Getting annoyed with my rear gears

[Moose.]

What can I do to get them working efficiently and not jamming every time I go for a ride?

The last straw was 3am on Sunday morning during a 24 hour event. I ended up only being able to select the three cogs on the front and had to make do with second on the rear. The derailleur was movable, but I think the cable and front selector must have got clogged up with mud. No-one else on my team had such issues, so I think something's not right.

I'd already taken the whole system apart and cleaned it up, and replaced the inner cable a couple of weekends ago because it was causing my problems then, and it seems to be fine before this weekend. I'm thinking I need to replace some/all of the system. It's a Shimano Deore setup which came with the bike when I bought it last year. Any advice much appreciated

[Moose.]

That's probably a bit of an understatement. The conditions were terrible; so much mud Those Shimano XTR cables look just the ticket. Just need to measure up the current lengths to make sure they'll fit ok

[Moose.]

True, but out of 8 of us doing the event, I was the only one having problems selecting gears Some of the guys were getting through brake pads like there's no tomorrow though!

[Moose.]

snotrag said:

Deore kit will not disintegrate in muddy weather.

The shifter and derailleur are Deore, not sure about the cables though.

snotrag said:

Have you checked your mech hanger? With a tool, not just by eye.

By eye yes, but I had no idea there was a special tool for this.

snotrag said:

Have you checked your cable routing? If it is a FS frame it may be too short.

Not a full susser, but I do suspect the cable from the frame to the rear mech is a bit too short. It has to turn through 180 degrees and seems to have a little resistance in which can't be helping.

[Moose.]

Silly question, but if I do order the XTR cables, can I cut them to suit or does that ruin them? To the rear the three sleeved sections are 300mm, 170mm and 300mm (although I'll make sure the rear one is larger than 300mm as to me it seems to be going through too tight an angle for that length)

[Moose.]

stuart_forrest said:

Do you mean that the sleeve from the rear drop out to the mech itself is 300mm? If so then this sounds far too long to me.

The left pics of these two is how mine currently looks, although the kink as it enters the barrel adjuster is even worse on mine; hence why I want it too be longer.

I'll order them up today and let you guys know how I get on

Edit: And cheers for the link Trooper2

Edited by Moose. on Tuesday 15th May 09:15

[Moose.]

Finally got round to fitting and testing the XTR cable set this weekend and have to say it's worth every penny! The cables run so much more smoothly and I can now swaps gears instantly (before there was sometimes a slight delay between dropping down and it actually changing). I'd never realised just how much friction was in my old cables until I fitted these babies

I also purchased the Shimano cutters which are also excellent (and a fiver cheaper than the Park ones )