Hi. When in the smallest sprocket, my jockey wheel is to the right of the that sprocket, ie not exactly in line.

Which of the three screws adjust that please ? Will it move the cable clamp even nearer the big sprocket though (it’s already very close) ?

Thx. Nick

Find the pair of matching screws.
One will be labelled “H”
Turn this clockwise until the wheel lines up with the sprocket.

Check the Park Tools website for further info.

APF

The one marked H

If no marking, give one of the two on the mech body a half anticlockwise turn and see if the jockeys move outward. If they do, it’s that one, if not turn it back to where it was and try the other.

Use the limit screws, they are on the mech, side by side. One sets the lower limit for the smallest cog, the other stops the chain ending in the spokes…. They may have L and H written by them, I can’t remember which does which but these re the ones.

Make sure the shifter cable isn’t too tight to stop the mech moving. I bet there is a good YouTube video for this…

oh, and looking closely at your picture, it’s not a problem for the lower jockey to be out of line, it’s the top one that controls the chainline and shifting and if I had to guess, I’d say your top one is actually a bit inbound (assuming you’re in the highest gear at the shifter)

Thanks ! Found it. Tbf it was shifting perfectly and now that I have aligned the jockey wheel, it’s not. I can shift to the next sproket but can’t get back down to the smallest one – the lever takes a click but the chain doesn’t drop down. I have adjusted the cable tension of course but to no avail.

New cable and outer of course.

Running out of ideas – tbf XT M8000 has always been terrible so I am not surprised.

It’s just too many parameters for my brain perhaps.

Any help appreciated. I can’t use the LBS as they’re useless, they don’t know what I mean when I say I’d like the shifting quality to match my 1998 STX-RC !

Any tips ?

There must be a tutorial on setting up your gears somewhere online. You need to do your research as it’s not quite clear what you are asking compared to what you say the problem is.

If all the other gears work fine, then undo the one marked H half a turn. If they are all iffy then your indexing is out.

The two little screws are just stops – they determine where the mech stops on the inside and outside of its movement.

XT M8000 has always been terrible

No, XT is nearly perfect, it’s your setup that’s bad.

No, XT is nearly perfect, it’s your setup that’s bad.

+1

If you don’t know how to set up the gears then the answer isn’t to blame the gears.

My setup process:

1. Remove rear mech and align mech hanger (special tool to do this – highly recommended!)
2. Set high screw with gear cable slack – top jockey wheel should be perfectly aligned with chain and smallest cassette sprocket
3. Adjust cable so that all gears are indexing nicely and that, when in the correct mid gear, the top jockey wheel is, again, perfectly aligned with chain and cassette
4. In the largest rear gear, adjust the low screw so that it _just_ touches when jockey wheels are perfectly aligned. I then back it off a tiny bit to allow some small over-shifting here to let the shifter lock in soundly. This is a bit trial and error, but it’s quickly done. Don’t back off too much or you can lose the chain into the spokes and that can cost money…
5. Shift up and down the gears. Each gear should shift to the next largest cleanly and sharply without over-shifting (i.e. pressing the shifter past the shift point). Likewise, shifting larger to smaller should be sharp and without hesitation. If it’s not, revisit step 3.

(Note: I’ve not covered the B-screw adjustment, as this is typically only needed with a new mech and not with a re-cable.)

If after all this, it still doesn’t work, then replace the cables as modern setups are sensitive to cable friction. Also check for any play anywhere in the system and make sure all cable end ferules are securely located. Once you’re happy, readjust after a week or so, but don’t expect to fiddle with it much after this as, once setup, it should be pretty much maintenance free.

Really, have a look at Park Tools.

APF

I’m a bit concerned about the number of people suggesting the use of the H screw to align the jockey wheel.
The H/L screws are purely to set limits, and it’s the barrel adjuster (on the shifter?) and cable tension, that should be used to align things.
Having the H screw wound too far in may result in the jockey wheel being forced over to the left but, ultimately, it’s not for alignment – as is evident by how ineffective it is, for alignment, when not on the smallest cog.

As per other posts – see the Park Tools website for further info.

They may have L and H written by them, I can’t remember which does which

H is for the High gear, L is for thé Low gear…

Possibly worth stepping back, reading a good tutorial (pretty sure my Park Tools book is what I followed last time) and starting from scratch. Once you understand how all the screws and so on are *meant* to work the adjustment is quite simple. I’ll admit it took me about five attempts to understand though, and I need to revise every time I do it still…

Thx everyone – I followed daern’s method and eventually got acceptable shifting throughout the cassette. I kind of see what every screw does now.

I however insist that XT M8000 is a downgrade in relation to the 2 previous SLX and XT groupset that I have owned.

Shifter feel is very very harsh and can’t be improved on, particularly with full length outer. It’s also very inconsistent from one shifter to the other, as confirmed by several people and LBS.

“Terrible” is exaggerated but it’s poor in terms of shifting quality, IME.

I’m a bit concerned about the number of people suggesting the use of the H screw to align the jockey wheel.

That’s why I said it depends what’s wrong. If your indexing is ok but the H screw is set too far in then it’ll only be ‘misaligned’ on the small sprocket, as the shifter will let enough cable out but the mech won’t be able to move into position all the way.

If on the other hand the barrel adjuster is too far out then you’ll have this ‘misalignment’ problem on every sprocket. But some sprockets are more susceptible to symptoms of this than others.

11spd is more sensitive to cable condition, that’s for sure.

You need to make sure the cable is smooth and grab-free before you start chasing it with screws and the like.

Agreed. That’s with a new Shimano coated cable and new SP41 outer too. I think 11-speed Shimano XT is quite sensitive full stop, at least compared to Shimano 10-speed and SRAM 11-speed which is more fit-and-forget (like Shimano used to be).

Chainline looks a bit extreme there to me .

If your indexing is ok but the H screw is set too far in then it’ll only be ‘misaligned’ on the small sprocket, as the shifter will let enough cable out but the mech won’t be able to move into position all the way.

But that wasn’t his problem.

The really important thing to note is that the H/L screws are not used to align things (but they can be misused, to misalignment things) 😉

Ramsey Neil – Member
Chainline looks a bit extreme there to me

Not pretty indeed yet it’s a standard 50mm 11-speed chainline as per the grpupset optimum chain line. The ring is spot on at 50mm away from centre line which corresponds to the middle sprocket. I do think the perspective effect makes it look a bit worse.