A sticky wicket indeed! Hmm.... when on the 27t cog is the chain threatening to shift up to the next one, or back down? I have to think the new cog may be either a bit wider or narrower than the native Shimano 11 speed cogs, pushing the cogs above it slightly out of spec with the 27 winding up as the fall guy (so to speak)
On Saturday, January 17, 2026 at 3:33:42 PM UTC-5 Patrick Moore wrote: > This is for the Roadeo, for which I’ll leave the original group intact > (well, already violated it with swapping cassettes and cogs within > cassettes) at least until I put about 800 more miles on it (at about 180 > now; it’s not a “main” bike). So I’d like to fix the grumbling on that one > 27 t cog. > > I’ve thought that, eventually, esp if it becomes a “main bike” — and I’m > not getting younger and fixed gears aren’t getting easier to pedal — I’d > rebuild it with more sympathetic parts: silver, friction bar end shifters, > good single pivot cold forged calipers (the 539s are nothing to shout > about), RH Maes Parallel; OTOH, I invested a really stupid amount on 2 > crabon fibre bottle cages to match the R8000 group — looking back, that was > just weird. > > So, for the nonce, I’ll be grateful for suggestions. > > On Sat, Jan 17, 2026 at 8:25 AM Steve <[email protected]> wrote: > >> "Is there any way to get the chain to play nice with all cogs?" >> >> Patrick, not attempting to be glib - but the obvious solution is >> friction. Over the past 5 or so years I've migrated all of my bikes to >> friction. It eliminates so many niggling little tuning problems and permits >> all sorts of drivetrain component combinations that would otherwise be >> unworkable. >> >> Steve in AVL >> >> P.S. I recently mentioned friction shifting to my millennial aged >> son-in-law - he asked "What's that? >> >> On Friday, January 16, 2026 at 6:13:18 PM UTC-5 Patrick Moore wrote: >> >>> Another question: when I installed the new 20 t cog (proper 11 speed >>> “middle” cog, tho’ from Ali Express), that pushed the 27 from #9 to #10 >>> place. When I adjust the RD to tack smoothly on the 20 to cog, the >>> drivetrain works smoothly on all 10 other cogs, including the 32, but it >>> rattles dreadfully in the displaced 27. I’ve futzed with the cable >>> adjustment barrel and things remain, choose the 20 or the 27. Again, with >>> the chain tracking on the 20, it tracks fine on all the other 9 cogs from >>> 14 to 32, except that penultimate 27. >>> >>> Is there any way to get the chain to play nice with all cogs? >>> >>> On Fri, Jan 16, 2026 at 4:08 PM Patrick Moore <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> I’ve finally got back on the bike after about a month’s layoff over the >>>> last 6 weeks thanks to 3 bouts of this season’s particularly nasty flu, >>>> doing a couple of 10-12 mile rides yesterday and today. I meant to take >>>> things very easy, so I rode my 2 derailleur bikes, a dirt road ride on >>>> the >>>> Matthews yesterday and an errand detour on the Roadeo just now.* >>>> >>>> I was annoyed by the19-21 t jump on the Roadeo's 14-32 11 sp cassette — >>>> 72 to 65, just a few gear inches too much, enough to make me bog in the >>>> 72 >>>> or flail in the 65. So before today’s ride I removed the 25 from the 14-32 >>>> and inserted an Ali Express 11-speed 20. Now it’s 76-72-68-65. Much >>>> better; >>>> the bigger jumps in the 2 or 3 bottom gears are far less troublesome. >>>> >>>> Others have said that with modern flexible chains there is no danger in >>>> using the 50x32 — even tho’ the chain seems to be angled at 45*. There’s >>>> no >>>> rattling, and I can spin the crank backward and the chain does not derail. >>>> The Roadeo has 44-45 cm stays. >>>> >>>> Is using the 50 in all 11 cogs adviseable, given modern flexible chains >>>> and the long stays? >>>> >>>> >>>> [* The reason that riding a many-cog derailleur drivetrain is so much >>>> easier than a fixed or 3 speed drivetrain is not merely the lower hill >>>> gears; even more, IME, it’s very close ratios in the cruising range that >>>> let you choose just the right gear when you turn into a headwind or start >>>> up an incline — you’re not, or at least, I’m not having to push harder >>>> than >>>> is most efficient use of energy in a higher gear, because the next lower >>>> option is too low for comfort.] >>>> >>>> -- >>>> >>>> Patrick Moore >>>> Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum >>>> >>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>> >>>> Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing >>>> services >>>> >>>> >>>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>>> >>>> *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* >>>> >>>> *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* >>>> >>>> *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> >>> Patrick Moore >>> Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing >>> services >>> >>> >>> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >>> >>> *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* >>> >>> *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* >>> >>> *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* >>> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to [email protected]. >> To view this discussion visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/03c846f9-1cde-4022-b444-16de40505c84n%40googlegroups.com >> >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/03c846f9-1cde-4022-b444-16de40505c84n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > > > -- > > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing > services > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* > > *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* > > *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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