Newbie question here (cranksets/shifters/etc)

[dudleyr1032]

I have an old mountain bike from about 15 years ago and I never really rode it(3x8). It has bottom of the barrel equipment and I'm just looking to ride to and from work! I didnt like the grip shifts so I bought Shimano ST-EF51's but I have noname front and rear cassettes along with Sachs derailleurs I believe. The throw on the front derailleur is too long and keeps throwing the chain off. And the rears line up ok, but between 5 and 6 its catchy. What do I need to get this thing going so Im not hearing the chain grind on the derailleurs, cassettes, etc? Hopefully its something fairly inexpensive for what Ill be using it for!!

Thx

Rob

 

[alfeng]

FWIW. I don't know what is going on with the rear derailleur without thinking about it more ...

• BUT, your front derailleur's outer stop simply needs to be adjusted to limit its outward swing ...

FYI. You can check either www.parktool.com OR Youtube.com for DIY information.

 

[dudleyr1032]

I think I adjusted the inner and outer limits according to the Youtube vids I watched correctly. The issue is when they are adjusted correctly, it wont allow me to shift to the largest cog because the cable become too tight, but when I try to correct that, it will shift to the largest cog but throws the chain right off. Hopefully that explains it a bit better....

 

[oldbobcat]

If I'm not mistaken, ST-EF51 levers are for 3x7, so you're going to miss out on a rear cog on one end or the other.

If the derailleurs are Sachs, it's pretty safe to assume the cassette is Sachs-compatible, which also implies that it's Shimano-compatible. This does not imply that the Sachs derailleurs are compatible with Shimano levers.

The problem is the derailleurs. Indexing levers require compatible derailleurs, so you need Shimano or Shimano-compatible derailleurs. It has to do with how much cable the lever pulls for each stop and how much cable the derailleur needs to hop to the next cog. Not seeing the bike, I don't know enough about how the derailleurs are attached and the sizes of your chainrings to make a specific recommendation. Take it to a shop where they can recommend and order inexpensive Shimano Tourney or Acera derailleurs for you.

 

[dudleyr1032]

I appreciate the feedback. Ill be taking it to the local shop and hopefully they can help me out!