Hi,

I recently replaced my Ultegra STI levers and rear derailleur with SRAM force parts. I'm new to bike wrenching, and was just getting comfortable with Shimano, but now SRAM is throwing me a curveball. The big thing driving me nuts is that there doesn't seem to be an adjuster barrel on the Force rear derailleur. Where Ultegra had a nice functional barrel for fine adjustment, Force seems to have a shifter barrel that's only purpose is to guide the shifter cable tubing. I've set it up as described on their online video. The trouble is that the cable seems to be stretching (maybe it's slipping though?), so it starts off nicely but by the end of a long ride I have shifting issues. With my Ultegra setup this would be a nice easy fix using the shifter barrel on the rear derailleur, but with my new force setup it doesn't seem to be an easy fix.

Does anyone have any thoughts or a similar experience as this? Am I missing something? Does what I just wrote even make any sense? Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

You must not have listened very closely to the video. It clear states that the RD has a barrel adjuster. Turn the outer plastic portion and the cable tension should change.

If there were no barrel adjuster, the frame mounted adjuster does the same thing. You just have to screw a frame mounted adjuster all the way down before attaching the shift cable and be sure the cable is pulled tight, or you will run out of adjustment befoer the cable is tight enough. If your frame has no cable tension adjustment (not all do), then how did you ever get it set up in the first place?

I'm starting to think I may have a defective unit or maybe some sort of early version. The barrel adjuster on my RD doesn't seem to adjust anything, it just spins like a stripped screw. this definitely seemed odd to me but i have no basis for comparison. If I remember correctly, the video does mention the barrel adjuster on the RD briefly at the very end, but doesn't actually demonstrate the barrel adjuster in use.

I did use the adjuster on my downtube but quickly ran out of adjustment room and wasn't able to tune it sufficiently. This just added to my frustration that my RD doesn't seem to have this adjustment.

You may need to pull back on the plastic barrel while turning it. Note the threaded center (like a bolt with a hole through the center) that should protrude so that it's clearly visible, if screwed in all the way. It's visible in the video.

Even without a RD mounted adjuster, the only trick is to screw the frame mounted adjuster all the way down, unclamp the cable, pull it tighter with pliers, then reclamp. Then the frame mounted adjuster should have enough travel.

"Note the threaded center (like a bolt with a hole through the center) that should protrude so that it's clearly visible, if screwed in all the way. It's visible in the video."

For some reason, this piece isn't part of my RD. This must be the problem, thanks for pointing this out!

pics are worth a 1000 words....