EX Mech Box Mounting

[Solaman]

Hello,

  I seem to be having more difficulty than I used to with mounting my external gear mech box and getting all 14 gears.  My suspicion is that I may not have cut the cables to the exact length specified when I replaced them (maybe a few mm off, I don't know?).  Could this be the cause?  Does anyone else have this problem from time to time?  Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

[mickeg]

If I am missing any gears when I put my back wheel on, this is what I do.

If I am missing high gears, for example my gear shifter says my lowest gear is 3rd gear, I know that my lowest gear is actually 1st gear so I take the EX box off the hub while my hub is still in first gear, I then change my shifter to first gear and put it back together.  That has always worked for me to get all 14 gears back.

Opposite is the same solution, if my shifter says my highest gear is gear 10, I know that my highest gear really is gear 14, etc.

It took my more time to type this than to remedy it.

[Tiberius]

I read somewhere....or dreamt it, or made it up.....that you select gear 14 before taking the box off, then put it back on in this position. With a bit of a wiggle on the shifter (left hand) and a bit of a wiggle on the box (right hand) it always pops on fine.

As above, THAT took me longer to type than to actually do......

[Danneaux]

I seem to be having more difficulty than I used to with mounting my external gear mech box and getting all 14 gears.

Part Two of your question first: I generally shift into Gear 1 or Gear 14 when I remove the wheel and then everything lines up again on reinstallation.

Part One: It sounds to me as if the cables might be a little tight. Be sure there is some wiggle room when turning the shifter; mine generally indicates as much as a half-gear from the actual gear selected and my EX shift-box goes on and off easily. That little bit of slack makes it easier to re-engage the peg in the shifter unit. If it is too tight, then turning the cable adjusters in a quarter- to half-turn may well set things right again. Keep track so you can put them back if needed.

I think the key information here is the recent cable change. 

Best,

Dan.

[mickeg]

Yeah, as Dan says, leave it in a gear that you know, then put it together again in that specific gear (most people use 1 or 14), but I usually forget to do that.  Most times I do not touch my shifter while my wheel is off, but occasionally I do and then I have to remedy the situation after the fact.

[Solaman]

I think the key information here is the recent cable change. 

Yes, I think you are right about the cable change.  I've not struggled like this in the past.  Thanks for all the replies and helpful advice!

[Tigerbiten]

One of my cables ended up cut a little short and the other one ended up a little long.
If the cable stops are the same distance out of the Ex mech box then I only get 13 gears.
But by screwing one in a bit and the other out a bit then I get the full 14.
I know I should redo them, but it works as is ...... 

[ledburner]

Hi Solaman, Have you resolved the issue?
-Did slackening off  the cable adjusters help?
Good luck Ledburner

[Solaman]

I'm afraid not.  I've using it with only 13 gears for now.  It's been a cold winter in Seoul with poor air quality so I haven't been riding much, except for a short commute.  I'll recable it later this Spring before touring season.