Rear gear switch issue
 

Hey all,

Well it has been bothering me for ages now, and I thought Id do a bit of research, though wasn't looking for this forum at the time, I was looking for specific measurements at the time rofl

Any case on-topic; for some reason my rear gear isn't changing correctly, if I wanted to go up one gear, it'd stick and would eventually change to it, Id have to go up 2 gears then down 1 gear just to get in the correct gear, now to my knowledge there can only be one issue, and that's the gear position part isn't set correctly, though my brother said it could be that, or the cable has stretched.

Thing is, it's a new bike, well when I said new I mean 2 years old, and barely used, only to get me to work and back.


I just wanted to post here to get other peoples opinions so we can rule out certain parts.

Thanks in advance.

dha12oks, Welcome to the forum.

Most likely it's a minor adjustment. Look here for info: Park Tool Co. » ParkTool Blog » Rear Derailler Adjustments (derailleur) .

Brad

That Park Tool page re derailer adjustment has derailed me I put new shifters (bar ends) on my bike the other day and yesterday finally got around to attaching the cables to the F/R derailers. I don't know how to do this properly so I went to the Park page. It's a long and fairly complicated read. A video might help.

I'd personally call the Park instructions detailed, not complicated. Just go one step at a time.

As for dha12oks' problem, a slight turn of a barrel adjuster may be all that's needed. That's covered in the "Index Setting" section of the linked Park Tool instructions.

Yes, some learn by watching, some by reading. I've always done better with watching. But if you break down the procedure into it's steps it's easier to get through if you only have text to follow. You've already started this by first dealing with the bar ends. The other end, the ders, should already be adjusted from before so shouldn't need any other work (although you're initial shifting issues might say otherwise). Threading the cables should be just like the unthreading from the other levers excepting the upper housing loops and where they start (the bar ends, not the other levers). The bar tape should be removed and ideally replaced so when rewrapping with the gear housing under the lower bar section you have enough tape that's in good enough condition to not tear and look/feel nice after. I'll usually cut the housing loops to exit the bar tape just below the brake levers and have a nice smooth curve to the down tube housing stops. I'll tape the bars after all the gear/cable work is done just in case I need to go back and redo something with the cables as I set the cable tension. Once the cables are installed I don't worry about hos tight they are at first. instead I'll test the ders function/range limit adjustments by pulling on the exposed length of inner cable (usually along the top or down tubes). This was the ders movements are not influenced by the lever's indexing indents. Once the ders' movements are confirmed to be right, all the gears can be shifted into and no chain drop or rub, I'll then set the lever's index indents with the chain placement on the rear cogs. Start with a cable tension that's not quite guitar tight, chain/rear der on/under the smallest cog, and move the lever a few clicks while pedaling and watching the der/chain move across the cogs. The chain should move to the next cog with each indent of the lever. When looking from behind the cassette you can see if the chain is centered under the cog, or if the chain is trying to ride off the cog. By turning the cable adjusters the der will slightly move in either direction to either properly center the chain under the cog or to make the trying to ride off the cog worse. This is where you have to be able to discern which way to turn the adjuster to get what you want.

There are a number of tiny details that I can't describe here, like how to cut the housing and how to cap the ends well. At some point you'll have to develop the ability to figure some things out, whether from online help or by looking at already well done bikes and reverse engineering. Andy.

Ok, thank you.

It would be helpful to give specifics about your bike: brand, model, year, specific part models.

Different bikes & parts can have their own quirks and might result in slightly different advice.