Tonight I FINALLY was able to conquer the derailleur. Well, sorta. I picked up a Motobecane Fantom Cyclocross and was able to make all of the initial adjustments myself, not counting a quick consult phone call to my friend. What was cool was that when he answered, I pretty much had figured out the problem. I had NEVER been able to get as far as I did until tonight, and that was after over a year of trying to figure it out.
For anyone who needs help adjusting derailleurs, I HIGHLY recommend Zinn and the Art of Road (or Mountain) Bike Maintenance. I had previously checked out Youtube videos, Parktool, and Sheldon Brown, but it didn't all come together until I read Zinn's stuff on derailleur adjustments.
A couple of quick questions. On my test ride after setting up the initial shifting, there were some instances of the derailleur being a little sluggish when shifting to a higher gear for the rear derailleur. My initial thought was to let some tension out of the cable, but then I wondered if I should loosen the high stop screw instead. The one thing that threw me for a loup was that it seemed like shifting was also little stubburn when shifting back to a lower gear as well - nothing major, just a little hesitancy.
On a related note, I had planned to do some barrel adjustments while riding, but I noticed the Sora shifters didn't have any barrel adjusters where the cables meet the shifters. The barrel adusters appear to be part of the cable housing. I did play with them a little, but are you supposed to pull out and turn, or just turn to the right or left to decrease or increase cable tension?
Anyway, in spite of some minor glitches, it was an amazing feeling to jump on a bike that shifted relatively well...that I set up the shifting on. It was like, "wow, I actually did this". So if you are someone reading this who has struggled with derailleur adjustments, don't give up, and make sure to check out Zinn's books, even if you have to go to the library to get one! And of course, it is nice to be able to fall back on this forum for additional questions on things that stump you a little!
For anyone who needs help adjusting derailleurs, I HIGHLY recommend Zinn and the Art of Road (or Mountain) Bike Maintenance. I had previously checked out Youtube videos, Parktool, and Sheldon Brown, but it didn't all come together until I read Zinn's stuff on derailleur adjustments.
A couple of quick questions. On my test ride after setting up the initial shifting, there were some instances of the derailleur being a little sluggish when shifting to a higher gear for the rear derailleur. My initial thought was to let some tension out of the cable, but then I wondered if I should loosen the high stop screw instead. The one thing that threw me for a loup was that it seemed like shifting was also little stubburn when shifting back to a lower gear as well - nothing major, just a little hesitancy.
On a related note, I had planned to do some barrel adjustments while riding, but I noticed the Sora shifters didn't have any barrel adjusters where the cables meet the shifters. The barrel adusters appear to be part of the cable housing. I did play with them a little, but are you supposed to pull out and turn, or just turn to the right or left to decrease or increase cable tension?
Anyway, in spite of some minor glitches, it was an amazing feeling to jump on a bike that shifted relatively well...that I set up the shifting on. It was like, "wow, I actually did this". So if you are someone reading this who has struggled with derailleur adjustments, don't give up, and make sure to check out Zinn's books, even if you have to go to the library to get one! And of course, it is nice to be able to fall back on this forum for additional questions on things that stump you a little!