Help Needed Gears Slipping

[RoubaixCube]

Probably not a lot of help but ive suffered from the same issue with a halfords bought Apollo bike when i first tried to get back in to cycling. The gears kept slipping and no amount of trips back to halfords could cure it.

In fact. one of the bike mechanics there said to me and i quote "you get what you pay for"

The bike itself was an Apollo FS.26S that cost me just under £200 and i bought it to have a pootle around the marshes on but somehow got dragged in to taking it on the road with the same knobbly tyres.

Evanscycles was the next stop for my next bike needless to say.

 

[Stu Smith]

Probably not a lot of help but ive suffered from the same issue with a halfords bought Apollo bike when i first tried to get back in to cycling. The gears kept slipping and no amount of trips back to halfords could cure it.

In fact. one of the bike mechanics there said to me and i quote "you get what you pay for"

The bike itself was an Apollo FS.26S that cost me just under £200 and i bought it to have a pootle around the marshes on but somehow got dragged in to taking it on the road with the same knobbly tyres.

Evanscycles was the next stop for my next bike needless to say.

Thanks...It is a good carbon framed bike with 105 running gear.
Had it for around 6 years now, never been a moments trouble apart from the normal wear and tear stuff.

 

[RoubaixCube]

You've said you've had new cables? have they had enough time to stretch? Maybe add a little bit of lube like GT85 on the part of the inner cable where it leaves the outer and runs to the rear mech.

I was thinking either the cable tension is off or its getting snagged up somewhere or the rear mech isnt completely in line or indexed correctly. but you've had new hanger/derailer and everything's been indexed so i dont know....

Try changing the cassette? You've already touched everything apart from that so maybe that might be the solution to your problem.

 

[alicat]

I'd try changing the cassette. If it's not that, at least you've got a spare for when you need it.

 

[Ajax Bay]

New rear hanger fitted - I've not got a rear hanger alignment tool so trusting the new hanger is right?
Rear mech does look to be at right angle to the wheel.

I saw you'd fitted a new hanger. Difficult to see by eye if the hanger/RD is vertical. Remove the RD and present and gently screw the stub of a rear wheel axle (ie the 5mm left showing) into the threaded socket where the RD would go - thread is the same - no forcing. If the hanger is correctly aligned, the wheels should be parallel, in both axes. (NB easier to do with a spare rear axle, or half a broken one - put the QR an inch into the current axle from the RHS and the sticking out' QR and the spare axle should be parallel.)

new cables? have they had enough time to stretch?

Cables do not stretch (other than a few hundredths of mm) with use. The outers might need to 'settle' though.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/slipping-gears.235461/#post-5273757

 

[Stu Smith]

I saw you'd fitted a new hanger. Difficult to see by eye if the hanger/RD is vertical. Remove the RD and present and gently screw the stub of a rear wheel axle (ie the 5mm left showing) into the threaded socket where the RD would go - thread is the same - no forcing. If the hanger is correctly aligned, the wheels should be parallel, in both axes. (NB easier to do with a spare rear axle, or half a broken one - put the QR an inch into the current axle from the RHS and the sticking out' QR and the spare axle should be parallel.)

Cables do not stretch (other than a few hundredths of mm) with use. The outers might need to 'settle' though.
https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/slipping-gears.235461/#post-5273757

Thank you,
I will try this, what if the spare wheel is out of true slightly.

If I took a measurement from say the valve opening on the spare wheel to the current axle in 4 places oclock - 1/4 past , 1/2 past and 1/4 to
Do you think this would be accurate?

 

[Illaveago]

I was just wondering!
You have been through most of the things likely to have caused the problem, which sounds like something is sticking.
Could it be that the front lever / changer may be sticking slightly in one particular area and not giving you full travel ?

 

[Stu Smith]

I was just wondering!
You have been through most of the things likely to have caused the problem, which sounds like something is sticking.
Could it be that the front lever / changer may be sticking slightly in one particular area and not giving you full travel ?

I've spray lubed the inners of the shifters.
With the cable disconnected worked the gears whilst pulling on the cable with my hand. All worked fine no stiffnes whatsoever.

 

[screenman]

You cannot get anywhere without taking the first step, in this case rear mech alignment, get the basics correct first.

 

[Stu Smith]

You cannot get anywhere without taking the first step, in this case rear mech alignment, get the basics correct first.

Hi,
I have fitted a new hanger, still the exact same problem.
But I'm going to do what Ajax Bay has sugested and check the alignment of the new hanger.

 

[Foghat]

I have fitted a new hanger, still the exact same problem.

It's not enough to simply replace the hanger without checking the new one's alignment - it can't be guaranteed that any two (supposedly identical) hangers are machined exactly the same.

And anyway, you can't even rely on a new frame or bike out of the box having a straight hanger - several new frames I've had needed hanger re-alignment before even building them up and I've seen plenty of brand new bikes with hangers miles out of alignment. Unfortunately, bike/frame suppliers can't usually be arsed to check such things before selling them (although custom frame builders might bother to do it - they should, given the service one is paying for). All this before all the knocks etc from bikes falling over or being crashed which can put the alignment out - given your bike was ok previously, could it have been knocked in storage?

So an alignment tool makes eminent sense for the home bike mechanic.

Re your gears issue, are you 100% sure you're clamping the cable in the precise correct location on the rear derailleur? Some derailleurs can allow the cable to be clamped in different positions....but if the correct one isn't used, then the kind of problem you report can occur. Usually the correct position should be marked, but if not, or the mark has worn off, check the dealer manual which should illustrate it.

 

[Stu Smith]

It's not enough to simply replace the hanger without checking the new one's alignment - it can't be guaranteed that any two (supposedly identical) hangers are machined exactly the same.

And anyway, you can't even rely on a new frame or bike out of the box having a straight hanger - several new frames I've had needed hanger re-alignment before even building them up. Unfortunately, bike/frame suppliers can't usually be arsed to check such things before selling them (although custom frame builders might bother to do it - they should, given the service one is paying for). All this before all the knocks etc from bikes falling over or being crashed which can put the alignment out - could the bike have been knocked in storage?

So an alignment tool makes eminent sense for the home bike mechanic.

Re your gears issue, are you 100% sure you're clamping the cable in the precise correct location on the rear derailleur? Some derailleurs can be can allow the cable to be clamped in different positions....but if the correct one isn't used, then exactly the problem you report can occur. Usually the correct position should be marked, but if not, or the mark has worn off, check the dealer manual which should illustrate it.

Thank you for your reply.
The new rear hanger has beed fitted since coming out of summer storage. To be fair I thought the new hanger would be straight, obviously not necessarily so. I will check with the spare wheel idea from Ajax bay above.
There is a groove in the new rear mech where the cable is to be routed and clamped.

I've gone so far now I'm very reluctant to take it to the bike mechanic, I want to sort it myself, not a money thing I'm just obsessed with it now.

 

[Foghat]

I've gone so far now I'm very reluctant to take it to the bike mechanic, I want to sort it myself, not a money thing I'm just obsessed with it now.

I can understand that - I like to be as self-sufficient as possible with my bikes.

Probably stating the obvious, but if you determine the hanger needs re-aligning, it pays to use the right tool, and make sure any hanger bending is done with the rear wheel clamped firmly in place in the frame to brace the dropout. And start out very carefully, checking and re-checking the alignment in different axes, so you can calibrate the bending effort needed to achieve the right increment without going too far (as well as establish which axes need attention and which bending direction will address that).

 

[Stu Smith]

I can understand that - I like to be as self-sufficient as possible with my bikes.

Probably stating the obvious, but if you determine the hanger needs re-aligning, it pays to use the right tool, and make sure any hanger bending is done with the rear wheel clamped firmly in place in the frame to brace the dropout. And start out very carefully, checking and re-checking the alignment in different axes, so you can calibrate the bending effort needed to achieve the right increment without going too far (as well as establish which axes need attention).

Will do thanks.

The only job I won't attempt is truing wheels - It looks a weird and wonderful art.

 

[cyberknight]

Probably not a lot of help but ive suffered from the same issue with a halfords bought Apollo bike when i first tried to get back in to cycling. The gears kept slipping and no amount of trips back to halfords could cure it.

In fact. one of the bike mechanics there said to me and i quote "you get what you pay for"

The bike itself was an Apollo FS.26S that cost me just under £200 and i bought it to have a pootle around the marshes on but somehow got dragged in to taking it on the road with the same knobbly tyres.

Evanscycles was the next stop for my next bike needless to say.

The Cost of the bike is immaterial unless you have the infamous grip shifter,my winter hack has 8 speed Sora that is well used but works because it was set up right