I Need to Adjust Roadbike Parts?



orvn

New Member
Mar 6, 2011
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Unsure if this is the correct subforum but I've got this new bike which was poorly put together as a show model at a retail location.

I trued and adjusted the brakes to my liking as they were barely functional and tightened a variety of things, but I'm not sure what's wrong with the derailleur/chain/hub, I'm pretty sure it's something basic, so bear with me here.

When I rotate the pedals clockwise (with the bike upside down), simulating forward pedalling the wheel moves, however, when I mount the bike and pedal forward, I get ahead and then I feel the lack of force and stop moving- as though the chain slipped off. After a few rotations it catches on again resulting in the bike moving forward.

Moving the pedals backwards results in a strange noise that isn't just the clicking sound of the freewheel, it sounds a lot more like something rattling (along with sporadic freewheel clicking). All in all, the bike feels pretty unstable and unridable because of this.

I'm not sure what's wrong or what I need to do..
is the cassette not properly attached to the inner part of the hub?
Or is it something with my chain and derailleur?

I really have no idea, although I'm willing to learn, deduce and solve the problem.

Also, I know my description was poor in some areas, so he's an equally poor video:
http://searchanddevelop.ca/dump/yellowbike.mov

Note how the chain or freewheel seems to skip.
 
Thanks for the reply. I'll take some photos today.
The video is just a .mov file, should be able to run on most computers, but if it doesn't, you can just "save page as" and see it on your computer?
 
Best I can tell from that video...your rear derailleur just looks to be between gears. This could be due to too much looseness in the cable (or less likely, too much tightness.)

The basic idea is for there to be a correlation between one click of the shifter and one gear in the back. Cables tend to stretch (or maybe this was never adjusted correctly) and when that happens things go off and the derailleur is not lined up precisely with the gear.

There is a barrel adjuster at the end of the cable as it enters the derailleur. Try turning this clockwise while the bike is upside down and you are turning the pedals as if going forward. When you tighten the cable it should smooth things out. Don't try to adjust anything while pedaling backwards.

There are several videos on Youtube that show how to adjust rear derailleurs in various ways.
 
The ratchet pawls in the free wheel are most likely sticking. Remove your rear wheel and liberally apply some very light oil or kerosene into your freewheel hub. This should help to flush it out if it is being caused by contamination. The noisy free wheel is screaming for lube. So make sure you oil it up good after flushing it out.
 
Thanks for the derailleur adjustment tips, I'll try them today.
In the meantime, here are the photos I took along with bike specs, in case anyone sees anything.


Also the protective disk between the spokes and hub is plastic and rubs against the spokes a lot- do I really need it? Frame: Alloy Size: 56 cm Fork: Steel 1-inch threaded Shifters: Shimano stem-mounted SIS lever shifters Stem: Steel 22.2 quilled Crankset: Dotek steel double 52/48 Pedals: Plastic road pedal Wheels: 700c double-walled alloy/steel hubs 36h Tires: Wanda 700c/25 Derailleurs: Shimano A050 Handlebars: 42cm 25.4 classic steel drop Seatpost: Alloy 27.2 300 mm Saddle: Steel rail road seat Speeds: 12
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