I’ve set up many rear derailleurs previously with no problems but recently my Athena rear derailleur has been playing up and no matter what I do I can’t get the gears to index correctly. It’s particularly evident towards the smallest sprockets where it is impossible to get it to move up and down the cassette in one single click of the shifter. I can get it to shift up crisply or shift down crisply but not both.

The limit screws are adjusted correctly so all that’s required is tensioning the cable which is new. As I’ve said I’ve done this many times before but on this occasion I’m a country mile away from finding any sort of sweet spot.

The drivetrain has probably done a good 2-3k so is no doubt worn but this shouldn’t affect the shifting up the cassette should it? I know I need a new chain and big chainring but I don’t want to shell out on these if there’s a chance there is something wrong elsewhere too. Is there a chance that something is worn in the actual shifter that means the indexing is not right anymore?

Any help greatly appreciated!

Did you route the cable correctly when you changed it? Is the mech hanger straight? Did you also change the cable outer – if so, is it the right stuff?

Sounds like the sort of issue you get when the cable outer is compressing when under tension, like it does when some dim wit(*) with a disorganised spares box uses brake outer instead of gear outer, and is too thick / blind to notice.

*, er, ‘a friend of mine’

/\ this.
If you hear hooves,think horses.Not zebras.

Thanks for the advice. I’ve not changed the cable outer but may have done previously, I can’t remember. Anyway I’m going to give that a go first before exploring any other avenues.

I did find out that there is a known issue with early models of which mine is one where a plastic bushing in the shifter wears out. There seems to be a warranty process for having this fixed though so that’ll be the next course of action if the cable outer doesn’t make any difference.

Not the cable outer unfortunately. Cables all pull smoothly and have no kinks whatsoever.

It looks like my shifters aren’t the ones with the warranty issue either.

Will take it to lbs for a diagnosis tomorrow but considering I need new chain, cassette and chainring I’ve got it in the back of my mind to just ditch the campagnolo and get some 2014 105 instead.

Will see what the lbs say first.

Will take it to lbs for a diagnosis tomorrow but considering I need new chain, cassette and chainring I’ve got it in the back of my mind to just ditch the campagnolo and get some 2014 105 instead.

But think of the aesthetics!! I’ve got Athena on my road bike, probably done a similar mileage to yours and the shifting certainly isnt as crisp as it used to be, but it’s not that bad. I’d definitely be checking your mech hanger is straight. It doesn’t take much to make the indexing impossible to get right.

Well we’ll see what the lbs say.

I know what you mean about aesthetics but that’s not my primary concern, I need to get from A to B without any hassle and do that even on a horrible winters day.

Athena just feels like it’s falling apart on me and it’s expensive to replace parts and to get tools for compared to shimano. It irritates me that I can’t remove the chainset to replace the bb without enormous expense and the fact that the shifter levers no longer sit in line with the brake levers.

If I’m honest when I bought Athena it was at a bargain price but it was beyond what I actually need and now the cost of replacing worn parts is disproportionate to my actual requirements from a groupset.

LBS have had a brief look and concluded that having changed the inner and outer cables it has to be down to wear of the chain and cassette which means an outlay of a lot of dosh. They did say that they reckoned it had all done pretty well for the 10k or so that it had done but that I should have changed my chain more regularly to prolong the inevitable (I knew that but stupidly ignored it).

Pricing up some options to go 105 now and will see if it’s worth selling the athena shifters, cranks, brakes and derailleurs on ebay as they’re actually all in really good condition. Here’s hoping it’ll go someway to contributing to the cost of 105.

How can going 105 be cheaper than replacing a chain and cassette?

Even if it’s Campy 11sp then its less than 150 quid. How much are 105 STi units along?

Id also add that is 99% likely to be a bent mech hanger, check the alignmet first!

Did you change all the cable outer, even under the bar tape?

oh and change your LBS they sound poor as they didnt consider the likely culprits!

I changed all the cable inner and outers and they run completely smooth.

The LBS didn’t even look at the rear mech hanger. It’s non replaceable titanium and looks true enough and I’ve no reason to think it might have been bent in a crash etc.

I wasn’t entirely convinced by their explanation of it being down to chain wear I must admit but to be honest if I was a bike mechanic and someone walked in with a chain, cassette and chainring that are clearly very worn complaining that shifting wasn’t right, I wouldn’t want to suggest any hidden problems until the obvious ones had been addressed. Whether they are the cause of the shifting problem or not they do need sorted.

A 105 groupset is £295 whereas a chain(27), cassette,(72) and big ring(100) totals around £200. Assuming I could sell the good parts of the Athena groupset for £100 I’d come out about even. I’d have a new if somewhat less desirable groupset that would work well and not cost quite as much to replace parts when necessary. I’d also be able to change the BB myself when necessary with tools I already own.

Big ring seems expensive, look at TA or Stronglight as alternatives.

Seems a pity to dump Athena for 105 🙁

Agreed, I do like the aesthetics of Athena but I’d hate to spend money upgrading the drivetrain just to find that it hasn’t fixed the problem and I need to replace the shifter too.

Have you factored in the cost of a new shimano freehub in to your calcs?

No but I’m aware this would need changing too. I’d be thinking of selling my Zonda’s and getting something else instead with a Shimano freeub.

I’d make sure the LBS do check the mech hanger alignment with the tool. I don’t think you can ever judge it by eye.

Are you sure the wire is good? It probably is the worn transmission. It could be the mech got a knock and now will not behave. Maybe the shifters need lubing through with Gt85 because the manufacturers old grease has coagulated. Maybe the bb cable guide is corrupted and dragging the wire and needs changing or a sleeve of some sort put in. There are so many things that can cause this and show no real differing symptoms that it just becomes a process of elimination.

Having taken it all apart I can see that the shifter appears to be well lubricated as do the cables and there is no unusual resistance or sticking on these parts at all. There’s no dragging at the bb either. I’m 99% sure there’s no reason why the hanger would be out of line but you’re right I’d need to get someone with the proper tool to check it to be absolutely sure.

For those reasons I’m going to assume it’s the obvious culprits of worn chain and cassette.

Still deciding whether to go for 105 or not. It seems to get rave reviews and I’d be surprised if it operates any worse than Athena but then there are the aesthetics and weight to think about too. In saying that though I compromised on weight when I went for a titanium frame so I’m probably not too concerned about that side of things. Heart says change the worn athena parts (it really says change it all for Super Record), brain and bank account say 105, wife says tiagra (not going to happen).