Derailleur h/l stops or cable adjustment

[cobster]

Hi all,
This may well belong in the beginners forum so apologies if i got it wrong.
I have a a new MX4 which is great but has two minor niggles.
The bike will not go into 8th gear- i have the eazi shifters and it clicks into 8 but the chain stays on 7.
it also needs a push and a half and sometimes two clicks to change between , say, 3-4 ( i click from 3-4-5 then back to 5)

tha shop i bought from (over the internet) said it just needs cable adjustment but even if i slacken the cable fully off ( adjuster clockwise fully in) it still sits in 7.
i manually put it in 8 but it jumped back into 7.

Is this more cable adjustment (ie losening the cable clamp a bit) or should i be adjusting the h/l stops as well?
after seeing the excellent park tool web site i am tempted to adjust the whole thing..............................................
........but you know what they say " a little knowledge........"

thanks in advance

 

[Landslide]

When you say 8th gear, I take it you mean the smallest sprocket on the rear wheel.
Sounds like the limit screw is a bit too far in on the rear mech, thus preventing the mech moving far enough over. Your rear mech should have two little cross-head screws, marked H and L (high and low).
Undo the one marked H half a turn and try your gears. If it still doesn't shift into 8th, try slackening off the H screw a further half turn. Repeat as necessary.
Once you've sorted this out, check your indexing. You should be able to do this by adjusting the cable tension as you've already described.

 

[cobster]

Yes indeed when i say 8th i mean the smallest.
Thanks, you have confirmed what i thought- always good to get an expert second opinion

thanks

 

[Mr Pig]

You may also have reached the end of the adjustment on the barrel adjuster, you may need to pull more cable though the cable clamp on the dérailleur.

 

[Landslide]

Yes indeed when i say 8th i mean the smallest.
Thanks, you have confirmed what i thought- always good to get an expert second opinion
thanks