Two clicks in either direction
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Two clicks in either direction
Greetings, I have an all arounder with the Shimano Altus set up. Normally I know that when experiencing trouble in shifting to a bigger rear cog I need to slightly turn the knob on the back of the derailleur a skosh anti-clockwise to tighten the cable. And vice versa for shifting to a smaller cog. Right now its taking two clicks per shift to shift in either direction. Any thoughts regarding a simple remedy? Thanks in advance!
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May be time to change your cables and housings, or at least give the cables a light oiling.
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In the 80/20 world, I would say 80% likely that the cables have frayed and 20% likely that things are gunked up/corroded. Start with clean and lube, and you'll probably find the frayed cable when you do that. Worry about the cable breaking and having a hard time removing the remnants from the shifter so better to act now.
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Cables and housings are consumables. What you are describing sounds like a problem that can be fixed with new cables and housings - either damaged/frayed inner cables or worn housing or liners, or gunked up same.
A new inner cable is generally quite affordable (~$5), housing is a bit more expensive. You can try a new inner cable first to see if it makes an improvement, but it is sometimes a bit more complicated to thread a used cable through new housing as the end can fray or get hung up, so it's not a bad idea to replace the housing at the same time if it's not a financial burden. If the cables are a few years old then changing them all out isn't a bad idea. Often the last loop of housing down by the rear derailleur is the most abused and likely to cause problems, so it is the most likely part to need replacing.
You can usually remove all the segments of cable housing and bring them to the LBS to get them to cut new segments and prep the ends and make sure you have all the ferrules (cable housing ends) you need to properly reassemble. They usually sell the housing by the foot.
A new inner cable is generally quite affordable (~$5), housing is a bit more expensive. You can try a new inner cable first to see if it makes an improvement, but it is sometimes a bit more complicated to thread a used cable through new housing as the end can fray or get hung up, so it's not a bad idea to replace the housing at the same time if it's not a financial burden. If the cables are a few years old then changing them all out isn't a bad idea. Often the last loop of housing down by the rear derailleur is the most abused and likely to cause problems, so it is the most likely part to need replacing.
You can usually remove all the segments of cable housing and bring them to the LBS to get them to cut new segments and prep the ends and make sure you have all the ferrules (cable housing ends) you need to properly reassemble. They usually sell the housing by the foot.
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If this is a road bike with drop bar levers/shifters, stop shifting now and check the end of the cable in the shifter for fraying. If it breaks, it's a real pain to remove.
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OP says he's got Altus so they're flat bar shifters. Fraying cables is very unlikely to be the problem. Old and worn housing is. Cables don't 'wear' and cause shifting problems but housing does. Replace both.