I thought indexing gears by feel was for old pros, then a 20 year vet showed me his trick at the Daytona bike swap

Sam Martinez · 2026-10-08T20:30:13.60405+00:00

I used to use my eyes and ears to set rear derailleur indexing, but last month a guy named Ray with 20 years at a shop in Orlando showed me to click the shifter into the 5th cog and line up the guide pulley with the cog edge by feel alone. I tried it on three customer bikes the next day and every one shifted clean on the stand and on the road, no more guessing with the barrel adjuster. Anyone else index this way, or do you stick with the visual method?

Vivisector

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I thought indexing gears by feel was for old pros, then a 20 year vet showed me his trick at the Daytona bike swap | Bicycle Mechanics - Vivisector