Rianur

Hi,
I have a 2010 Kona Jake the Snake with a Shimano 105 RD. I can adjust it, on the stand, so that it switches gears smoothly, top to bottom. When I get on the bike I find that I can't shift to the smallest rear cog.

I tried tightening the derailleur barrel (ie, loosening the cable) thinking that, under load, the cable is tightening up enough to make shifting to the smallest cog not happen. This hasn't helped, though.
Is this the correct route?
Any suggestions?
Thanks.

Clem von Jones

The RD is supposed to retract all the way if there is no tension at all on it. You might have to loosen the cable or view the RD pulleys from directly behind the bike at the level of the cassette to see if they are under the smallest cog. They have to be directly under it or a bit to the right of it, but obviously not to the left. Lube the parallelogram hinge pins with triflow or light machine oil to reduce residual tension caused by dirt and friction.

time bandit

loosen the high limit screw a half turn or so.

Clem von Jones

Adjust the limit screws when you behind the wheel with your eyes at the level of cassette so you see where the RD pulleys are in relation to cogs above them

time bandit

The high limit screw should be adjusted so the top der pully is slightly right of the smallest cog...

Rianur

Thanks for the suggestions. I was thinking that since things were fine on the stand, they should be good on the ground. I will adjust the H screw.

Thanks again!

mulveyr 

That's the difference between theory and practice. ;-) It's not uncommon to have to do very slight adjustments to accomodate changes under load.