I just upgraded my 2005 105 stuff to Ultegra 10 and have a few questions. Is it supposed to be this tough to dial in this rear derailleur? Also, this chain/cassette seems to be a much noisier than any 9 speed stuff I've ever heard. I seem to have the rear shifting dialed in but it's always seems loud in every gear! What's the deal?

I just upgraded my 2005 105 stuff to Ultegra 10 and have a few questions. Is it supposed to be this tough to dial in this rear derailleur? Also, this chain/cassette seems to be a much noisier than any 9 speed stuff I've ever heard. I seem to have the rear shifting dialed in but it's always seems loud in every gear! What's the deal?
10-speed Shimano chain? Using a link connector? All Ultegra-10? Is the spacer behind the cassette? - TF

shimano chain, shimano pin connector, all ultegra, spacer is there.

Splangy, how did you make out on this. Did you find the problem????

Ahhh, just a stupid mistake. I clamped the cable onto the derailleur wrong and it caused the cable to pull at a slight angle, thus causing the indexing to be off. Works great now!

I have a an ultegra 12-25 cassette and a front triple. A quarter turn on the barrel adjuster can make a big difference in shift quality. In addition, it seems like I need to re-tune the system after every 100 miles or so... Am I unique or is the the nature of the beast? My derailure hanger is straight, the bike is less than six months old, I've accounted for cable stretch, etc.

Any advice to lower the maintenance would be appreciated!

I have the same issues. Hopefully, someone on the forum can help us both out.

I have the same issues. Hopefully, someone on the forum can help us both out.
It's very hard to diagnose over the internet. A search will show the 100 things to look for and probably misses a few. After the initial stretch, the shifting (especally the rear) should stay rock solid for quite some time - how long depends on way too many things. Think about what makes it shift - cable tension - and check the things that can chage it. Some things I've seen: The housing outer coating stripping off and letting the inner part of the housing through the stop. Head/down tube barrel adjuster turning each time the bars were turned. Cable slipping in the attachment bolt.

TF

I am just updating my 1971 Raleigh Supercourse and started with Dura Ace crank and Ultegra BB, but here's some facts I've accumulated so far:

1. triple cranks have the widest variance of chain and front derailler operating ranges and would be the most easy to come out of adjustment (and single crank gear the narrowest adjustments).

2. The front derailer 'pushes' the chain off the sprocket, where as the rear shifts the derailler over the gear and the chain tracking helps center over the correct sprocket. I think the front deraillers need some engineering work personally, but it won't be free. The triple crank drives are the ones who suffer from adjustments the most from observation, but they have a 'granny' gear to help them climb walls.

3. Sheldon Brown, a bike guru says down tube 'index' shifters should be replaced when freewheels wear out: so that's a chain, freewheel, and 'index' shifter in a package.

4. Freehub cassettes last longer than freewheels, so that may mean the STI might not last as long as cassette since they have so many parts and so complicated that LBS (Local Bike Shops) just replace them rather than send them to repair shop. In effect, all of those used STI's and indexed down tube shifters on ebay may be worthless when considering downtime and eventual replacement.

5. Also, you may have stretched your chain if you use your granny gear up front and your smallest gear in back. Its the opposite gearing and should NEVER need to use gears that combination any way.