Alias530

I have an Emonda with Dura Ace 11spd on it with 1,700 miles on it. The chain/cassette have about 500 (swapped to diff cassette and changed chain at the same time). I wipe down and lube my chain no less frequently than every other ride or 50 miles (exception for rides longer than 50 miles). The shifter cable was replaced within the last 300 miles too.

I've been noticing that by the end of longer rides (60-75 miles) that the shifting gets louder and less precise and sometimes delays or even mis-shifts. As soon as I get home, wipe down the chain, and re-lube, it's PERFECT again (so I know it's adjusted right). I keep my drivetrain so clean you could eat off it. I am NOT negligent with maintenance, if anything I'm overboard with it.

Is this normal? I'm using Rock N Roll Gold lube. I see people on Strava hitting 200-300 miles in a ride... I don't think I could even tolerate the shift quality if it were to worsen much beyond how mine gets after 60 miles.

MagicHour

Have you tried adjusting derailleurs PRIOR to relubing after long ride. Maybe needs some very minor tweaking that isn't apparent with a well oiled chain? That's where I would start. If that doesn't help maybe double check cables, make sure there isn't an issue caused by steering that might not show at home on stand.

RNAV

I would suggest that it isn't adjusted correctly. Lubing a chain facilitates easier shifting, which can mask an ever-so-slightly misadjusted rear derailleur. I'd recommend cleaning your chain, dial in your rear derailleur, and then lube it. I'll betcha you won't run into the same problem again.

Alias530

That's a very good point... I will try that. When it's clean/lubed, it shifts so magically I couldn't imagine it being any better, so I'll try that next time after a long ride.

softreset

FWIW my 11-speed DA needed intermittent cable tension adjustments about once every 3 weeks for the first 1500 miles. Then, magically between 1500-1700 miles it stopped needing minor tweaks. Over 1000 miles later, I haven't needed to do any tweaking.

My issue was the front derailleur would rub the chain after about 400 miles, without fail.

Jakedatc

I find my hands get lazy when i'm tired on a long ride and my shifts will suffer. not getting the lever all the way across.

also your drivetrain won't work exactly the same under load as on the work stand.

MikeyBoyAz

Back when I rode Shimano I had a general technique for adjusting the derailleurs. I typically set the limits and then set the front shift while the back was near center chain line for chainring swaps. The back I would adjust by shifting up one gear un-adjusted and then tightening the barrel until it hopped up to the second cog. I found that testing the quality of shifting had the most resolution if I turned the crank slower than 30 equivalent cadence, which always made shifting worse. If I got good up and down shifts at such a low cadence I had perfect shifts once on the road at 80+ cadence.

Alias530

Yeah my shifting is perfect in the stand and on the road... until the last 10-15 miles of a 60-75 mile ride. Certain parts of the year (winter & summer) I only ride an hour or so at a time so it gets cleaned/lubed prior to 50 miles and I never even see the decreased performance.

hueyhoolihan

i would try more lube after cleaning. or different lube.

had a friend that was OCD WRT the cleanliness of his drivetrain. when i saw the teensy-weensy amount of lube he put on the chain afterward, i commented on it. he said, "i just don't want all that oil collecting dirt". i didn't push it...

Alias530

I put a drop on each roller, freewheel backwards for 15 seconds, then pedal backwards while grabbing the chain with a towel in my hands.

thrllskr

I do a lot of long distance rides and I know first hand that Rock-n-Roll Gold lube does not last more than 50-75 miles. I use Rock-n-Roll Blue and I have no problems. Or you can use Gold lube and apply more, a good deal more than you are now.

indyfabz

So it's not just me. My GF bought a bottle of that stuff because a friend of ours swore by it. I gave it a try for a while and found myself asking "Didn't I just lube my chain before my ride the other day?"

UnfilteredDregs

Rock n Roll lasts less than 60 miles in my experience. On a recommendation from here I'm trying the WD40 chain lube. I like it so far, drivetrain is rather silent, and I have 75 miles on since initial application. We shall see...

Alias530

I use RNR Gold on my road bike always (it never even sees moist ground) and on my MTB and cross bikes during dry months and RNR Blue on my MTB and cross bikes during wet months. WAY better than Pro Link Gold I used to use but I guess there's always something better.

flatlander_48

Agreed...

PeregrineA1 

WD-40 is not a lubricant. Google it. It's a lousy chain lube in any event.

Tri-Flow.

Alias530

For upshifts though? That's kind of hard to mess up...

flatlander_48

Note the bike details in my signature...

Over the years, I have thrown the chain off in both directions, but probably 15-20 : 1 inside to outside. The thing is, I can go for months with a problem and have 2 episodes in the same ride. To me, that also reinforces the human error part...

Alias530

I'm not sure I understand? Are Campy shifters hard to deal with on upshifts (going to a smaller cog)? With Shimano you can push as hard or as light as you want, the same thing will happen. Downshifts are another story and sometimes I'll do .5 or 1.5 shifts when I meant to do 1 or 2 when fatigued.

flatlander_48

No, the point was one of fatigue and how that can change how you manipulate the levers. How hard you push on ANY brand determines how fast the actuation goes. When you get tired, fine motor skills can be effected. You also have to remember that you are using different fingers with Campagnolo. Perhaps when fatigue sets in, it hits index and middle fingers differently than thumbs. Don't know...

Alias530

I've only ridden a Campy bike once but it was like 1/2mile so I can't compare... with Shimano there are two distinct levers but you use the same fingers. With downshifts you can do between 1 and 3, so it's easy to go short of or beyond the first shift point. But with upshifts, it's hard to mess that up. I'm just surprised that I'm seeing a drop in performance towards the end of longer rides. This was THE lube to get when I did my research last.

UnfilteredDregs

WD40 does indeed make a chain lube, google it. It works rather well.

Alias530

I think his point is that WD-40 is not a lubricant, not that WD-40 doesn't make chain lube. Some people to this day think that regular WD-40 is a lubricant rather than a solvent.

My old boss asked me if there was any WD-40 around to fix a squeaky hinge. I just said no and brought some real oil from home to fix it myself without telling him.

Jarrett2

I also noticed this on my Roubaix/CarbonFiber/105 bike and it has 2,650 miles on it. I used ProLink chain lube on it and I'm not as religious as cleaning it.

Did not notice it on my AWOL/Steel/Sora bike, but it only has 565 miles on it.

I'm doing my first long ride on my Jamis/Steel/SRAM Rival/Force bike tomorrow and will see if it pops up.

Alias530, did you ever find a solution for this?

Alias530

It kind of went away on its own... I don't know if the weather had anything to do with it. Maybe the colder rides (I never ride below 50* F so "cold" doesn't mean much) had something to do with it. I went on a century ride in April and had no issues by the end of the ride.