I finally got in a ride today with what I'd call 'perfect' shifting. I'm still very new to bike maintenance, and in the last month or two, literally started from ground zero, watched youtube videos and spent several hundred dollars on parts and tools to redo my entry level road bike (Sora/2200 triple that was out of whack) to a Tiagra 4700 modern 10sp groupset. (I avoided 11 sp for now since I like having 10sp on my Cervelo TT race bike, and the Tiagra is 10sp.)
I originally thought it would be as straightforward as buying the new Tiagra group (full group), installing it, and not requiring much messing with since everything was new.
What ended up happening:
- Got new Tiagra group
- Had to figure out internal cabling into aero handlebars. Gave up trying to route both shifter + brake housing, and just routed the brake cables.
- Went to a waxed chain - BEST move I did before messing with the installation, bar none. This whole process would have sucked 10x worse if it wasn't for the super clean waxed chain!!
- Couldn't get a correctly dialed in FD - cable seemed too loose. Went through 3 shifter cables trying to get it right, plus a 4th hand tool which was useless. Finally figured out a method to get the cable tension which isn't mentioned anywhere on the web as far as I could find, which was to hand push the FD into the BIG ring, and only then tighten the cable and bolt. Only then it has enough cable tension. Took me quite a while to figure this one out.
- RD was working 80% well, but still was clackety on the ends no matter what I did. Spent nearly 4 hours total trying to mess with FD + RD combos and wire tension, and could never get it just quite right.
- Decided it was time to get the DAG-2 hangar adjustment tool ($70!) and that seemed to do the trick. Should have listened to the advice of all the wrenches out there and got this first, obviously! After the DAG-2 minor adjustment to the hanger, the RD required zero fiddling and worked perfectly, immediately.
- Cabled it incorrectly - forgot to cross over the shifter cables in front so you have slack when you turn the handlebars. Had to redo the whole shift cable and handlebar wrap
I think I made every rookie error possible despite carefully watching the videos and reading Park tool carefully.
Still, it's awesomely satisfying to get out there and have perfect, uber-smooth and accurate,crisp shifting for all gears after all that work! Glad I didn't know about how tricky it would be until I've done it!
My 2 take home messages:
- WAX chain is awesome if you're a noob since you'll be handling the drivetrain so much, and wax is SUPER clean - no chain tattoos!
- Get that DAG-2 Derailleur Hangar Adjustment Tool FIRST if you're intending to wrench your RD. You'll otherwise waste hours fiddling with something that will never be right.
- No website or video seems to address how to get the proper FD cable tension - it's very easy if you do as I did by pushing it by hand into the big ring and only then locking it down - it's VERY hard even with an inline adjuster if you do it in the small ring the way everyone recommends (weirdly).
I originally thought it would be as straightforward as buying the new Tiagra group (full group), installing it, and not requiring much messing with since everything was new.
What ended up happening:
- Got new Tiagra group
- Had to figure out internal cabling into aero handlebars. Gave up trying to route both shifter + brake housing, and just routed the brake cables.
- Went to a waxed chain - BEST move I did before messing with the installation, bar none. This whole process would have sucked 10x worse if it wasn't for the super clean waxed chain!!
- Couldn't get a correctly dialed in FD - cable seemed too loose. Went through 3 shifter cables trying to get it right, plus a 4th hand tool which was useless. Finally figured out a method to get the cable tension which isn't mentioned anywhere on the web as far as I could find, which was to hand push the FD into the BIG ring, and only then tighten the cable and bolt. Only then it has enough cable tension. Took me quite a while to figure this one out.
- RD was working 80% well, but still was clackety on the ends no matter what I did. Spent nearly 4 hours total trying to mess with FD + RD combos and wire tension, and could never get it just quite right.
- Decided it was time to get the DAG-2 hangar adjustment tool ($70!) and that seemed to do the trick. Should have listened to the advice of all the wrenches out there and got this first, obviously! After the DAG-2 minor adjustment to the hanger, the RD required zero fiddling and worked perfectly, immediately.
- Cabled it incorrectly - forgot to cross over the shifter cables in front so you have slack when you turn the handlebars. Had to redo the whole shift cable and handlebar wrap
I think I made every rookie error possible despite carefully watching the videos and reading Park tool carefully.
Still, it's awesomely satisfying to get out there and have perfect, uber-smooth and accurate,crisp shifting for all gears after all that work! Glad I didn't know about how tricky it would be until I've done it!
My 2 take home messages:
- WAX chain is awesome if you're a noob since you'll be handling the drivetrain so much, and wax is SUPER clean - no chain tattoos!
- Get that DAG-2 Derailleur Hangar Adjustment Tool FIRST if you're intending to wrench your RD. You'll otherwise waste hours fiddling with something that will never be right.
- No website or video seems to address how to get the proper FD cable tension - it's very easy if you do as I did by pushing it by hand into the big ring and only then locking it down - it's VERY hard even with an inline adjuster if you do it in the small ring the way everyone recommends (weirdly).