Hi!
So. Four weeks into the wonderful world of bicycling, and my gears are starting to play up. I'm guessing this is because my new cables are stretching, and need some adjustment. I've found that, particularly on downshifts, I'll click the lever, but nothing happens - click a second time and I get two cogs-worth of jump.
I'd like to be able to do my own maintenance, and, with the backstop of knowing that I have a free 6 week check-and-tune-up from Evans due in a fortnight if I really bodge things up, I heft the bike up onto the stand, and with a multi-tool in one hand and the big book of bicycle maintenance in the other, I get stuck in.
In my defence, I think that while I haven't made things better, I've only made them marginally worse.
Put the chain on the smallest rear cog to give maximum slack - check.
Click the shifter to make sure that I've clicked as far as I can go - check.
Give the cable a gentle pull with a finger and click the shifters up and down to become aware of which lever makes it tighter and which makes it looser - check.
Make sure that the jockey wheel is directly under the bottom cog when the chain is on said cog - check.
OK! Let's fiddle!
After some adjustment of the rear gear cable knob (can't remember the proper name), I've got to the point where I jump from the smallest cog (I'll call it 9) to cog 7 with one click. Clicking the other way jumps from 7 to 9.
Well it'll reduce wear and tear on no. 8 I suppose...
The book suggests that there may be too much slack in the cable, and to loosen the pinch bolt and pull the cable through a little.
I get the multi-tool in one hand and grip the end of the cable with a pair of pliers, as I have visions of the cable shooting off somewhere as soon as it's loose.
Lesson learned, No. 1 - Those little crimped-on ends on the cables come off really easily, and don't go back on.
I tighten up the pinch bolt and fiddle some more. Things get worse, then better. More pinch bolt fiddling. More cable adjuster... adjusting.
Cog 8 resolutely refuses to engage, but 1 - 7 seem to be fine, and 9, when we get there, is also ok.
I'm going to take it round the block later, just in case I haven't tightened the pinch bolt correctly and the cable come loose (don't want to be 5 miles up the road if that happens), but I think I may have to leave it to the experts until I've got a bit more experience.
Unless, of course, anyone has any suggestions...?
Cheers!
Boo
So. Four weeks into the wonderful world of bicycling, and my gears are starting to play up. I'm guessing this is because my new cables are stretching, and need some adjustment. I've found that, particularly on downshifts, I'll click the lever, but nothing happens - click a second time and I get two cogs-worth of jump.
I'd like to be able to do my own maintenance, and, with the backstop of knowing that I have a free 6 week check-and-tune-up from Evans due in a fortnight if I really bodge things up, I heft the bike up onto the stand, and with a multi-tool in one hand and the big book of bicycle maintenance in the other, I get stuck in.
In my defence, I think that while I haven't made things better, I've only made them marginally worse.
Put the chain on the smallest rear cog to give maximum slack - check.
Click the shifter to make sure that I've clicked as far as I can go - check.
Give the cable a gentle pull with a finger and click the shifters up and down to become aware of which lever makes it tighter and which makes it looser - check.
Make sure that the jockey wheel is directly under the bottom cog when the chain is on said cog - check.
OK! Let's fiddle!
After some adjustment of the rear gear cable knob (can't remember the proper name), I've got to the point where I jump from the smallest cog (I'll call it 9) to cog 7 with one click. Clicking the other way jumps from 7 to 9.
Well it'll reduce wear and tear on no. 8 I suppose...
The book suggests that there may be too much slack in the cable, and to loosen the pinch bolt and pull the cable through a little.
I get the multi-tool in one hand and grip the end of the cable with a pair of pliers, as I have visions of the cable shooting off somewhere as soon as it's loose.
Lesson learned, No. 1 - Those little crimped-on ends on the cables come off really easily, and don't go back on.
I tighten up the pinch bolt and fiddle some more. Things get worse, then better. More pinch bolt fiddling. More cable adjuster... adjusting.
Cog 8 resolutely refuses to engage, but 1 - 7 seem to be fine, and 9, when we get there, is also ok.
I'm going to take it round the block later, just in case I haven't tightened the pinch bolt correctly and the cable come loose (don't want to be 5 miles up the road if that happens), but I think I may have to leave it to the experts until I've got a bit more experience.
Unless, of course, anyone has any suggestions...?
Cheers!
Boo
But fell off quite quickly 
So you can cross that off your list of potential alternatives.
