tcombo68

Sorry for the noob question. I found an old Raleigh Record and got it fixed up today, but im still not sure how to use the down tube shifters. If someone would offer up some advice i would be reallyappreactiative. Right now I keep the left one completely down and have discovered that the lower the right one is the easier to pedal. Please add to my limited knowledge.

garage sale GT

You know, the grease in your hubs and crank can be dried out. Give them a shot of oil every now and then. Old bikes should really be regreased before being put back into use. Also, lube your cables, shifters and derailleurs. That is, unless you know the bike was maintained by its last owner.

What's to know about shifting?

Use the gear you want. 70s and 80s road bikes were geared higher than the compact cranksets of today so it's not uncommon to not be able to use your big ring (keep left shifter down) when you are a beginner.

I think the experts say the best efficiency for cruising happens when you are pedaling at about 90 RPM. You won't necessarily go faster by mashing a bigger gear. If you are going as fast as you can and are pedaling slow, try going DOWN a gear(move the right lever for easier pedaling), and increase your RPMS, and your speed may go up. Remember, you won't be able to use the higher gears effectively until you get fitter. The top gear may only be good for taking full advantage of tailwinds and downhills for quite some time.

Make sure the chain doesn't fall off to the right or the left, but don't check this unless the crank is turning because you can damage the derailleurs or cables by trying to shift when not pedaling. The last owner probably set the stops well if you haven't had a problem already.

tcombo68

Thanks for the advice. What kind of oil is best?

I'm new to cycling obviously. I have read that the left down tube shifter is to control the front deraillur, however, if i move the left shifter out of the down position then the chain goes all wompyjabbered (probably not correct cycling term) and i have to shift the left one back down. I'm not really sure how to use the left one.

One more question, haha, what is a stop?

garage sale GT

I am probably the only one who does the "oil thing", everyone else says you just gotta repack the hubs with fresh grease. I don't know that there's a special kind which is best. I just use motor oil or chain lube because I have small bottles of them on hand. Repacking is the preferred solution, but if I want to test ride an old bike I'll just use a drop of oil if it's inconvenient to repack.

Please try to describe more specifically what the chain does. Does it look like a train wreck piling up behind the front derailleur, as if it couldn't pass through? There shouldn't be a trick to using it other than only shifting while gently pedaling.

You have a problem of derailleur adjustment here provided all the links of your chain run smooth with no stiff links.

Bikewer

First, you need to determine if the shifters are working properly. I take it these are not "indexed" shifters, that is, they do not "click" from one gear position to the next.

If so, the friction setting (the little thumbscrew on the shifter) should be sufficiently tight to allow you to move the lever, but it should stay where you put it.
The chain should remain on the cogs and chainrings... If it goes off at one end or the other you need to adjust the limit screws.
If you don't know how to do that yet I'd suggest taking the bike to a shop (hopefully, an old, established shop with a repairman that looks as old as me.... so that he can check out the whole system and make sure everything is working.
Actual shifting is easy, just takes a little time. You should "back off" on pedaling pressure when shifting, just ease off the pressure on the pedals. You'll do most shifting at the rear, and you'll quickly learn how far to move the lever to go up or down a single gear.
You can "feel" the gear engage, it's really simple after a few hours of practice.

tcombo68

I've not actually ever looked. When i move the left shifter up the chain doesn't catch and I can't pedal so I just shift it back down and it catches again.

So when the left one is in the down position it is on the big derailleur and thus it is more difficult to pedal correct?

Additionally, If I am able to pedal well with the left shifter down (I used to bike miles with an crappy mountain bike) should I move it anyways?

garage sale GT

Have you tried shifting the lever while pedaling very softly? Old bikes are NOT designed to be shifted while under power.

Does the front derailleur cage move over the middle of the larger front chainring? You should be able to look down and see the larger front sprocket in the middle of the front derailleur cage. Don't check when you're not pedaling; bikes don't like to be shifted when not pedaling.

Sometimes those levers require a firmer push. It sounds like it's not moving enough. Make sure you push the lever a bit harder. If it doesn't stay, then find the screw on the lever's pivot and turn up the friction. can you look down, with one hand on the shifter, while pedaling? if so, ensure the shifter is physically capable of moving the cage over the big chainring. If you can't look down with one hand on the bars and one on the shifter, get a friend to hold up the bike off the ground while you pedal with one hand and move the left shifter with the other. don't be afraid to use a bit of force.

Most older bikes had enough lever and derailleur travel to completely throw the chain off either the left or right side of the sprockets. There are tiny stop screws in the derailleurs which physically prevent them from moving that far. They have to be adjusted or else you'll keep losing the chain unless you look at the derailleurs as you are shifting, and only move the shifter as far as is necessary. My guess is the stop screws are fine unless you've already lost the chain.

tcombo68

Another question about oil, is WD-40 acceptable, its all I have onhand and I was going to take it to class tomorrow?

LesterOfPuppets

Your front derailleur might not be moving in far enough to get it on the small chainring. Could be maladjusted derailleur or bad cables/housing or a couple of other things.

If you can pedal well in the big ring, then leave it alone until you need to climb a hill. It would be best to not have the chain on the biggest back cog a t the same time(right lever all the way back), however. The resulting chain angle isn't so nice.

possiblecrit

simplest way to understand derailler drivetrains is this: further from the bike is harder (faster), closer is easier (slower).

the idea is to keep your cadence (pedaling speed) relatively the same while modulating your speed with the gears.

start off with the fd (left lever) down (on the smaller ring) and the rear (right lever) on the second away from the wheel, almost all the way up. as you accelerate shift the right lever (once again, rear derailler) down to move the derailler away from the bike, keeping your cadence about the same as you increase in speed. as you come to a stop, shift it back in BEFORE you stop. you've probably noticed you can't shift at a standstill. on uphills shift the rear all the way in to keep your cadence up as you climb.

i usually only use the big chainring on a downhill or with a good tailwind. avoid the extreme chain angles of small to small or big to big as this will wear your drivetrain prematurely.

oh and this is all assuming everything is working as it should, hah. sounds like the front derailler isn't moving far enough out. either the limit screw is too far in or you aren't pulling the lever far enough back. ride on a side street where you can watch the derailler as you shift it to get a better idea of whats happening.

tcombo68

Thanks for all of the help. I'm sure I will be back with more questions when something goes awry.

LesterOfPuppets

When I was first starting to learn shifting without looking at the levers, I'd slowly move my hand down so as to keep my fingers out of the spokes. Ouch!

garage sale GT

No, it is better than nothing but will eventually rinse off what little lubrication remains on the bearings. It's much too thin.

Does anyone concur, though, that while a repack is best, oil is better than leaving it full of 25 year old dry grease

garage sale GT

I think old derailleurs are low normal; that is, it IS in the small ring.

garage sale GT

I suspect you're just not pushing hard enough for fear of breaking something.

Push the left lever a bit harder while pedaling very softly and give it a few moments. Keep pedaling. And if it doesn't stay in high gear remember to give the screw in the middle of the lever pivot a bit more tension as that will increase the friction.

LesterOfPuppets

He mentioned he's having trouble when he tries to move the shifter out of the down position, which makes me think he's got it in the big ring. Hard tellin' without pics, I suppose, but every bike I've ridden is in the big ring when the left shifter is down.

Maybe I'm misinterpreting the OP's meaning of down. If forward = down to him, than I'm wrong. If aft = down, then I'm on the right track.

Since the OP says it's easiest to pedal with the right shifter lower (as in towards the down position), then I think down=aft. But still dunno.

Tunnelrat81

For what it's worth, I own an old Viscount with stem shifters that are normally in the Big ring (Shifter forward=big ring). This IS opposite from the norm though, and was done I believe to make shifting more intuitive in that both levers shift "easy" by pulling back and "hard" by pushing forward. This doesn't make much sense in a high wattage output scenarios however because the only force pushing the chain to the big ring is that of the spring, since the cable pulls in the opposite direction.

-Jeremy

Tunnelrat81

I also think the OP is dealing with a standard F/D that prefers to be on the small ring...but perhaps there's so much cable drag from cable corrosion/bind that the F/D spring isn't able to shift him down to the small ring when he releases the shifter. Less likely option would be that the limit screw is too far in on the low side, but with an old bike the odds are strong for cable drag.

-Jeremy

AndrewP

The stops are the screws on the deraillers that limit the extreme travel. If they are not set correctly the chain can be thrown beyond the ends of the cog set. The left shifter for the front derailler has to be moved a lot further than the right one tio shift gear. When shifting to a bigger cog, move the lever slightly more than neecessary to make a quick shift then once it has shifted bring it back a bit to make it run smoothly. Shifting is easier when you are riding with your hands on the drops, because you ont have to change your body position. You will be able to find a lot more useful advice on the Sheldon Brown website.

Panthers007

No. Let it sit for 25 years and a few days until he can have it properly overhauled - which includes removing the old glue...er...grease - and packed with fresh grade 25 balls and good bicycle-type grease.

TurbineBlade

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html

This link will probably tell you all you need to know without us trying to diagnose your problem without pictures and detailed descriptions. There are links for shifting and just about everything else in there as well.

garethzbarker

i just got into bikes this year and learning this stuff is pretty easy but takes some time. everything you need to learn about working on your bike is on this forum.

If it was me though the first thing I'd do is go to a bike shop and buy some new cables then ask them to change them for a few $s.

If that doesn't fix the problem then I'd work on it. As someone new to biking it really helped me to WATCH the derailer moving and chain catching as I shifted. In other words try to work on it from the ground not while riding. I didn't have a stand on my first bike so I made one using chairs. use whatever it takes to be able to spin the crank (the thing with the pedals on it) while the back wheel spins above the ground. This will make things way easier.

You should post some pics. that is a nice looking bike and it might help to be able to see the drivetrain.

garage sale GT

I go back on what I said about shifting slow.

MichaelW

I would check out the action of the derailleurs when you are not riding the bike.
Flip the bike onto a level floor (use some cardboard to prevent scratching the stem or bars)
Rotate the pedals and move the gear levers. Try the rear first then the front. You should see the chain glide over the cogs and stop before over-shooting the ends.
Sheldon Brown website or Parktools both have good instructions on how to set the end stops.
If the chain dosnt glide well, you may need some lube on the chain and/or deraileurs.
When applying first aid to old, rusted bikes, I use WD 40 to free up rusted chains and I sometimes pour oil into the wheel bearings of rusted up bikes to get them going. Both of these are short term tricks. For regular use you need grease in the wheels and oil on the chain and deraileur pivots.

Dont oil the gear levers, these usually work by friction.