Sora rear derailleur shifting irregularities

[ghostsafe]

Hi,
I just finished adjusting my Sora rear derailleur using the procedure on the Park Tool website and as usual I've made my shifting worse. I find that the amount of pressure I have to apply to the STI shifters varies depending on the gear I want to get into. The most extreme gears require more effort. I also find that when I want to change direction in my shifting (eg. downshift a few times then try to upshift ) I have to click 2 or 3 times on the shift lever then maybe apply a little pressure to make it run smoothly. The next few upshifts usually only take one click.
Any suggestions?
Thanks!

[cyclerUK]

I would start with the cable. Remove it, pull out the inner and clean it. Check for any broken or kinked strands. Check the outer for sharp bends etc. If in doubt fit a new one.
Refit the inner cable, but before connecting it to the derailleur, operate the STI and pull on the cable with your hand. You should be able to feel if the STI is operating correctly. (In fact you could do this before removing and cleaning the inner cable).
Check the derailleur by moving it with your hand and clean it as best you can. I usually squirt mine with WD40 to clean the pivot points. Remove and clean the jockey wheels - one at a time! Don't mix them up as they are different between top and bottom. Make sure that you tighten the jockey wheel screws properly when refitting.
Now reconnect the cable and set up the derailleur. (Also check for a worn chain as this can effect changing gear smoothly.)

[ghostsafe]

Thanks for the help cyclerUK much appreciated. I think the thing that baffles me the most is what I could have done in the adjustment process that would cause such a change in the shifting? I made it way worse! It seems some of us are better served riding ss/fixie. If only my knees could handle it!
Cheers!

[Bill]

Just a small input, ghostsafe trust me I have had my own learning experiences with something that seemed so simple turn out to be a nightmare. Don't lose confidence in yourself. Just a learning process.

[ghostsafe]

Thanks for the encouragement Bill.
It's frustrating that servicing seems so easy in a book or on a website. I think I'll try to take a night course in bike mechanics if I can find one. I'm trying to make my bike commute as easy and inexpensive as possible. Running to my lbs every time something goes wrong is
not an option.

[ghostsafe]

No wonder I couldn't tune it properly!
It turns out that both my derailleur hanger was bent and my derailleur is worn and will need to be replaced soon. My LBS did the best they could to get it to shift properly but it still not great. I am going to squeeze a couple more months out of it and maybe upgrade to a Tiagra or 105 when I have to replace it.

[Bill]

Glad to hear that you found out the cause. Bent parts sometimes gets expensive to replace, but that's how it goes. Are you going to replace the derailleur yourself? They are tedious little fellows but really not all that complicated. By the way you are welcome for the encouragement.
Bill

[Alex Ramon]

Here's a new video for aligning bent derailleur hangers: http://bicycletutor.com/derailleur-hanger-alignment/