Hi there. I have recently purchased a Raleigh Arena GT which is in excellent condition considering the age, but I can't seem to sort out the gears. I have tried tightening the gear cable (I put the gear lever on the middle gear (3) and then tightened it as much as I could) and have tightened the screw on the derailler, but have run out of ideas.

Although I can get gears 2, 3, 4, I cannot get gear 1 or 5. When I manually put the chain onto the top gear it stayed in place, but it grinded slightly and obviously wanted to go back. Any ideas?

Do I need a new gear cable or is there something wrong with my allignment? If so, what do I do?

Cheers.