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What have I done?
NB: Originally posted elsewhere on the Global Riders Network and appears via syndication.
Today I went out for a ride and being the curious person i was. Deciding to twist these knobs on my gear changer. These I later realised were for my cable tension and the bike doesn't seem to change as smoothly as before(note:I twisted them heaps). Can anyone help me out or should i go into my local bike store and get them to help me out?
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Wind it back in????
Then put it in the smallest cog (highest gear on the shift)
click up one gear and turn the pedals, if it doesn't change wind the adjuster out until it does. Repeat with the next gear and once you have that one sorted it should be fine.
It's pretty easy to sort. Twisting the knobs clockwise (looking from the cable end) decreases cable tension and conversely anti-clockwise increases cable tension. Same on each shifter. It's counter intuitive – clockwise = decrease, anti-clockwise = increase. That's how I remember it anyway. So, shifting from a large cog "down" to a smaller cog is done by decreasing the tension and vice versa.
Rear Derailleur
1) Put your gears in the large cog at the front and the small cog at the back.
2) Turn the pedals and shift the rear derailleur "up" one click. If the chain jumped up one cog smoothly your OK. If it didn't move, increase the tension 1/4 turn and try again until it jumps one cog. If it jumped a couple of cogs decrease the tension on the rear derailleur shifter 1/4 turn at a time until it jumps one cog. Sorted the first bit!
3) Put your gears in the small cog at the front and the large cog at the back.
4) Turn the pedals and shift the rear derailleur "down" one click. If the chain jumped down one cog smoothly your OK. If it didn't move, decrease the tension 1/4 turn and try again until it jumps one cog. If it jumped a couple of cogs increase the tension on the rear derailleur 1/4 turn at a time until it jumps one cog. Sorted the rear derailleur!
Front Derailleur
Same as above except in shifting the front derailleur from small front cog "up" one click and increasing/decreasing the tension as required. Then shifting the front derailleur from the large front cog "down" one click and increasing/decreasing the tension as required.
5, 6, 7 &
Play around, you can't stuff it up any more and once you get the hang of it it's really easy.
Sent the above instructions through to my brother when he had trouble and it worked for him. Hope it works for you, though I'm mildly inebriated so it could be complete bollocks.
It sounds too difficult for a new guy. I'll just pop into my local store tomorrow but thanks for the help.
Good explanation, even better after a few bevies.
That's how I do mine and had no trouble.
wind it all the way back in and see how it changes. If its no good slowly start winding it out till it shifts properly. If it doesnt quite shift to the next gear, wind the adjuster out a touch more until it does.
Once you have had a play with it you will find its quite simple and it will begin to make sense.
Might sound complicated, but its not really - once you get the hang of it you can adjust while riding along. And, sorry if this sounds harsh, but you really should learn to do simple bike adjustments like this for yourself rather than take it to a shop! Gear cables stretch, rear wheel goes back in slightly different position after changing a puncture, there's many reasons you may need to adjust the rear derr, and next time there may not be a shop handy...
It could also need lube on the chain especially if you are a newbie I had the same prob when I started riding trails too the chain was bone dry all it needed was some chain lube then .