Bicycle Mechanics - problem with my gears/chain/shifting thingamijig

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Braxton_Sadler
04-22-07, 08:01 PM
so im probally gonna sound supid for asking this but i just bought a new bike, a fuji touing series IV, and when i pedal real hard, like when im going up a hill or starting from a stop, the rear gears seem to skip. kinda like the chain jumps over the teeth of the cogs, but im not sure. now run on sentances aside, what would one have to do to fix this problem? im thinking i might have to adjust that little dangle that hangs off my rear wheel, but i really like this bike and i dont want to **** it up. which is why i have come here to ask my fellow biking friends. if you can forgive my drunken syntax or lack thereof and help me out with this probelm i would be much appricitive.
thanks.

john_iverson
04-23-07, 06:03 AM
Park tool website and/or local bike shop. It's called a deraileur.
bluehair
04-23-07, 01:02 PM
...and it's spelled derailleur. This is the link to park tool web site for adjusting derailleurs. If you haven't adjusted derailleurs before, I recommend taking it to a bike shop. It's not for the faint of heart and the non-mechanical. If you bought it from a bike shop, they will make the adjustment for free. Another way is to enroll in a bike maintanence class and learn lots more than adjusting the derailleurs. Link, http://www.parktool.com/repair/byregion.asp?catid=53&imageField2.x=10&imageField2.y=7. Follow the instructions exactly, do every step and do the steps in the exact order. Having you chain jump back and forth with a lot of pressure on the cranks is not the best thing for a new bike (or an old one). Good luck.

well biked
04-23-07, 01:35 PM
It sounds like a worn out chain to me, or a new chain being used on worn out freewheel cogs. Either way, it sounds like the chain isn't meshing properly with the teeth on at least some of the rear cogs-
Sheldon Brown
04-23-07, 01:58 PM
It sounds like a worn out chain to me, or a new chain being used on worn out freewheel cogs. Either way, it sounds like the chain isn't meshing properly with the teeth on at least some of the rear cogs-
Sounds like that to me too. See: http://sheldonbrown.com/chains for details.

It also may be that you're using the "no-no" gear (small/small.)

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

Sheldon "Chains" Brown
Zouf
04-23-07, 03:15 PM
It sounds like a worn out chain to me, or a new chain being used on worn out freewheel cogs. Either way, it sounds like the chain isn't meshing properly with the teeth on at least some of the rear cogs-
Clip from OP: "I just bought a new bike..."

So not likely worn chain. More likely stretched shift cable/settling of ferrules typical of new bike after short usage.
well biked
04-23-07, 03:18 PM
Clip from OP: "I just bought a new bike..."

So not likely worn chain. More likely stretched shift cable/settling of ferrules typical of new bike after short usage.

A new bike to the OP, but not a new bike. A Fuji Touring Series IV is an early to mid '80's touring bike, and a very nice one at that-