New bike - Gear tweaking ?
Discussion
Some of you may remember i posted a while ago about tarting up an old frame for a 4 mile return commute... well last week i picked up a new bike - the Carrera Subway 1 city bike 
Very pleased with it so far apart from one thing - the certain gears sound like they are slipping and about to change... its not inspiring confidence and i daren't stand up and pedal with any enthusiasm until this has been sorted. I'm also worried that it might strain or wear parts while its setup badly..
Now - the bike was from halfolds, but it was too good a deal to miss. £169.99 + £20 voucher. I kind of expected the bike to need some attention as the chimps that work there done really take much pride in their work...so what i ask the PH massive is : What do i need to adjust on the rear deraileur (?) to make sure the gears dont slip and make my knack myself on the cross bar ?
Also - years ago an old guy in the bike shop (a small independant) told me that when on the largest cog at the front i musnt use the smallest cog at the back.. and various other rules on what gears cant be used at certain times.. not sure if this pulls the chain too much or is this complete bull ? I know right now i cant use gear 7 properly and i dont know if this is intentional or its setup related... basically the gears need a looking at and i wanted to go for a ride with a set of tools and do it myself.
Any info would be appreciated !
Cheers
Steve
PS - if any of you are in the city go and look at the cycle shops in spitalfields... just been down to get some riding gloves - they are very good !
Very pleased with it so far apart from one thing - the certain gears sound like they are slipping and about to change... its not inspiring confidence and i daren't stand up and pedal with any enthusiasm until this has been sorted. I'm also worried that it might strain or wear parts while its setup badly..
Now - the bike was from halfolds, but it was too good a deal to miss. £169.99 + £20 voucher. I kind of expected the bike to need some attention as the chimps that work there done really take much pride in their work...so what i ask the PH massive is : What do i need to adjust on the rear deraileur (?) to make sure the gears dont slip and make my knack myself on the cross bar ?
Also - years ago an old guy in the bike shop (a small independant) told me that when on the largest cog at the front i musnt use the smallest cog at the back.. and various other rules on what gears cant be used at certain times.. not sure if this pulls the chain too much or is this complete bull ? I know right now i cant use gear 7 properly and i dont know if this is intentional or its setup related... basically the gears need a looking at and i wanted to go for a ride with a set of tools and do it myself.
Any info would be appreciated !
Cheers
Steve
PS - if any of you are in the city go and look at the cycle shops in spitalfields... just been down to get some riding gloves - they are very good !
Edited by lockstock2sb on Wednesday 22 November 13:25
A very clear reply:
If you don't know how to set up or adjust the front and rear mech's, don't mess with them.
This really should be done for you at your point of purchase (Halfords) and you should not expect to start messing with the gears, no matter how much you paid for it. Poor service from the shop I'm affraid. Take it back to the shop, and get them to set it up correctly.
In general, it is not good practice to ride biggest ring on the front, to biggest sprocket on the rear. Or Smallest chainring front to smallest sprocket on the rear. You can make the same gear ratio without going down that route.
Cheers,
Ian.
If you don't know how to set up or adjust the front and rear mech's, don't mess with them.
This really should be done for you at your point of purchase (Halfords) and you should not expect to start messing with the gears, no matter how much you paid for it. Poor service from the shop I'm affraid. Take it back to the shop, and get them to set it up correctly.
In general, it is not good practice to ride biggest ring on the front, to biggest sprocket on the rear. Or Smallest chainring front to smallest sprocket on the rear. You can make the same gear ratio without going down that route.
Cheers,
Ian.
The cable that runs between your shifter and the rear mech will have a little adjuster at each end, these alter the tension in the cable.
Turn the bike upside down, put the chain on the middle ring at the front and whilst turning the pedals round use the shifter to move throughout the full range of gears on the rear casette noting where the problem gears are.
Now turn one of the adjusters, start with the one on the shifer 1/4 turn either clockwise or anti clockwise making sure you remember which way you have turned it.
Now check the full range of gears again. If its worse, turn the adjuster in the oposite direction, but alway remember hwat you have changed.
Hope this helps.
Phill
Turn the bike upside down, put the chain on the middle ring at the front and whilst turning the pedals round use the shifter to move throughout the full range of gears on the rear casette noting where the problem gears are.
Now turn one of the adjusters, start with the one on the shifer 1/4 turn either clockwise or anti clockwise making sure you remember which way you have turned it.
Now check the full range of gears again. If its worse, turn the adjuster in the oposite direction, but alway remember hwat you have changed.
Hope this helps.
Phill
lockstock2sb said:
Its not massively out as such i just thought a couple of turns of a screw would sort it
Haha, that sentence ranks up there with "Watch this" and "Just one more go" for famous last words
Take it to Halfords on the principle, you have already payed them to do the work properly!
Edited by beyond rational on Wednesday 22 November 22:44
3rtt said:
A very clear reply:
If you don't know how to set up or adjust the front and rear mech's, don't mess with them.
If you don't know how to set up or adjust the front and rear mech's, don't mess with them.
You're joking aren't you? Agree that Halford's should have set them up correctly but that's neither here not there. You trust them to do it right second time?
Fine-tuning your mechs is a) very easy, and b) something that naturally takes a little while. Get a book (I recommend Lennard Zinn's Art of [Road/Mountain] Bike Maintenance and get dirty I say. Only one way to learn!
www.sheldonbrown.com
Is very useful for beginners maintenance.
What your mate told you was correct, its all about the 'chainline'.
oretty obvious really, look directly down at your bike from the top. notice how inthe middle chainring and the middle sprocket the chain runs exaclty parrallel to the cnetre of the bike, ie striaght. This is where minimum wear occuras. By choosing gear combos at the extremes, ie biggest chainring, smallest sprocket, the chain has to traverse a distance of around 5 or 6 cm side to side. Thus, it is not meshing properly with the teeth, leading to poor shifting, chain stretchm and wear.
What you will find is that the gears that cause bad chainlines are replicated by using both derailleurs.
Is very useful for beginners maintenance.
What your mate told you was correct, its all about the 'chainline'.
oretty obvious really, look directly down at your bike from the top. notice how inthe middle chainring and the middle sprocket the chain runs exaclty parrallel to the cnetre of the bike, ie striaght. This is where minimum wear occuras. By choosing gear combos at the extremes, ie biggest chainring, smallest sprocket, the chain has to traverse a distance of around 5 or 6 cm side to side. Thus, it is not meshing properly with the teeth, leading to poor shifting, chain stretchm and wear.
What you will find is that the gears that cause bad chainlines are replicated by using both derailleurs.
Front Mech Adjustment
Rear Mech Adjustment
I agree with deckster, you may as well learn how to do it now as you'll need to do it quite often anyway.
Rear Mech Adjustment
I agree with deckster, you may as well learn how to do it now as you'll need to do it quite often anyway.
deckster said:
3rtt said:
A very clear reply:
If you don't know how to set up or adjust the front and rear mech's, don't mess with them.
If you don't know how to set up or adjust the front and rear mech's, don't mess with them.
You're joking aren't you? Agree that Halford's should have set them up correctly but that's neither here not there. You trust them to do it right second time?
Tim, why would I be joking? The shop that sells the bike to the customer HAS to supply the bike (Or any product) 'Fit for the purpose'. If the gears were not set up correctly, and the purchaser hurts themselves due to this, then the purchaser could sue the retailer (at point of purchase). Believe me, I have seen this happen many times before. (My business is in the Cycle Trade)
I have also seen many times, customers with little knowledge try to adjust / trim their front and rear mech, only to make a complete hash of it, resulting in the owner having to take the bike back to a bike shop.
Sure enough, if you have very basic mechanical knowledge, you can learn to do this. Depending on your skill level, you can get this information from various place listed above. Better still, get the mechanic at your local shop to show you the correct the way to adjust / trim your front and rear mech.
Hope this helps,
Cheers,
Ian.
Thanks for your posts chaps
I understand its the principle of the matter to take the bike back, but its the time and effort involved on my weekend time (riding 5 miles back to shop... waiting around...trying to explain to 16 year old what the problem is) doing it, and also the fact that they may not sort it again properly !!
I'd prefer to have a crack myself and learn my bike. I'm not a numpty with a spanner by any means, and to be honest, i'd feel much better on the bike if i knew i was responsible for its setup as i'd be very thorough. If i knack myself after i have made some extreme adjustments then thats my problem. Part of the joys of bike ownership i'm sure you'd all agree. I think the safest way to proceed is to make one minor adjustment at a time... ride the bike to feel the difference and work on that basis.
Agreed if after a few attempts i've seen no improvement then i'll wave the white flag, but i think i'd sooner take it to Leisure wheels, accept a small fee and some mocking over my bike (leisure wheels do quite expesnive bikes and i suspect some piss taking may occur over my situation). I really dont want to take the bike back to halfords for fear of additional damage or hassle.
I might try some minor adjustments via the front and rear as you said and see if the tension makes any difference initially...
Cheers
Steve
I understand its the principle of the matter to take the bike back, but its the time and effort involved on my weekend time (riding 5 miles back to shop... waiting around...trying to explain to 16 year old what the problem is) doing it, and also the fact that they may not sort it again properly !!
I'd prefer to have a crack myself and learn my bike. I'm not a numpty with a spanner by any means, and to be honest, i'd feel much better on the bike if i knew i was responsible for its setup as i'd be very thorough. If i knack myself after i have made some extreme adjustments then thats my problem. Part of the joys of bike ownership i'm sure you'd all agree. I think the safest way to proceed is to make one minor adjustment at a time... ride the bike to feel the difference and work on that basis.
Agreed if after a few attempts i've seen no improvement then i'll wave the white flag, but i think i'd sooner take it to Leisure wheels, accept a small fee and some mocking over my bike (leisure wheels do quite expesnive bikes and i suspect some piss taking may occur over my situation). I really dont want to take the bike back to halfords for fear of additional damage or hassle.
I might try some minor adjustments via the front and rear as you said and see if the tension makes any difference initially...
Cheers
Steve
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