Originally Posted by
Anthonypower
Hello,im new to the bike world and I just bought a used claud butler hybrid bike from my friend.It needed a bit of work when I got it.The only thing I can't get my head round is the gears.When I got it the front derailleur was broke so I replaced it.I then watched the following video to set my gears.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skzvf...eature=related I was able to set the HIGH LOW screws so the chains didn't jump off.When i then try to move up through the gears it doesn't move so i adjusted the barrel adjuster.It then goes up 1 gear but won't go any further than that.I have also got a barrel adjuster at the gear shifter.Should it be tight ?
Thanks Anthony
You skipped too many steps. Start again with the instructions here:
Park Tool - front derailleur adjustment. As reptilezs mentioned, the order is very important and you
must set the physical position of the derailleur on the seat-tube and over the chainrings optimally before you can do anything with cable-tension and limit screws:
1. height
http://www.parktool.com/uploads/imag...p/ft_der_2.jpg
2. rotation
http://www.parktool.com/uploads/imag...p/ft_der_8.jpg
This 2nd part is highly critical. The magic step is aligning the outer-cage parallel with the
chain in highest gear. This angle will vary from bike-to-bike and can even change on the same bike with different gearing. These various differences in angle is why shops train their monkeys to set the cage parallel to the chainrings instead. It will allow consistent positioning and quick production. However, it will also yield consistently mediocre results. Acceptable to most people who won't know any better. But once you've learned to set the cage-angle based upon the chain's angle, the differences in shifting-performance is dramatic!
Then do the limit-screws and cable-tension last. I don't even bother with the inner-limit screw, use the shifter-stop to position that and remove the screw completely to save a couple grams.