Road bike brakes broken and chain falls off

[a_nic_an]

Hello all;
After a few years good use the components on my bike are gradually falling apart. With some useful help from people on this forum I have recently changed the wheels, handlebar tape and tyres for some bits I got cheaply from big online shops.
My next 2 problems are that the chain keeps dropping off when I change gear, this happens especially often when I reach the most difficult gear but also when I am going down through the gears and sometimes when I am speeding up by pushing the pedals hard and feeling some resistance.
The other issue is that the rear brakes are not very responsive any more, the cables have been changed recently but I was advised that the mechanism (is it called the caliper?) needs changing as the springs are no longer doing their job.
I would be very grateful if anyone has any tips about sorting these problems.
Thanks
Nic

 

[Hugh Manatee]

Look for two little screws on the rear mech. They will more than likely be labeled H and L. This refers to high and low. On the Mavic rear Mech I'm looking at, it looks like if you tighten the H screw slightly, this will stop the chain falling off the smallest (high) gear.

 

[Hugh Manatee]

Fr the brakes, do the springs have enough in them to spring the blocks away from the rims? If they do, I would perhaps try new blocks first. Also, you mention new wheels? Perhaps the rims have their new shine to them?

Mmmm, new wheels. Back to the gears, did you replace like with like as far as the number of gears are concerned? If you changed the cassette but not the chain, this could also explain the jumping gears especially when pressure is applied.

 

[boydj]

If you take the brakes off and give them a good clean and oil the pivot points you should be able to get them moving freely again by working them manually. It's likely that your chain and cassette are worn and will need to be replaced.

 

[cyberknight]

Did you replace the outers as well as the inners ? , even with new inners there can be enough gunk in the outer sometimes to impair performance.

 

[Broadside]

good clean and oil the pivot points you should be able to get them moving freely again

I agree with this, but if they are really gunked up then you will need to completely dismantle, clean and reassemble to get them springing freely again.