Bicycle Mechanics - i got a new road bike and know nothing bout the shifters please help me

i got a nishiki sebring roadbike it has some suntour shifters and they are levers on the stem

how do i know how many speeds and if i get them all and if it is working properly cause it keeps making odd noises is it something rubbing or what please help

i got a nishiki sebring roadbike it has some suntour shifters and they are levers on the stem

how do i know how many speeds and if i get them all and if it is working properly cause it keeps making odd noises is it something rubbing or what please helpCount the cogs on the rear.that is the basic speed. Multiply by the number of chainrings.That's the total speeds.Dollars to donuts the stem ****ers are frictiion, and have to be moved, to change derailer position to stop the rubbing. That's assuming nothing is broken or ginked and the baisc adjustments are correct.

If you bought this from a bike shop, you should take it back to them, both to have the bike evaluated and to have them walk you through the proper operation of all its components.

If you bought it through some other means, take a look at:

http://www.parktool.com/repair_help/FAQindex.shtml#drivetrain

http://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html

Otherwise, you haven't provided enough detail for anybody (well, me anyway) to determine what's going on.

As to how many speeds: how many individual cogs (gears) are on the cassette thingy on the rear wheel? Multiply that by the number of chainrings (gears) that are 'under' the right-hand pedal. That's how many speeds you have.

I think you should be taking this thing into a bike shop for a tune-up . . . YMMV.

i got a nishiki sebring roadbike it has some suntour shifters and they are levers on the stem

how do i know how many speeds and if i get them all and if it is working properly cause it keeps making odd noises is it something rubbing or what please help

See: http://sheldonbrown.com/gears.html

and: http://sheldonbrown.com/beginners

Sheldon "Easier Than You Might Think" Brown
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i got a nishiki sebring roadbike it has some suntour shifters and they are levers on the stem

how do i know how many speeds and if i get them all and if it is working properly cause it keeps making odd noises is it something rubbing or what please help

You can determine the speeds simply by counting the gear rings front and back. On the rear wheel you should have 6, 7, or maybe 8 gears. On the front you'll have 2 or 3. Multiply the two to find out how many total speeds you have.

To find out if they are working properly, either put the bike on a stand or ride it, and observe what happens when you move the levers. The left lever will move the chain on the front gears, and the right will move the chain on the rear. Go through the rears one by one, shift the front to whichever ring it isn't on, and repeat.

Without being there to see what's going on, diagnosis of the "odd noise" is difficult. Could be something as simple as a derailluer adjustment.

If you don't know anything about bikes or how to check them, seek out a good local bike shop and invest in a tuneup and inspection.

John D.

If you have the old-fashioned friction shifters, there's nothing wrong with them. They do require a bit of practice to be able to use well. There are still some old fossils that prefer them...

Chances are you're stuck with them, as the Suntour components will probably not line up with the more modern index shifters.

There are still some old fossils that prefer them...

I use bar end friction shifters everyday and I am not a fossil. I am only partly petrified.

If the shifters are friction you need to move them a little bit more to eliminate the noise. If they are indexed ,which I have seen on stem shifters, the deraillers need adjusting

If you have the old-fashioned friction shifters, there's nothing wrong with them. They do require a bit of practice to be able to use well. There are still some old fossils that prefer them...


My main century bike has friction shifters - they work great, and I'm not a fossil yet, either...... :)

John D.

I'm not a fossil yet, either...... :)

Not to be argumentative, but . . . are you sure?

You could be and simply not know it ;)

Hehe- at 58, I'm pretty close to being fossilized myself, and I got quite handy with the friction shifters I had on my rebuilt "retro-rocket". I had my present ride in the lay-a-way, and put together an old Raliegh "Technium" to ride while waiting. Bit stiff, but quite nice.