Derailleur Adjustment
 

I just bought a Schwinn Admiral with a 7-speed rear. I knew I'd have to make many adjustments because it came from Walmart. The specific issue I'm having is getting it to shift properly. At first it would click squarely into every gear except 1st. It would go into first if I twisted the shifter past 1 but it wouldn't stay there if I let go, so out come the tools. Unfortunately, everything I do seems to make it worse. The very first adjustment sent the derailleur into the wheel and bent a spoke. Subsequent adjustments made the shift to 1st better (and safer!) but it'll either skip gears, shift onto the axle past 7th, or only shift to 5th. As it stands now it's almost exactly the way I got it: shifts into every gear but 1st, except now 3rd is noisy. It's driving me absolutely up the wall that I can't get it right!

So should I take it to a professional or do I just need more patience? Mind you, I've made something like 15 adjustments already.

Best bet would be a bike co-op where they could help you set it up correctly. Otherwise search for tutorials on RD adjustment. There are many, both text and photo and video. Review a few until you understand the basics, than follow the steps in the best one in sequence.

Two hints which might help.

1- understand that the limit screw is just what the name implies. It's a final stop to prevent the RD from going into the wheel. Adjust it by pushing the RD from the lower body (not using the shifter) and you want to loosen until it's possible to overshift (low speed), then bring it back in by degrees that you reliably can't any more, plus up to 1/4 turn as a safety margin (but no more). Then fine tune shifting using the cable adjuster for best shifting.

2- if, after adjusting to the best of your ability, it's still not OK, the hanger may not be aligned correctly. You can do a quick eyeball check, which should be accurate enough for your needs. Shift to any gear where the RD cage is fairly vertical. Place a straightedge (yardstick, or broom handle) vertical against the wheel, and stand behind and eyeball toi see if the cage and ruler are parallel. If not, then you'll want that attended to.

slow typing..

FAQ have you looked at the past threads ?. zillions of them ..

Number 1 is hanger bent? shop job.




2 there are just 3 screws H, L, sideways limit screws & the B that pushes it further away rotating around the upper bolt

every thing else is cable tension .. klicks up front have to synch with the action on the back.


yea taking it to a Shop will be better they can see the issue I cannot.

Have you referred to a tutorial? Turning screws on your own without understanding their function probably got you where you are. The fact that you could get into the large rear cog meant you should not have touched the inner adjustment/limit. It's a bad idea to "experiment" with mechanical systems. Google adjust rear derailleur and click on the sheldonbrown.com and parktool.com/blog results first. DO NOT rely just on videos - better to read and understand written instructions and use videos as a supplement.

Thanks for the advice (even the one that basically said RTFM) and I did get it right. However, I took the Schwinn back to the store. Every ride on it was more and more depressing. It wasn't as fast as I thought it was going to be, and even though my butt was comfy, my hands weren't. All in all, it was worse than the broken, worn-out Avalon it replaced. I exchanged it for a Genesis 29er. That one was put together properly. The brakes are perfect, the shifters are perfect, and the wheels are perfect. I am under no illusions that it's a serious mountain bike, but it'll do what I want it to do happily AND its 320 lb weight limit is perfect. I swapped out the awful stock seat for my comfy spring one, as well as my shock seat post. The tires don't seem to be the best quality so I expect to have to replace them within 300-500 miles. I'll be taking it on its first shakedown ride today and I'll post how it goes. Hopefully it'll still be good after 20 miles, but based on the half mile of testing in my driveway I'm sure it will be.