Shifting glitch w/ Ultegra10-speed cassette on Bontrager 9-speed hub

I recently put an Ultegra 10-speed cassette on a circa 2002 Bontrager
Race Lite hub (which previously hosted an Ultegra 9-speed cassette).
I put the spacer that came with the new cassette onto the hub before
installing the cassette itself.

When I put the wheel on my bike, which was well-tuned for a Dura Ace
10-speed cassette on a newish Easton Orion II wheel, each of the SIS
"stops" seemed to hit at one cog larger than it should have (i.e., to
the left, so that if the shifter should have had the derailleur on the
smallest cog, it was actually on the second-smallest cog). The
obvious fix was to remove the spacer, effectively sliding the whole
cassette a smidge to the left. That seemed to work, more or less
(although there's definitely more noise with that setup than with the
Easton wheel). However, the largest cog is now extremely close to the
spokes. I think I can just set the derailleur stop screw to be very
sure that the chain won't jump into the spokes, but I'm curious about
the spacer and the extreme closeness of the big cog and the spokes. I
haven't been able to find any specific guidance on the web and am
wondering whether the spacer does in fact belong in the setup. I gues
that would mean that I have some other spacing difference between the
Bontrager wheel and the Easton wheel, which seems like it would be odd
(or at least a pain), but I thought the whole point of that spacer was
for installing the 10-speed cassette on a 9-speed hub. Any insight
would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

On Feb 23, 2:11 pm, "Josh" wrote:
I recently put an Ultegra 10-speed cassette on a circa 2002 Bontrager
Race Lite hub (which previously hosted an Ultegra 9-speed cassette).
I put the spacer that came with the new cassette onto the hub before
installing the cassette itself.

When I put the wheel on my bike, which was well-tuned for a Dura Ace
10-speed cassette on a newish Easton Orion II wheel, each of the SIS
"stops" seemed to hit at one cog larger than it should have (i.e., to
the left, so that if the shifter should have had the derailleur on the
smallest cog, it was actually on the second-smallest cog). The
obvious fix was to remove the spacer, effectively sliding the whole
cassette a smidge to the left.

And why is that the "obvious fix"? Not obvious to me as the spacer is
intentionally present. Why wouldn't you just adjust the der a smidge
to the right and not f*** up your der/chain/spokes when you go to the
biggest cog?

That seemed to work, more or less
(although there's definitely more noise with that setup than with the
Easton wheel). However, the largest cog is now extremely close to the
spokes. I think I can just set the derailleur stop screw to be very
sure that the chain won't jump into the spokes, but I'm curious about
the spacer and the extreme closeness of the big cog and the spokes. I
haven't been able to find any specific guidance on the web and am
wondering whether the spacer does in fact belong in the setup. I gues
that would mean that I have some other spacing difference between the
Bontrager wheel and the Easton wheel, which seems like it would be odd
(or at least a pain), but I thought the whole point of that spacer was
for installing the 10-speed cassette on a 9-speed hub. Any insight
would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Oh my! Here's an insight for you: put the spacer back on and use the
barrel adjuster on the back of the der to correct the der/cassette
misalignment. Please note as well, variances between mfrs are not
uncommon. Even between "compatible" components. So when switching
between different mfr's wheelsets and cassettes, minor adjustments
WILL be required. You want perfect compatibility? Then buy all your
components from the same mfr - you might get close.

I would suggest adjusting the stops for the der's max throw at the
most extreme position (based on wheelset+cassette) at both ends and
then adjusting the downtube barrel adjuster each time the wheels are
changed. That's what it's there for.

D'ohBoy

On Feb 23, 1:11 pm, "Josh" wrote:
I recently put an Ultegra 10-speed cassette on a circa 2002 Bontrager
Race Lite hub (which previously hosted an Ultegra 9-speed cassette).
I put the spacer that came with the new cassette onto the hub before
installing the cassette itself.

When I put the wheel on my bike, which was well-tuned for a Dura Ace
10-speed cassette on a newish Easton Orion II wheel, each of the SIS
"stops" seemed to hit at one cog larger than it should have (i.e., to
the left, so that if the shifter should have had the derailleur on the
smallest cog, it was actually on the second-smallest cog). The
obvious fix was to remove the spacer, effectively sliding the whole
cassette a smidge to the left. That seemed to work, more or less
(although there's definitely more noise with that setup than with the
Easton wheel). However, the largest cog is now extremely close to the
spokes. I think I can just set the derailleur stop screw to be very
sure that the chain won't jump into the spokes, but I'm curious about
the spacer and the extreme closeness of the big cog and the spokes. I
haven't been able to find any specific guidance on the web and am
wondering whether the spacer does in fact belong in the setup. I gues
that would mean that I have some other spacing difference between the
Bontrager wheel and the Easton wheel, which seems like it would be odd
(or at least a pain), but I thought the whole point of that spacer was
for installing the 10-speed cassette on a 9-speed hub. Any insight
would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

The spacer is there so you can tighten the cogset. W/o it, you cannot
tighten a shimano 10s cogset on an otherwise '9s' freehub body. All
hubs orient the cogsets relative to the RD a little differently. Never
expect any rear hub to place the cassette exactly the same as any
other, except when the hubs are identical. New wheel on, adjust RD-go
ride.