BIke Gears



swalke39

New Member
Feb 7, 2013
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Hey there I just bought my first road bike last week it arrived earlier today.
The bike I ordered was a 21 speed and I think I may have gotten a 14 speed as the gear shifters don't seem to add up to 21.
the left shifter for the front derailer has 2 and the right for the rear has 7.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0087D8LRQ/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00
is the bike that I bought.
 
that is how it works, just press again the left shifter and it will go over the 3 front chainrings (if you count 2 front chainrings, then yes it is not the bike on the picture)
 
Yep, a 21 speed bike should have three chainrings up front on the crankset and 7 gears on the rear cog. Sounds like the updated the model or sent you the model with a double chainring crankset. If the double chainrings have similar gear ratios for instance if it's equipped with a 34 tooth small chainring and a 50 tooth large chainring then it's not a big difference from a practical use standpoint. But if you really needed the triple chainrings for instance if you plan to load the bike up for heavy touring or have to climb a lot of steep hills and need the extra low gearing of a triple then you've got an issue.

You should at the very least review your order and call them up to tell them they shipped you a bike equipped differently than what was advertised.
 
ok so the bike has 3 front chainrings however the left shifter only has 2 options the smallest or the middle one. It will not go to the third.
 
Originally Posted by swalke39 .

ok so the bike has 3 front chainrings however the left shifter only has 2 options L or H It will not go to the third.
Ahhh, then vspa's got it.

The click shifting should move over one chainring at a time but if you click multiple times you should go all the way to the big or small ring. If that's not the case then it's likely you need to adjust your shifters, either the cable tension is not correct or one or both of the limit screws on your front derailleur is not adjusted properly.

At least you received the correct bike, now you just need to get it adjusted properly. Surf over to the Park Tools website for gear adjustement tutorials. Also check to make sure all cables and housings are properly seated in their ferrules or cable stops as that's a common problem when first assembling a shipped bike that could lead to what you're seeing.

-Dave
 
Originally Posted by swalke39 .

ok so the bike has 3 front chainrings however the left shifter only has 2 options the smallest or the middle one. It will not go to the third.
The front derailleur probably just needs to adjusted, simple to frustrating if you know what you're doing, simple to disastrous if you don't. If you'd bought the bike from a shop this would be right or re-adjusted for free and the vast majority of shops offer a free tune/adjustment up after 100 miles or thirty days.
 
The high limit stop on the der may be set too tight as well.
 
IIRC the shimaNO A050 shifters on your bike are SIS indexed 7-speed for the rear deraileur and friction shifting for the front derailleur.

The front shifter is marked "LOW" and "HIGH", but if adjusted properly it will throw a triple crankset. The middle ring position will be in between the indicated Low and High.

As stated above, if the bike is nor shifting properly, your derailleur needs dialed in.
 
Originally Posted by CAMPYBOB .

IIRC the shimaNO A050 shifters on your bike are SIS indexed 7-speed for the rear deraileur and friction shifting for the front derailleur.

The front shifter is marked "LOW" and "HIGH", but if adjusted properly it will throw a triple crankset. The middle ring position will be in between the indicated Low and High.

As stated above, if the bike is nor shifting properly, your derailleur needs dialed in.
+1

A little basics here:
Indexed shifting means that the shifter moves between set positions to get the derailer to line up with the different sprockets/chainwheels.
Friction shifting means that the shifter will move "seamlessly" through its range of motion, and it's up to the rider to position the shifter/derailer by feel to get the desired gear.
L/H are user instructions, not gear positions. "want a higher gear? push this way"

There's nothing inherently wrong with this, it's how multi-geared bikes all were built for quite some years. And some diehards still prefer it due to its simplicity and robustness.
They're really low on maintenance and there are very few compatibility issues.
For the front, where there are few positions to hit, and friction offers an easy way to avoid chain rub it's still a decent solution for almost everyone.