NachosGrande

I built a new bike (Fuji SL Elite framset) using all SRAM Red 22 grouppo from an older bike (VeloVie Vitesse 500). The SRAM Red grouppo came installed on the VeloVie. The front derailleur shifts perfectly, but I am experiencing major problems with the rear derailleur. I am running a SRAM Red cassette 11-25 (11sp) with a new SRAM PC1170 chain.

When I am in the big chain-ring I hear slight grinding noises on the cassette. When I turn the crank slowly I see the chain popping up a little on the cog teeth. Also, the chain has a difficult time up-shifting to the smaller cog. By turning the barrel adjuster on the RD clockwise about 5 to 6 clicks (quarter turns), I am able to fix the chain popping and noise and the shifting works for both up and down shifting; however, next when I put the chain on the small chain-ring and try to down shift the RD to move the chain to the bigger cog it has a difficult time shifting. I turn the barrel adjuster counter clockwise (yup. I would have to turn 5 to 6 clicks), and the shifting is fixed for both up and down shifting...

You guessed it, next when I put the chain on the big chain-ring the RD's difficulty of shifting to the smaller cog appears again.

I did have a minor crash on the old bike, and the RD has some scrapes from that; however, even after the crash it performed flawlessly on the old bike. Why would it not work on a different frame? I took it to a LBS, and they are stumped by it as well. I asked them if it's because I'm using a new chain, and I have 1000 miles on the SRAM Red cassette. They told me that a 1000 miles is not significant, upon their inspection of the cogs they look almost new, and would not cause such shifting problems.

Your input is much appreciated.

Bill Kapaun

On the old crash, maybe the hanger & RDER were both bent and then pushed back to "average".
Possibly the RDER is "too bent" for the new bike. Have you visually looked at pulley vs cog alignment across the cassette?

Crash the new bike like the old one?

NachosGrande

Hi Bill,
Thanks for your input.

I have not crashed the new bike. What does the "average" setting mean or look like? I did not realize that SRAM RD has such a setting or state. How do I release it from the "average" setting?

Pulley and cog looks fine. B-tension is correct: I have about 7mm between top jockey wheel and largest and smallest cog. Alignment with largest and smallest cog is in accordance with SRAM manual.

Crankycrank

Even though it's a new frame have the hanger alignment checked just to rule it out. They aren't always perfect from the factory and can get bent between the factory and your house.

Have you ridden the bike with the cable adjustment halfway between the two adjustments for large and small rings and not just changed gears on a bike stand?

Check your chainline. You may need some spacers on the BB to fit the new frame.

Is the chain the correct length?

Shift cable moving freely? Sometimes with a new cable/housing install there are some quirks that need to be corrected in the housing and routing setup.

bargainguy

If you need to turn the RD barrel adjuster 5 or 6 quarter-turns for anything, I suspect that your baseline cable tension (i.e., smallest cog) is going all wonky every time you do.

We're assuming that the RD limit screws are set properly and that this is not part of the problem.

I'd check the limit screws, check the baseline cable tension to make sure it's adequate, and see what happens when you shift up and down the cluster without twiddling the barrel adjuster.

I second the idea of checking RD hanger alignment. Best to use the Park DAG-1 or 2 tool for this and not try to bend the RD/hanger by hand.

NachosGrande

Yes, yesterday, I took it to a LBS, and they checked the RD hanger--it is straight. The RD limit screws are set properly: jockey wheel's relation to the smallest cog is slightly to the right of center line of that cog, and relation to the biggest cog is aligned to the center of that cog. The cable tension feel fine. I have also ridden the bike with the cable adjustment halfway between the two adjustments for large and small rings, and with this setting the shifting problem affects both up and down shifting on both small and large ring.

My compromise, temporarily, has been to keep the large ring state as the priority for best shifting by making sure that shifting is good for up and down while on that ring, and when I'm on the small ring I would have to switch the gears almost as if it's a friction shifter: I would push the shift lever a little more than the double tap slowly--though not enough to downshift 2 cogs.

The only remaining couple of variables I can think of are the BB and the internal routing of this frameset. I'm using a Wheels manufacturing threaded PF30 BB, which has a rubber seal between the crankset, and I'm wondering if this makes the chainline a bit more out to the right when viewing the bike from the rear; however, I find it hard to believe that this would be a factor, because then this would be a common problem many others would experience. The internal routing looks fine, and again if there were problems with it I would think others would have the same experience.

On a side note, the Wheels Manufacturing threaded PF30 BB's rubber seal makes me feel as if the cranks are sticky, and when I pedal out of the saddle on a climb, for example, I hear swishing noises from the BB area. I chatted directly with Wheels Manufacturing. They assured me that I'm not wasting watts, and the sticky movement will fade over time when some of the heavily packed grease is purged after a few rides. Despite their claims, can I use a wavy washer instead of their rubber seal?

rydabent

Is the "B" screw set properly?

trailangel

What does your chainline measure?

NachosGrande

Yes.

NachosGrande

It looks like 44mm or 45mm

trailangel

I don't know. What you describe sounds like a worn out cassette. SRAM red is an expensive cassette, no?

NachosGrande

Yes, pricey

L134 

Have you tried a different cassette to see if you still have the problem? Or a different wheel? Do you have a different derailleur you can throw on to see if it also has problems? Swapping things around can sometimes isolate the source of the problem. I once had a brand new cassette that would skip on one cog. After all my attempts at solving the problem failed, I returned the cassette as defective, installed a replacement and had no more problems.

NachosGrande

Thanks, I will try a different cassette