Need help with this 10sp crap...

[boylagz]

Please forgive me for being so ocd, but here it is:

So my V10 is full 10sp now, X9 Type 2 RD+shifter, SRAM RED OG 10sp 11-25 cassette and a kmc 10sp chain. I can only go thru gears 2-10, cant get up the biggest 25t cog. Sometimes it goes up, but most of the time it doesnt. This issue doesnt really bother me, the major thing is my indexing right now is ****! I have set my limit screws correctly, and pretty sure my der. hanger is straight. B tension is around 8-10mm between the upper cage pulley and smallest 11t cog.

Im pissed. Expected it would be smooth since everything is 10sp now, and my kmc chain is practically new. My 10sp rear der. + 9sp cassette and shifter ghetto combo before this worked better...

I have set my barrel adjuster loose enough that the upshifts (to harder gears) are kinda smooth. My downshifts are ****tier, sometimes it would be smooth but most times its just a very loud, annoying rattle! If I set the barrel tight enough so the downshifts are smooth, Ill have the problems with not upshifting smoothly. If you guys have any suggestions Id really love to hear them. Thank you.

[yd35]

Sounds like you've done everything right on the rear, maybe the problem lies in your crankset? If you have any spacers inserted between the crank and the BB on the drive side, then perhaps taking them out would allow you to get to the lowest gear.

[boylagz]

Sounds like you've done everything right on the rear, maybe the problem lies in your crankset? If you have any spacers inserted between the crank and the BB on the drive side, then perhaps taking them out would allow you to get to the lowest gear.

I have one, drive side. Could a 2.5mm spacer mess the chain line that bad?! Im using E13 cranks...

[OGRipper]

10sp is only slightly more finicky and should not do this. It sounds like something else is going on.

Ordinarily when you get uneven shifting across your cassette it means your derailleur or hanger is bent or your cable is messed up and binding. If that stuff is all ok, make sure your chain is long enough. If so, check the location of the upper pulley as you go to shift into the 25. If the upper pulley is smacking into the cog it won't shift into that gear smoothly. If that all checks out, it's probably the limit screw. I like to check it by moving the derailleur with my hand, not the cable/shifter.

The fact that you can't shift into the 11 means either the limit screw is set wrong, the cable is binding, or your derailleur is toast. I stopped riding SRAM rear derailleurs because i found it too easy to crush the parallelograms enough that they wouldn't shift to my highest gear. The smallest tag would do it, and once crushed like that the outer plate would catch on the derailleur housing before it moved out enough to shift.

[boylagz]

My chain is long enough, 4 extra individual links using the big-big wrap around method... And I can shift to the 11 cog no problem, its the 25 that I cant get to/use. Both the cassette and shifter are brand new. Derailleur is like 2 months old, same with the chain. Shifting is really very noisy Also when I get to the biggest 25 cog the top cage pulley is waaay far from the cog, so no binding at all.

I will do the adjustments again later, starting from zero after work... If I still cant get things to work as Id want Ill let the lbs check the hanger, and the rd itself if indeed its whacked. I honestly doubt the rd is damaged, never crashed, didnt get hit, or anything that would bend it...

[wood booger]

You really need to ditch that stoopid SRAM Red cassette. Put is on CL and sell it to some roadie for $75 and get yourself a 10 spd Shimano ultegra cassette.

All the noisy, crappy shifting will be a thing of the past. You will actually be able to adjust it so it drops into the 11, and shifts out of it, like butter.

I fought a 10 spd Red cassette for months before I put something else on and all problems went away.

[boylagz]

I hear you. Somehow I just want to do what I can to make this work...

[wood booger]

I almost guarantee you you won't get it to shift like you want with that cassette. The XX cassettes are almost as bad.

I think those steel cassettes cut from a single piece have tolerance/warping/spacing issues. I have never had one that worked as well as a cheaper cassette.

[Routier07]

I had quite a hard time with Sram cassette & chains lately, I would recommend either getting a 105(5700) or ultegra(6700) cassette with a SLX chain, the ramping on the shimano Mtn chains are abit more aggressive and tend to deal alot better with dirt/mud/crap.

A setup that I like alot is taking a 11-34 SLX 10spd cassette and throwing the seperate top 3 rings in the garbage and just using the bottom seven as a 11-23ratio. It shifts so smooth and I don't double or triple shift as often as I used to.

[marshalolson]

^^^gotta agree^^^

always thought 9spd sram worked a bit better than 9spd shimano

but the 10spd stuff @ sram sorta sucks. much prefer shimano these days.

[rockofullr]

My first move would be check your hanger alignment. 10 sp is more sensitive to hanger alignment issues due to the tight tolerances.

Does the shifter click into the correct gear? Have you tried screwing the limit screw out all the way just to rule this out as the issue? Have you checked your b-tension?

[boylagz]

Ill have my lbs check the hanger tomorrow to be 100% its not crooked/bent. Also, Im told the Red OG cassette needs the roadie double tap shifter to work properly... I dunno guys, Im just frustrated. I just pm'd the seller of the cassette, I want to return it if theyre cool with it. Tbh I originally wanted the dura ace 12-25 10sp, but just thought Id stick with sram since I NEVER had an issue. Until now...

[boylagz]

Also with the clicks to the right gears, yes it does click correctly. Its just the indexing is not accurate. Its never good for both up and down shifts.

[JMK]

For that size cassette you really need the XO DH RD from Sram. They specifically made it for cassettes that are 27t or smaller, and it fixes the exact issue you're having. Unfortunately they don't make a type 2 version of that one yet...

[epic]

Is the cable on the right side of the fixing bolt?