Shifting question

[tjodit]

I am fairly new to cycling so forgive me if I sound ignorant. I have a Specialized Allez with a triple chainring. The hoods say Shimano Sora flightdeck triple. The problem I'm having is shifting from the middle chainring to the small chainring or from the small chainring to the middle chainring. I just get this grinding sound from my chain. It will not shift smoothly. I have to press and hold the shift leaver to shift up and even then I may have to try it two or three times. I am pushing the leaver all the way over. Or if I push the button to shift down the chain just grinds. I have to shift my rear derailer in order to get it to move in the front. It doesn't matter what cog my chain is on it the back, it still won't shift smoothly. What do I need to do to fix this? Please remember that I am new to all of this so I need simple, detailed instructions. Thanks.

 

[gclark8]

Take the bike back to the shop and have them check the mounting of the front derailleur and its adjustments. Do not adjust this yourself.

 

[tjodit]

Take the bike back to the shop and have them check the mounting of the front derailleur and its adjustments. Do not adjust this yourself.

Thanks for the reply but that wasn't really what I was looking for. I took it to the bike shop before because it wouldn't shift from the middle chain ring to the large chainring. They fixed that but now I have this problem. I don't want to have to lug my bike to the LBS every time something is wrong. I want to know how to do my own maintenance. Can anyone help?

 

[eric_the_red]

It's difficult to try and figure out the problem without seeing it, but check these 2 websites, they might help you. They have lots of maintenance info

http://www.parktool.com/repair/

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/index.html#articles

 

[Cannibal2]

I am fairly new to cycling so forgive me if I sound ignorant. I have a Specialized Allez with a triple chainring. The hoods say Shimano Sora flightdeck triple. The problem I'm having is shifting from the middle chainring to the small chainring or from the small chainring to the middle chainring. I just get this grinding sound from my chain. It will not shift smoothly. I have to press and hold the shift leaver to shift up and even then I may have to try it two or three times. I am pushing the leaver all the way over. Or if I push the button to shift down the chain just grinds. I have to shift my rear derailer in order to get it to move in the front. It doesn't matter what cog my chain is on it the back, it still won't shift smoothly. What do I need to do to fix this? Please remember that I am new to all of this so I need simple, detailed instructions. Thanks.

Sounds like a your FDR needs an adjustment...How long have you had this bike? If it is new take it back to the LBS for an adjustment or if they offer tuneups for free, have them do it...That's my best guess..

 

[Cannibal2]

Thanks for the reply but that wasn't really what I was looking for. I took it to the bike shop before because it wouldn't shift from the middle chain ring to the large chainring. They fixed that but now I have this problem. I don't want to have to lug my bike to the LBS every time something is wrong. I want to know how to do my own maintenance. Can anyone help?

Some LBS offer tuneup and maintenance classes....Nothing like performing the task while a professional gives you quick tips in the process...

 

[tjodit]

Sounds like a your FDR needs an adjustment...How long have you had this bike? If it is new take it back to the LBS for an adjustment or if they offer tuneups for free, have them do it...That's my best guess..

I got the bike this spring from the LBS. They would fix it for me I know but I am trying to figure out this stuff for myself. The FDR hasn't taken any hits. Shifting in the rear is fine. The LBS tightened my cable when it wouldn't go from the middle chainring to the large chainring. Could it be that they over-tightened it? I'm trying to figure out the cause based on the signs. Anyone know what is causing this? Once I know what is causing the problem then I might be able to figure out how to fix it.

 

[tjodit]

Some LBS offer tuneup and maintenance classes....Nothing like performing the task while a professional gives you quick tips in the process...

That probably is the best solution...learn from them. I just feel kind of intimidated when I go in there. Never any women in there. I almost feel like I'm not wanted in their shop...could all be in my head though.

 

[charly h]

Hello

Not sure whether you have this sort of stuff in the US but here in London you can access free (or very cheap) maintenance classes from local authorities who are keen to promote cycling in cities. Dunno if you have that sort of thing? Failing that there must be courses local to you ... and maybe a bike maintenance book might be useful - the Hanes one is quite good, but there's plenty to choose from!

 

[Yippee38]

FWIW, I bought a Specialized Allez Comp triple this year. After my first tune up, I noticed some chain noise starting up again. I decided to adjust things myself. It was shifting fine, but the chain was just noisy like it was before I got the tune-up. I used the documentation that came with my Shimano Ultegra gear and the Park's blue book.

I completely messed it up. I finally (after three days of starting over and trying to get it right) got it back to where it shifts well enough to use it, but it's not right. It's still noisy. I have to take it in and pay for another tune-up.

BTW, I am very mechanically inclined. I do all of my own work on my cars, do home repair stuff myself, and can usually fix something rather than taking it to an expert.

I'd recommend that you follow the advice of those here and either take a class, or take it in for a tune-up and ask them to show you what they are doing/ask them questions about what they are doing. That's what I'm going to do.

 

[tjodit]

I'd recommend that you follow the advice of those here and either take a class, or take it in for a tune-up and ask them to show you what they are doing/ask them questions about what they are doing. That's what I'm going to do.

I went to a women's mtn bike clinic and they had some classes in bike maintenance. The guy giving the clinic happened to be from our local bike shop. I asked him about this and he said that it sounds like the cable to the front derailler is too tight. This makes total sense because when I took it in the last time it was too loose and they tightened it for me. I guess they just over-tightened it. Haven't tried making the adjustment yet but I guess I'll find out soon enough.

 

[Yippee38]

I went to a women's mtn bike clinic and they had some classes in bike maintenance. The guy giving the clinic happened to be from our local bike shop. I asked him about this and he said that it sounds like the cable to the front derailler is too tight. This makes total sense because when I took it in the last time it was too loose and they tightened it for me. I guess they just over-tightened it. Haven't tried making the adjustment yet but I guess I'll find out soon enough.

Good luck.

How did you like the clinic? Did it seem like a worthwhile thing, or was it lacking in some way?

 

[tjodit]

Good luck.

How did you like the clinic? Did it seem like a worthwhile thing, or was it lacking in some way?

I thought the clinic was awesome! I'm still pretty new to all this and on the rare occasion I've had a problem I've taken my bike to the LBS and they've taken care of it for me. I like to learn how to do things for myself though so the clinic was great. As a woman I used to feel out of place a bit going into the LBS. But the more I go in there the more comfortable I am. They've always been friendly and helpful but since I don't/didn't know what I was doing I guess it just made me feel uncomfortable...didn't want them to think I was an idiot. The bike maintenance/repair clinic was really informative...would of liked to see some actual demo of some of the stuff since just talking about it doesn't help as much in seeing how parts, etc go together. But that may have taken too much time. They did have individual parts on the tables for us to look at which was nice. So, I understand the mechanics of it all a little better. And I liked the skills course they had too. Learned I could get over a lot bigger objects across the trail than I would have thought. The only "negative" thing I could say about the whole thing was that they could probably have grouped the participants together by skill level a little better. But to their credit there was a very wide range of skills there and a LOT of women. I think most of the women signed up as beginners but you had some "brand new" beginners mixed in with beginners like me (I've been riding about two years but on a pretty limited basis) so the skill levels for the trail rides didn't mesh real well. I didn't have a problem stopping and waiting on the slower members of the group...but I did hear a couple of comments about that. I think eventually the women sort of split themselves into more evenly divided groups (skill wise) as the rides progressed. If you or your group is thinking about doing something like this I would encourage you to do it. Based on what I saw and heard the particpants really enjoyed it and learned a lot. I know I really appreciated it. I hope they do something like this again.