Cant get to 7th gear, but its a shifter problem.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Tj Poseno
Well, i picked up soem older shimano Alivio shifters and brake levers, all one unit. Any way, they
are rapidfire and as a shift down (1st to 7th) I can get into 7th gear, the shifters wont move that
las bit, I can hold the lever that sfifts, and tug on my derailer cable, and it will click then go
into 7th. It is not a derailer problem, I have dissasembled and regreased the derailer and cant get
it to go that last little bit. Is there a sprign int here or somthing that is week. Any suggestions?

You do not want to use all 7 cogs on one chain ring, The smallest (size wise) cog should only be used with the largest chain ring and vise versa for the small chain ring. Very often the effective gear you would get with these 'bad' combinations are duplicated by some other 'good' combination.

Assuming you have the same problem no matter which front chain ring you are on, have you checked the stop adjustment screws? There are two screws on the back of the derailleur usually near where the cable goes in. One screw adjusts the maximum the derailleur moves out the other how far in. When adjusted correctly the jockey pulley should be directly beneath the cog for that gear (i.e. when the derailleur is on the largest cog (next to the spokes) same for the smallest).

Hope This helps
Shawn

Quoted message said:

You do not want to use all 7 cogs on one chain ring, The smallest (size wise) cog should only be
used with the largest chain ring and vise versa for the small chain ring. Very often the
effective gear you would get with these 'bad' combinations are duplicated by some other 'good'
combination.

Assuming you have the same problem no matter which front chain ring you are on, have you checked
the stop adjustment screws? There are two screws on the back of the derailleur usually near where
the cable goes
in. One screw adjusts the maximum the derailleur moves out the other how far in. When adjusted
correctly the jockey pulley should be directly beneath the cog for that gear (i.e. when the
derailleur is on the largest cog (next to the spokes) same for the smallest).

Hope This helps Shawn

As I said, this is NOT a derailer problem, the shifter isnt letting the cable come out of the
shifter far enough, so if I tug on it while holdiong the downshift lever, the shifter will click,
and i can get into 7th. This happens in every chainring.

Quoted message said:

As I said, this is NOT a derailer problem, the shifter isnt letting the cable come out of the
shifter far enough, so if I tug on it while holdiong the downshift lever, the shifter will click,
and i can get into 7th. This happens in every chainring.

Perhaps the cables are worn and the friction in the cable is preventing the cable from moving all
the way to the 7th gear position. Are the cables visibly damaged? Or perhaps some lubrication of the
cable insides would help. HTH.

The Real Lee Casey

"The Real Lee Casey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

As I said, this is NOT a derailer problem, the shifter isnt letting the cable come out of the
shifter far enough, so if I tug on it while holdiong the downshift lever, the shifter will
click, and i can get into 7th. This happens in every chainring.

Perhaps the cables are worn and the friction in the cable is preventing the cable from moving all
the way to the 7th gear position. Are the cables visibly damaged? Or perhaps some lubrication of
the cable insides would help. HTH.

The Real Lee Casey

I was thinking the same thing today, im gonna check for bends and kink and lube. When i put them on
i was in a real hurry, so your probably right.

[email hidden] (TJ Poseno) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"The Real Lee Casey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

As I said, this is NOT a derailer problem, the shifter isnt letting the cable come out of the
shifter far enough, so if I tug on it while holdiong the downshift lever, the shifter will
click, and i can get into 7th. This happens in every chainring.

Perhaps the cables are worn and the friction in the cable is preventing the cable from moving
all the way to the 7th gear position. Are the cables visibly damaged? Or perhaps some
lubrication of the cable insides would help. HTH.

The Real Lee Casey

I was thinking the same thing today, im gonna check for bends and kink and lube. When i put them
on i was in a real hurry, so your probably right.

Well that didnt work, the problem is in the shifter some where, has anyone else had a problem like
this? I took it apart and it is hard to turn it by hand and get it to 7th gear. I tried to find
something binding but cant seem to find any problems, i am thinging of completely dissasembling
the shifter, and reassembling, anyone done this. Should i jsut hold off, in case i cant get it
back together.

[email hidden] (TJ Poseno) wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] (TJ Poseno) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

"The Real Lee Casey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

> As I said, this is NOT a derailer problem, the shifter isnt letting the cable come out of the
> shifter far enough, so if I tug on it while holdiong the downshift lever, the shifter will
> click, and i can get into 7th. This happens in every chainring.

Perhaps the cables are worn and the friction in the cable is preventing the cable from moving
all the way to the 7th gear position. Are the cables visibly damaged? Or perhaps some
lubrication of the cable insides would help. HTH.

The Real Lee Casey

I was thinking the same thing today, im gonna check for bends and kink and lube. When i put them
on i was in a real hurry, so your probably right.

Well that didnt work, the problem is in the shifter some where, has anyone else had a problem like
this? I took it apart and it is hard to turn it by hand and get it to 7th gear. I tried to find
something binding but cant seem to find any problems, i am thinging of completely dissasembling
the shifter, and reassembling, anyone done this. Should i jsut hold off, in case i cant get it
back together.

Rapidfires are a real PITA to take apart and fix; they're unbelivably complicated inside with a
thousand small parts, like a cheap wind-up mechanical watch. Give me a trusty, simple, easy to fix
gripshifter, oldschool topmount thumbshifter, or friction lever any day.