# Operating Shimano 2200 RD Shifter??



## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

My bike has Shimano 2200 series shifters. I am often having problem shifting from small cog to a large cog on the cassette. Sometimes the shift will be TWO cogs, and sometimes the shift will be ONE cog (as expected).

According to Shimano's techdocs, operating the large shift lever by moving the lever 15~20 degrees away from the vertical position (click is heard in this offset position) is supposed to shift ONE cog. Moving the lever to ~ 30 degrees (again click is heard in this position) is supposed to shift TWO cogs.

Problem is that, almost always, when moving the lever to the first (15~20 degree) position, a click is heard, but the rear derailleur does NOT shift. There is NO shifting from small cog to the next largest cog?? If I move the lever way over to about 30+ degree position, click is heard, THEN the rear derailleur shifts, _but_, sometimes it shifts ONE cog, sometimes it shifts TWO cogs!? 

Something is not quite right here! The number if cogs shifted seems to be random, and it doesn't appear to quite work according to the techdocs!? 

Either the techdocs are incorrect, or the shifter/rear derailleur are not setup properly (or faulty), or maybe I'm not operating the shift lever properly??

Any ideas??


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## Hooben (Aug 22, 2004)

Anytime my 105 system is skipping or not shifting right, I take a look at this video and follow this chaps tips. It always clears things up.

http://youtu.be/SkzvfCaIbyQ


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

You need to turn the barrel adjuster on the rear derailleur out a turn or two.

You're seriously over-thinking this. It's just out of adjustment.


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## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

*Thanks! But . . .*

I forgot to mention in my first post that my bike was very recently serviced at a bike shop. I thought they would have made appropriate adjustments to the bike to enable proper shifting of the rear derailleur(?) If they did make the adjustment(s), the derailleur seems to have gotten out of adjustment very quickly(?)

Anyway, I've had a look at some online videos, and learned a bit more about adjusting the rear derailleur.

I've rotated the rear derailleur barrel adjuster anti-clockwise to increase the derailleur cable tension. The shifts from small cog to larger cogs now seem to work as expected with little or no skipping.

_However_! Shifting from large to smaller cogs is now a problem, in that there is frequent skipping and the chain sometimes jumps TWO cogs! This suggests the derailleur cable tension is a bit too high. But, if I ease off the derailleur cable tension (which then makes the large to small cog shifts work without skipping and jumping), the shifts from small to large cogs become a problem again in that the chain doesn't shift cleanly if at all!?

It seems I can't find the sweet spot in adjusting the rear derailleur cable tension so that shifts work smoothly in both directions!!??

I don't have a bike stand, so the adjustments to the bike are done with the bike upside down on the floor. I don't know what, if any, difference this makes to adjustments.

The chain is slightly worn with about 1/32" of stretch over 12". The some of the middle cogs on the cassette show some signs of wear, but still have a square profile.

I'm wondering if there is something wrong with the rear derailleur itself? Weak derailleur spring?


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## PlatyPius (Feb 1, 2009)

Maybe the rear derailleur hanger is bent?


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## PJ352 (Dec 5, 2007)

PlatyPius said:


> Maybe the rear derailleur hanger is bent?


+1. Given the 'symptoms', a distinct possibility, IMO.


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## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

*Hmmm!*

My bike has not been involved in an accident, and the rear derailleur been not been hit at any time that I'm aware of.

I set the chain on the small chainring and on the largest cog in the cassette. Looking from the rear of the bike towards the front of the bike, the rear derailleur arm appears to be parallel to the bikes' wheel. Although not an exact check, this would suggest that the derailleur/hanger and/or derailleur arm are not bent. _If_ they happen to be bent anyway, it would be by a very small (unnoticeable) degree.

Maybe the shifter cable/housing needs checking and/or lubing?

As far as possible, I'm trying to avoid taking my bike back to the bike shop, as they will most likely charge for any work done, and I can't really afford to have any other expenses at the moment.


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## LongIslandTom (Apr 20, 2011)

I've seen this kind of behavior before a few years ago, on a friend's bike which he purchased from Walmart.

The culprit in that particular case was the wrong cable housing type. Probably the Walmart store clerk whose secondary job was assembling bikes in the store put the wrong kind of housing on the shifter cable line. The housings on my friend's shifter lines were the coiled brake-cable type of housing, not the parallel-wire type of housing used for shifter cables.

Anytime my friend turned the handlebars, if I put my finger on the exposed cable next to the barrel adjusters, I can feel the shifter cable moving, which causes the erratic shifting. Brake housing does that because the coil wire in the housing can compress and change length. Shifter cable housing with the parellel wires does not change length. My friend paid $10 for a few lengths of shifter cable housing and I put it in for him. No more erratic shifting after that.

The housing is definitely something you might take a closer look at.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

When your bike was tuned, did they replace anything? If you have a new shifter cable or especially if you have new housings, you're likely to need to increase the tension as things bed in.

IMO, cyclists should know how to tune a rear derailleur. But if you just had your bike serviced and that's when the problems started, you should go back to the shop and talk it over with them - tuneups should improve performance, not the other way around.


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## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

*Mystery!?*

I've looked at the derailleur housing, and it appears to be Shimano housing for derailleurs(according to stamp on housing). So it seems the correct housing was used to route the derailleur cable.

I set the chain in the smallest cog. Screwed the RD barrel adjuster all the way in (for least tension on the derailleur cable). Undid the derailleur cable anchor bolt and moved the derailleur cable back and forth by hand to check for the cables' freedom of movement. The cable moved reasonably smoothly, but there was maybe a just a bit of resistance(?) Not really sure what is acceptable degree of movement/resistance?

Replaced cable and re-tightened cable anchor bolt, and then used barrel adjuster to try to get the best shifting on the cassette.

Currently, shifts from smallest to largest cogs work reasonably well. But shifting from largest to smallest cogs is a problem. Often the chain will not shift from the largest cog (25t) down to the next cog (23t) until the thumb lever is operated TWICE (on odd occasion the chain might skip the 23t cog). Further shifts to smaller cogs seem to work OK down to the third smallest cog. 

With the chain positioned on the third smallest cog, it takes TWO presses of the thumb lever in order to get the chain to shift down, and the chain always jumps to the smallest (12t) cog! The _second_ smallest cog is ALWAYS skipped and can't be selected while shifting to smaller cogs!

The only bike shop modification done on my bike that I'm aware of was the installation of a thin spacer on the headset(?) to minimize/eliminate movement (and accompanying noise) of stem/handlebars.

At this stage I might have to get back to the bike shop to discuss this shifting issue. Although to be honest, I think there was some slight shifting problems _prior_ to the bike being serviced recently.

So there may be an on-going issue since I've had the bike, although I wasn't really aware of the extent of the shifting problems until I checked the shifting more closely recently.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

It actually sounds like what my old shifters were doing when they started to die. I replaced them, but there was something shiny, newer and on sale available, and I was still doing my old job, so I had the money to throw at it. In retrospect, I think it was a bit premature.

If your shifters are working correctly, they should be taking up and releasing tension with every click. But older shifters, especially with a few winters of riding behind them, sometimes start having problems with the little ratcheting mechanism. It's cool that you're able to increase tension (shift to a larger/easier cog) consistently. So I'll propose a test - put a little extra tension on the rear derailleur cable by pulling it with your finger. Now, when you downshift, you should feel the decrease in tension. If you do, and it's nice and consistent, your shifters are fine and the problem's somewhere else. If tension stays the same, it's a problem internal to the shifter. Try flushing it out with WD-40. After the volatile stuff has had time to evaporate, add a little Tri-flow or something - an actual lubricant, that will stick around, anyway. See if your shifters are working again. If that fails, and you isolated the problem to the shifters, at least now you know what to replace. People say they get up to three more seasons of service out of shifters once the WD-40 flush and relube start to be part of keeping them working, so at the very least it gives you time to get an inexpensive replacement.


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## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

When shifting from large to small cogs, the rear derailleur cable IS being released by the shifter. The cable can be seen to move. I also used my fingers to feel the cable tension relax when shifting. This suggests that the shifter is working OK.

I forgot to mention that I had _another_ bike shop check chain wear. They used a Park (or another similar looking brand) go/no go gauge with .75 and 1.0 markings. The gauge fitted down on the chain when placed on the .75 side. The gauge did not fit down on the chain when trying to fit the 1.0 side of the gauge. This indicated that there is roller and pin wear on the chain, and the chain should be replaced soon.

I'm wondering whether the shifting problems may be due to chain (and cog) wear? The (worn) chain shifts from large to small cogs fine on the partly worn (middle) cogs, but hangs and skips on the outer cogs which have had little use and are not worn.

At this stage I'm looking at getting a new chain (in about a months time), and possibly a new cassette as well. I'm holding off visiting the bike shop until I've at least installed a new chain and see how the new chain shifts on the existing cassette.


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

The chain is a $20 part. Why are you looking at getting one in about a month's time? Even for those of us who have to think about our dollars, that's an easy one - just do it. Your shifting will either improve some or get a lot worse. If it's the latter, you need a new cassette too. Some people remove the old chain nondestructively so they can put it back on the old cassette if it turns out to be worn out, until their new one shows up in the mail.

I usually measure mine with a tape measure.

http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html#wear

I don't know if the chain is your problem or not. My attitude about worn out parts is that I don't care to try to figure out further problems until I've taken care of the obvious ones, like a worn chain. FWIW, I think that using Sheldon's suggestion has me replacing my chain before I get to .75% wear. Which is fine with me - cheap part, and I get a few chains' wear out of my cassettes.


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## meeshu (Jan 31, 2008)

I would like to buy a new chain now, but I don't have the money.

As mentioned in an earlier post, I used a tradesman tape measure to measure chain length, and the chain was about 1/32" over 12".

I'm unemployed and paying off bills. I'm concentrating on clearing bills that charge high interest rates. I expect to have some money spare (hopefully) in about a months time to buy a chain *and* a chain tool.

Until then I will either minimize use of my bike or maybe not ride at all(?)


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## AndrwSwitch (May 28, 2009)

I don't mean to be insensitive. I spent much of 2009 as a "state-sponsored" mountain bike racer. Now I'm back at school, and living on loans.  But you do risk accelerated wear once the chain's got some stretch. It won't explode or anything, but it has the potential to make the repair cost more when you get to it.


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