Help needed - gears! Argh!

[jkw38]

Hey everyone,

I've just taken up cycling after killing my legs running...I've got a Giant Avail 3, women's specific, with Shimano components. When I was biking today, the chain started making some noise - it's definitely all on, but it's hitting something somewhere and it won't shift out of the gear it is currently in (the smallest loop thingy - see how much I know about this ). The gears are Shimano 2300, with short reach thumb shifters. How do I fix it so it will shift again?? Any ideas? Thanks tons!!!!

Cheers!
Julia

 

[Dave67]

Need a little more info. Is it the rear derailleur, on the rear wheel or the front derailleur, by the crank? It sound like the cable could of stretched or slipped and the derailleur needs some adjustment.

 

[alfeng]

When I was biking today, the chain started making some noise - it's definitely all on, but it's hitting something somewhere and it won't shift out of the gear it is currently in (the smallest loop thingy - see how much I know about this ). The gears are Shimano 2300, with short reach thumb shifters. How do I fix it so it will shift again?? Any ideas? Thanks tons!!!!

The tension on your (rear) derailleur cable probably needs to be adjusted ... that is, the slack needs to be removed from the cable ...

Presuming you bought the bike from a shop, you can simply bring it back & they should adjust it for you for no cost (other than your time).

OR, you can go to the WWW.PARKTOOL.COM website to learn ~90% of what you need to know with regard to general bicycle maintenance.

 

[TKOS]

That advice sounds good. And yes, the Park Tool website is a great resource.

Ff you do take it back to the shop ask them to show you how the derailleur adjustment is done. It isn't that hard.

 

[GT Fanatic]

It's normal for some gear slippage and fine-tuning to need to be done on a new bicycle until the cables break in, but you shouldn't be having extreme issues with them.

I have about 100-150 miles on my new road bike and I'm still fine-tuning and adjusting from time to time. After about 2-3 months, I'll go ahead and bring the bicycle back to the shop for final adjustments.

There should be a little "cylinder" at the top of the cable on your shifter that you can twist. Twist 1/4 turn at a time either frontwards or backwards, and this should help with some adjustments. Make sure to keep note of the original position of the "cylinder" in case you manage to make things worse. That way, you can just adjust it back into its original position.

What the "cylinder" does is either loosen or tighten the derailleur cable. If you twist the one on the right-side shifter, that's going to adjust your REAR derailleur. If you twist the one on the left-side shifter, that's going to adjust your FRONT derailleur.

 

[cyclenthusias44]

That advice sounds good. And yes, the Park Tool website is a great resource.

Ff you do take it back to the shop ask them to show you how the derailleur adjustment is done. It isn't that hard.

Thank you for recommending the awesome website. I agree with you. It's a good website.