Illumaniti777

A few years ago I was riding my bike at night and my gear cable to the back gears popped out of place. I couldn't see so I just wrapped it up and forgot about it. This spring I tried fixing it but I just ended up making it worse so I decided to take both of the gear cables out.
It's kind of hard to pedal(I can still ride fine but it would be nicer if it was easier) and I noticed the higher the gear I have it in, the easier it is to pedal. However it only stays in the second to smallest gear and every time I try moving it, it just goes back to that gear.
I'm no expert at fixing bikes so if you need more info I'll try my best to explain.
Also if I could get the chain to stay in place without taking it to the shop that would be wonderful(That's the absolute last resort)

AnkleWork

Sorry but a shop should be your first resort, for the reasons stated.

Illumaniti777

I plan on getting a new bike in the fall(I would definitely go to the shop first if something went wrong) so I don't really wanna put a bunch of money into this bike.
If I can't fix it by myself then I guess I can last through the summer

dabac

Start here: https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-me...ease-read.html
Do your homework. Return when you can formulate a question that's detailed and consistent enough to be answerable.

fietsbob

Ill be at the Bike Shop drop By..

mconlonx

You need to look up stuff online: how to replace shifter / derailleur cables, how to set up and adjust derailleurs. Plenty of how-to vids on YouTube, and the Park Tools Repair Help site is also extremely helpful.

If you just want to get it into an easier gear out back, you can effect that a couple different ways at the rear derailleur:
1) Cut a very short section of shift cable, maybe even one you took off the bike or still have taped out of the way, make sure it includes the end with the knob on it which is at the shifter, run it through the stop on the derailleur, position it about where you want it to be, and fasten it down. You can then use the adjuster where the knob is seated to fine tune the chain in relation to the gear.
2) adjust the hi limit screw on the rear derailleur as far in as it will go. Might be how it's even currently staying in the second gear right now...

You'll get more range of adjustment and probably lower gearing using method 1); method 2) is the simplest.

Little Darwin

If @mconlonx is on the right track as far as what you want (which seems to be the case to me), but you can't quite figure out how to implement what he is saying, I would suggest that you go visit the closest elderly farmer/trucker/mechanic to help you figure out how to get the bike to stay in a gear you can live with using some combination of existing parts, duct tape, baling wire, and chewing gum. If you live near MacGyver, or the A-Team, they could help too.

IrishBrewer

YouTube is your friend. There must be several dozen videos that will take you through the process of installing new shift cables and getting the derailleurs properly adjusted, step-by-step. If that doesn't do it for you it may be time for that last resort.

cale

Making your bike a 1-speed is pretty easy. It will be making it anything other than a 1-speed that will be more challenging. Are you up for a 1-speed?

Edited to add: try looking at chain tensioners and if you want to remove the rear changer (derailer), a set of metric allen keys. https://www.google.com/search?es_sm=...33.EbrsWTyV1EQ

Illumaniti777

Thanks for making me realize I have no idea what I'm doing(not making some smart remark). I'll try method 2 but if that doesn't work then I'll just take it to the shop because these hills around here are too big to constantly ride with that much difficulty. But could somebody explain to me why after I took the gear cables out that its suddenly easier to ride with the chain on the largest sprocket(in the rear) instead of the smallest one? I'm trying hard to understand all the terminology so sorry if the question still doesn't make a lot of sense.

dabac

OWhether you have the Wires in place or not, the way gear ratios work means that big rear sprocket and/or small front chainring is a low/easy gear. And a small rear sprocket and/or a big front chainring is a high/heavy gear.
Riding on the big rear has ALWAYS been the easy option.
The way almost all front derailers work is that they are spring-loaded to go to the small ring. So if you unhook the cable to the front derailer it will default into the low gear range.
Most rear derailers are spring-loaded in the opposite functional direction - they default to a high-normal. But Shimano did build some low-normal ones called RapidRise several years ago.