Kalamae

I just got a nice 2005 bike with Shimano 105 componentry earlier this summer. So far its worked great. The only problem is that when I leave it locked up at the tennis courts where I play (with a Kryptonite NY lock). People still like to touch my bike a nd play with it. I've had to get my gears adjusted 3 times already this season at a LBS. It's making a dent in my pocket. So I've decided to adjust the gears myself this time.

How do you guys adjust your gears?

CPcyclist

Try locking the bike on the inside of the court (asuming it is an outdoor court. Other wise google park tools they have a whole section on repair and what tools you need to do said repair.

pinkrobe

If nosy folks are playing with your shifters, they must be stretching the cables, in which case you can make adjustments with the barrel adjuster on your rear derailleur or downtube. Eventually your cables will stretch as far as they can go. If they are messing with your derailleurs, just use brute force to bend the metal back into alignment. Just don't snap off your derailleur hanger.

Kalamae

yeah but how can I tinker with the gears so they won't skip when shifting?

KevinF

You essentially need this: https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=64

Probably not all of that will apply to your situation as that explains the whole procedure from installing the cables to every possible adjustment, but if you read and understand that article, you'll never visit the LBS again for a simple adjustment.

operator

Learn to do this stuff yourself. Go to that link KevinF posted.

biker7

If you are a dedicated cycling junkie like myself, the best way to adjust your gears is to purchase a repair stand. I just bought a new Park PCS-1 stand and it really makes a difference on anything from tearing a bike down to the frame, changing a tire and in particular adjusting the gears. Those that own one know what I am talking about. I honestly would never let a bike shop touch my bikes because I know for fact there isn't anybody there that can tune or set up a bicycle as well as myself....partly due to talent...but mostly due to the time it takes to get a 10s driveline to shift perfectly. You may think you have it dialed in pretty good out on the road...put it on the stand and you can really fine tune it. If I had to take my bike to the shop for every little issue as some do on this board...it would really detract from the fun of the sport.
HTH,
George

sydney

Damm, but old sydney must be stooooopid or maybe just thick.. .. Built a bizillion bikes and adjusted many bizillion more withur a repair stand. Trust sydney bro,ya don't have to have one to do it and do it right....Even after adjusting,it has to be actually ridden to catch any fine tuning adjustments that may be needed under actual riding condiions.

Boudicca

If i's a new bike, I don't see why the LBS should be charging you for adjustment each time. I took mine in after a potentially nasty argument with someone's front yard left me with grass rash and the bike with alarming clunking sounds when shifting, and they fixed it for free. It should all be part of the service, no? Certainly for the first year or so.

gcasillo

Maybe the rear derailleur needs adjustment? There's two screws on most newish rear derailleurs that you can adjust with a small phillips head screwdriver. These are limit screws. One limits how far the derailleur moves in toward your wheel and the other limits how far it moves out toward the dropout. Give these screws a slight turn until your derailleur is moving the chain perfectly from the top to the bottom of your cassette (gears).

chroot

gcasillo,

The truth is, most people never really have to mess with their limit screws. In fact, I wouldn't touch them unless I had reason to suspect they were not set right. The only adjustment most derailers need is cable tension.

Furthermore, your advice appears to be completely wrong, since the limit screws don't affect shifting "from the top to the bottom" of the cassette. All they do is prevent the derailer from shifting past the ends of the cassette. The tension is what determines whether or not the shifter indexes are aligned with the cogs, and therefore how well it will shift "from the top to the bottom" of the cassette.

- Warren

sydney

Damm, but that is alot of nonsense and just bad advice. Once set the limit screws rarely need attention. All they do is 'limit' the chain movement at the extremes of the cassette. Minor shifting issuers are more typically cable tension related....First thing muppets do is start fidding mindlessly with the screws no matter what the real issue might be....

GrannyGear

Ahem, for a more novel and daring approach, you might try sending your STI to ebay, going down to an 8 (or even 9) spd cassette......and acquiring some friction shifters (cheap enough on ebay). You'll seldom if ever tune your shifters again. While many here will recoil with shock and laughter, it works and is not to be feared.

chroot

Granny,

And instead of adjusting your derailer once every few months, you'll be adjusting it after every single gear shift.

(just pulling your leg.. kinda)

- Warren

gmason

And, of course, you could also post this in the bicycle mechanics forum, where there is more already posted about this subject than you can read over the weekend.

krazyderek

i took my bike in for a rear derailleur check. After i cleaned the casset and put everything back together seems the shifting was little sloppy, and my attempt at adjusting it only made it worse. Took the shop about 5 minutes to get to shifting right. They didn't charge me at all, and the only thing i've ever baught there was a couple bottle brackets... and... i think my shoes like an year and a half ago. Long story short, you shouldn't have to pay for "touch up's", and thanks for the park tools article, i'll have a read thru that tomorow, i was actually going to post the same question myself.

dekalbSTEEL

Tell those scumbags to get there D^mn hands off your ride or you're gonna rifle a PENN 1 at their heads with a swift forehand!