Gear change very stiff on Mezzo D9

[halfmanhalfpint]

I have recently purchased a Mezzo D9 folding bike. It's 9 speed (Shimano derailleur).
It comes with an SRAM Attack trigger shifters. I find this very stiff when going into a lower gear,
my right thumb becomes very sore after a short period.
Bike shop has looked at it. No obvious problem, apart from the cables being very long so it can fold!
Tried an SRAM twist grip changer, but was also incredibly stiff.
Anyone had the same problem? It has been suggested that Shimano trigger shifters are not as stiff as SRAM....

Michael

[WhataMEzz]

Upon reflection I do find the change down a little stiffer than on my other bikes but it doesn't really affect the quality of the ride .
The thing that does annoy me is the random gear changing that occurs after re-assembling. I still haven't worked out how to sort that one!

[freewheelingalong]

SRAM Trigger shifter and a Shimano 9 speed mech on mine. Not had any issues, feels same as any other gear change. Check for any kinks in the cable where the bike has been folded these could be causing stiffness in shifter. Other than that, back to the bike shop because they are not all stiff to use.

EDit: The random changes are down to the indexing - again this shouldn't happen. Mine is folded and unfolder twice a day to travel on the train and the indexing is fine with no random changes.

Great little bike btw.

[cycleruk]

Picked up from another post.
Check the "B" screw adjustment.
If the jockey wheel is to close to the cassette sprocket then this can cause hard shifting to the lower gears.

See Sheldon for derailleur adjustment:-
http://www.sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html

Also check out the cable for stray strands or kinks.

[prm]

Disconnect the inner cable to identify a possible stiff section by pulling on the inner while indexing.
Check the inner and outer cable, - crank to stay. This section should have slow curves, free running and well lubricated.
Try changing this section with brake outer.

Personal opinion………. One of the best folders I’ve ridden.

[CJ]

The shifting was also hit and miss on the Mezzo D10 we tested. It was brand new. This is not unusual with folding bikes and is not so much the length of the cables as the number of corners the cables have to go around. Or more precisely: the sum total of degrees deviation from a straight line, as that's where the friction comes from. I reckon the Mezzo has the equivalent of five or six complete right-angle turns, or about 500º.

Better lubrication will reduce friction of course, but only reduce, not eliminate, and I expect the lubrication of a brand new bike, assembled from brand new pre-lubricated cables, to be about as good as it gets. IMHO this bike design has just too many cable corners.

[prm]

Discussed the gear selection point with Mezzo about 3 years ago. You would have two identical new D9’s, one with near perfect gear selection, the other having problems.
The lengths of gear outer between both bikes varied slightly.

Viewed the gear cable routing both open and folded, and agree with the amount of cable bends causing internal friction on the D9.

Modified and adjusted the lengths of the outer cable sections to form smooth arcs between fixed points, restraining any loops, where appropriate, with miniature cable ties.
A definite improvement with problematic gear selection.

Friction on the crank to stay section in some cases appears to be the culprit, also stay to mech outer being to long.

Yet to ride a D10………. Always preferred the i4 version.