I'm using that $13 derailleur on a couple of bikes that see regular off-road use (including my Platypus) and it just works. I have some bikes with fancier RDs but will continue to use it on future builds where it fits.
The symptom of working fine in all but a couple of cogs always makes me think about the hanger alignment (as mentioned by Bill), but it's possible the the derailleur may have been damaged too. Starting with the shifters isn't a bad idea as they will be a notable upgrade from the current shifters even if they aren't the cause of your problem. -Dave On Monday, March 18, 2024 at 11:50:02 PM UTC-4 Vincent Tamer wrote: > Yes it is a 9. I've wanted to switch to Silver Thumbies so that might just > be the next upgrade. Good point about the derailleur too, that's something > to consider. > > On Thursday, March 14, 2024 at 6:11:32 PM UTC-7 Michael Morrissey wrote: > >> Hi Vincent, >> >> That Clem is beautiful, but your shifting issue sounds frustrating. Are >> you running a 9-speed cassette in the back? I had the indexing Sunrace >> thumbie on my Rivendell and performance felt just ok. My vintage Suntour >> thumb shifters from 1983 were better, and now I have a Riv silver thumbie >> on and it's also better. I suggest you buy one Riv silver thumbie and try >> that out. I clearly remember the PDF saying the stock shifters clicked but >> did not index. >> >> Also, consider that the Altus rear derailleur is a $13 part. Maybe it's >> just not up for your rough rides on the train tracks? I have a silver >> thumbie with the SRAM GX 10 speed rear derailleur shifting a 9-speed >> cassette, and it works perfectly. I highly recommend it. It has a clutch on >> it so you can forget about chain slap and dropped chains. It's available >> for nice prices because the trend in mountain bikes is now 12 speeds. (A >> matching 10 speed click shifter is also available for cheap, but I haven't >> tried it.) >> >> I also have a narrow-wide chainring on the front. Perhaps you should >> consider one. How often are you using the biggest chainring? For me it's >> never (I took it off) because live in a city and commute so I rarely get up >> to speed for longer than 4 minutes. Are you regularly cruising above 15 >> MPH? If not, go lower with your gearing. Wolf-Tooth and Stridsland both >> have excellent narrow-wide chainrings that will fit your cranks. Fewer >> moving parts is a nice thing for your bike. >> >> I hope this helps. Happy riding. >> >> Michael >> >> >> On Wednesday, March 13, 2024 at 11:40:52 PM UTC-4 Vincent Tamer wrote: >> >>> I have an on going issue with my friction shifting setup on my 2016 >>> complete Clem. >>> >>> I believe this will be my third cassette replacement now. Each time the >>> two smallest cogs are damaged/stripped for some reason, so that when I >>> pedal there is some crunching & ghost shifting. I cannot pedal with full >>> force on the first two gears. >>> >>> I’ve had issues with this since day one and I have a feeling it is due >>> to the 2016 complete clem’s shifting setup even though I’ve had it adjusted >>> and have explained to two different bike technicians. >>> >>> The shifter setup is odd, Riv even commented on how it was a little >>> strange in the Clem intro Pdf that was floating around for the longest time >>> (cannot find it now). I'm hoping someone knows what I'm talking about! >>> >>> These suntour shifters are set up in a reverse position and that they >>> have some kind of ratcheting mech in them. The clicks don’t always coincide >>> with a shift and maybe that has created some bad friction shifting form on >>> my part. Outside of that I’m at a loss for why I am having issues with >>> stripped cogs. >>> >>> I’m considering switching to an indexed set up even though I don’t want >>> to but before I do, does any one have any wisdom they can shed on this >>> situation? Thank you! >>> >>> Pics are attached, of the whole bike (for fun) and of the shifter. I'll >>> grab some shots of the gears as well when I can.[image: >>> DSCF7718_sml.jpg][image: shifter.jpg] >>> >> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/fc77d595-700a-454f-a57f-fa4142bec44cn%40googlegroups.com.
