw. I've been working on bikes since 1982 so I'm not a beginner.

OK, no amount of adjusting can make this thing shift 11 gears. The best I can get is, counting cogs from the bottom with 11 being the smallest cog, 11 to 8 are fine and 6 to 1 are fine but 7 doesn't exist either upshifting or downshifting, never, ever. If I do achieve 7th, then crazy shifts happen everywhere. I'm still guessing that there might be cable drag somewhere but I haven't located it if there is.

Anyway, any suggestions?

bikeme

I've never had that happen with my Ultegra, only issues at the far ends like my 11 or 28, what you're going thru sounds frustrating. When I get stuck like you are, I start from scratch:

First a silly question: You have an 11 speed shifter, right? Is the shifter new or old? I once had one that wouldn't ratchet certain gears. I'd shift but there was no engagement. If old, do you feel clicks on each flick of the lever? Maybe a kink on the cable inside the shifter--right where the 7 position would be?

Onward..
Release the cable from the RD.

Make sure the shifter is clicked all the way to hardest/highest gear position and that cable was fed through when in this position.

Check how pulleys line up without the cable attached, should be offset a bit to outer edge (as you probably have noticed, you're basically running thru a tune up here)

Reattach cable after pulling it mildly hand tight. Tug it by hand mid-bike if you don't have internal routing and retighten.

Hopefully the above gets you in the ballpark to shift the whole range. If it does, then continue your tune up steps...

Shift all the way up to easiest/lowest cog and check the RD pulleys line up right under/inline with the cog. And so forth with adjustment screws and/or barrel adjusters.

I hope revisiting it step by step solves this for you. I'm experienced too but sometimes going back to zero might help eliminate an issue.

dsaul

Are you sure all the components are 11 speed (shifter, derailleur, cassette)? Is the cable routed properly in the groove under the cable fixing bolt? Just a couple suggestions, no offense to your mechanical experience intended.

dsbrantjr

Have a look inside your shifter for a frayed inner wire. Replace it, and consider replacing the housing as well, if there are any broken strands. You might do this anyway since you suspect friction somewhere. Also check for a kink somewhere in the cable run.

Trsnrtr

I’ve gone back to step one several times now. Disconnect cable, check limit screws, check cable action by holding free end and operating shifter, reattach and tension cable and then adjust according to Shimano instructions, all to no avail.

All components are 11speed Shimano and worked fine. All I’ve done is swap in a brand new Ultegra derailleur for the old one and I’ve done similar work numerous times over the years on indexing systems.

This is a gravel bike and it was ridden all winter in nasty conditions so it may developed rust in the housing or goop in the frame so my feelings at the moment is to replace the cable and what little housing that there is, rewrap bars, etc.

Anyway, I’m betting on cable and housing. It just dawned on me that it seems like many years ago (~2010] that I had a 10 speed DuraAce system that suffered similarly in the winter and new cabling/housing fixed it.

berner

The cable and or housing combination is likely the culprit. At the same time I would not assume that new equipment is totally up to spec. It can easily happen that poor machining somewhere along the line, say a jockey wheel bushing might act like a worn bushing. You're in a place where being devious would be an asset.

Trsnrtr

I’m going to put the old derailleur back on just to rule out a derailleur problem. If I still have a problem, I’ll tackle the cables. I’m putting off the careless because they’re internal and changing the cable can mean an afternoon of frustration.