Anyone come across a problem with these where the derailleur won't shift to the top gear (smallest sprocket)?

It seems the derailleur simply doesn't move over that far. I've loosened the limit screws right off, the cable bolt is on the right side and the mech hanger isn't bent and the furthest the derailleur goes over is above the second sprocket, making it physically impossible to get into top gear.

Not a major problem as I don't use it that often but it's still bloody annoying.

Shimano next time I think.

Mine seems to work fine, having another go at setting up your gears might help.

Tried unclamping the cable just to see if that does it?

Does it get over that far with the cable off?

Could be a bent hanger?

Spacer behind the cassette?

I'm willing to bet it's a problem rather than an inherent fault.

.. but I'lll take the mech off you for 50p if you're convinced 😉

If it's a new rear mech it might be part of a problem with batch of SRAM X9 rear mechs… if so… send it back.

Yeah, I had this problem with the X9 mech on the new bike I picked up last week. Wouldn't shift onto the smallest cog unless I happened to hit a bump at the right time.

In my case I think it was a combination of a relatively weak spring and stiff joints. Shift into top gear, and if you can then push the mech into line with the smallest cog by hand, you've got the same issue.

Googling turned up a few people with similar problems who sent the part back to SRAM and got it replaced under warranty. I didn't fancy faffing about with the shop unnecessarily so I tried seeing what I could do at home first.

I took the mech off the hanger, and pulled the cables out of the guides without disconnecting anything. I then soused the thing in plenty of WD40 and spent a good fifteen minutes flexing the parallelogram bit of the mech backwards and forwards by hand, concentrating on the bottom of the range, where the spring is at its shortest extension. This seems to have loosened things off enough and I've not had the same problem since.

(Hello all, btw, new here.)

Hmmm. I'll have another look at it. It does seem odd. I can't believe SRAM would make a derailleur that doesn't work 100% with one of the most commonly used hubs on the market.

As for the suggestions:

Cable off? – Yes it doesn't go that far over even with the cable unconnected.

Bent hanger? – I've had a good look at it and it doesn't look bent. It would have to be very bent to result in the derailleur moving that far over, and the swingarm would be at a skewed angle but it's not, it points straight down.

Spacer behind the cassette? – Don't think so but I'll check.

I had this with my old x9 rear mech on an Inbred frame, it was slightly out.

Thought the dropout on the frame was bent at first, but checked it and tried it with an old xt rear mech & that spaced fine.

So ended up using a spacer between the dropout and rear mech to shift it over slightly, which fixed/bodged the problem.

this seems to be a feature of x.9 mechs (had 3 now – different years) – almost like the return spring is too weak in this part of the travel – tr4y this by disconnecting the cable – they seem lethargic…

– try winding the B adjust screw in quite away – this worked for me.

Ah I haven't tried playing with the b tension screw, although I'm not sure why this would affect the lateral position of the swingarm. I'll give it a try though.

mintimperial – Member

Yeah, I had this problem with the X9 mech on the new bike I picked up last week. Wouldn't shift onto the smallest cog unless I happened to hit a bump at the right time.

In my case I think it was a combination of a relatively weak spring and stiff joints. Shift into top gear, and if you can then push the mech into line with the smallest cog by hand, you've got the same issue.

Googling turned up a few people with similar problems who sent the part back to SRAM and got it replaced under warranty. I didn't fancy faffing about with the shop unnecessarily so I tried seeing what I could do at home first.

I took the mech off the hanger, and pulled the cables out of the guides without disconnecting anything. I then soused the thing in plenty of WD40 and spent a good fifteen minutes flexing the parallelogram bit of the mech backwards and forwards by hand, concentrating on the bottom of the range, where the spring is at its shortest extension. This seems to have loosened things off enough and I've not had the same problem since.

(Hello all, btw, new here.)

Happened to my 3 ride old one this weekend – i am tring adjusting the H screw a little so it "overshifts"

Ah I haven't tried playing with the b tension screw, although I'm not sure why this would affect the lateral position of the swingarm. I'll give it a try though.

does sort of effect the position slightly – but odd that it works

It would have to be very bent to result in the derailleur moving that far over

Nahh, it wouldn't. A slight tweak on the hanger that you cant even see can bugger up gear changing to a large extent. After the 'stiff mech syndrome' described above, it would be my first port of call: Remove hanger and place on aflat surface (Glass chopping board is good!) to check
🙂

Can't take it off, it's an older Cotic BFe which has a non-replaceable hanger. Suppose I could get it bent back by a frame builder if it is bent but not worth the hassle to access a gear I hardly ever use anyway. All the other gears work fine though so I still don't think it's this.

Anyway, lots of good tips here and a few things to try so thanks all.

Messing with the 'B' adjustment screw works fine on the bike stand but as soon I put it under pressure out on the trail I get the dreaded "crrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrunch". I've been living without the 11 for about 4 months now because I can't be arsed to take the bike back into the shop… I'm having too much fun with it on the trail.