105 sti shifting question

I reread your message several times trying to figure it out. I get the
impression that you trim the front derailleur to the outside, when in
the middle ring, in order to eliminate rubbing when you're on the
small rear cogs. Then when you downshift in the rear to those larger
cogs, that's when the F.D. rubs.
I might be mistaken, but you may be able to trim your F.D. to the
inside - if you've trimmed it already to the outside. I can do this
on a Dura-Ace 9-spd triple left shifter. I have to hold the left
shifter carefully to keep it from dropping all the way to the inside
chainring.

Another idea....could the cable tension be too tight? Maybe too tight
a cable forces the FD down to the inside ring instead of stopping at
the trim setting.

Quoted message said:

The new STI, as I have learned, has 1/2 shifts or trim on the front. I
have ended up riding a lot on the middle ring in front and have a problem
when I shift to the smallest cogs then have to shift down/up to the larger
cogs. I have heard that there is no trim when shifting to the larger cogs
and this seems to be true. Is there anyway to shift to the larger rear
cogs without having the front derailuer rub? THe only way I can do this
is to shift to the small ring in front then back to the middle ring. This
seems like a pretty poor design and maybe that is just the way it is. I
have not had this problem on my mt bike. Is the answer to swap out the
front derailuer in favor of a mt variety (guessing they have a larger cage
or something) or is the front derailuer not adjusted properly?

Just to be clear, on a '105 (or Ultegra) 9-speed front triple shifter, the
"trim" function exists only on the small and middle front chainrings. There
is no way to adjust the placement of the front derailleur on the largest
chainring, other than changing the setscrew that determines how far out it
goes or by using cable tension (which messes up the other chainring
positions).

I'm not sure where you're having the issue; is it when you're in the largest
front chainring and the larger rear cogs? In general, you should be able to
get all but the last two without any chain rub on the front derailleur.
Often you can get all but the last one. This should not be an issue, since
those gears are overlapped by selections on the middle chainring as well.

But re-reading things, it sounds like the problem may be when you're in the
middle chainring, and you can't get it to trim back (without going all the
way down to the smallest chainring) to the inside position (to line it up
with the larger rear cogs)? This could be technique; it takes a bit to get
used to the feel needed to make use of that detent in the shift lever. It
could also be a bad lever; saw one the other day that was nearly impossible
to get to make that adjustment. That's unusual though. Best thing would be
to bring it back to the shop and have them take a look at it.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

"Dave Mayo-Kiely" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently purchased a 2005 Trek 1500 that has 105 brifters with a 105
triple front derailuer and Ultegra rear. The bike replaced by 97 Trek 470
with 7 speed RSX double that also had STI.

The new STI, as I have learned, has 1/2 shifts or trim on the front. I
have ended up riding a lot on the middle ring in front and have a problem
when I shift to the smallest cogs then have to shift down/up to the larger
cogs. I have heard that there is no trim when shifting to the larger cogs
and this seems to be true. Is there anyway to shift to the larger rear
cogs without having the front derailuer rub? THe only way I can do this
is to shift to the small ring in front then back to the middle ring. This
seems like a pretty poor design and maybe that is just the way it is. I
have not had this problem on my mt bike. Is the answer to swap out the
front derailuer in favor of a mt variety (guessing they have a larger cage
or something) or is the front derailuer not adjusted properly?

Thanks

Dave