Adjusting rear derailleur without phoning the Samaritans.....

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Widge

Baldy Go
There WAS a time when I could adjust my trusty old mtb gears without my glasses steaming up.....however....that was many years ago, and after a few hundred miles on my shiny new Triban...and a cack-handed rear wheel removal and puncture repair my gears where seriously out of whack.

I couldn't make head nor tail of the official SHimano Tech Doc...but watched a few vids on YouTube and spent an afternoon (!) turning various screws until at least the indexing was again doing what it what supposed to. (ie change gear with one click and NOT throw the chain off at either end of the block). Makes a huge racket doing it though!!

Cheap componants though......my LBS will go through it at a price for me...I gave them a ring and they said bring it in with a packet of biscuits any day after work. So I'm wondering if they have the secret knowledge that will make the gears snick silently and effortlessly-or whether I have got it as good as it can be?

Hard work being a perfectionist.

I really want to be self-sufficient mechanically again.

When do you guys finally admit defeat and let the LBS scratch the blazes out your pride and joy on their work-stands?
 

Milo

Guru
Location
Melksham, Wilts
I gave up fannying around with derailleurs and set my shifters to friction. Not much help I'm afraid. I can recommend youtube it does tend to make it easier to fiddle with something if you can see it being done.
 

mrandmrspoves

Middle aged bald git.
Location
Narfuk
Shouldn't be making much noise if they're indexed right.....and the indexing shouldn't have been disturbed by removing the wheel to fix a puncture - so have another good look. Is the wheel straight , spacers in the right place etc.

When would I give up and take one of my bicycles to the LBS........never! ( I would probably have got too frustrated and smashed anything I couldn't fix)
 

Pauluk

Senior Member
Location
Leicester
mrandmrspoves said:
I would probably have got too frustrated and smashed anything I couldn't fix
Glad its not just me. My wife thinks I have a bad temper and no patience, but I know better :laugh:.

I've lost count of the times I've wanted to throw a gadget, phone or computer through one of my own windows.
 

gbb

Legendary Member
Location
Peterborough
There WAS a time when I could adjust my trusty old mtb gears without my glasses steaming up.....however....that was many years ago, and after a few hundred miles on my shiny new Triban...and a cack-handed rear wheel removal and puncture repair my gears where seriously out of whack.

I couldn't make head nor tail of the official SHimano Tech Doc...but watched a few vids on YouTube and spent an afternoon (!) turning various screws until at least the indexing was again doing what it what supposed to. (ie change gear with one click and NOT throw the chain off at either end of the block). Makes a huge racket doing it though!!

Cheap componants though......my LBS will go through it at a price for me...I gave them a ring and they said bring it in with a packet of biscuits any day after work. So I'm wondering if they have the secret knowledge that will make the gears snick silently and effortlessly-or whether I have got it as good as it can be?

Hard work being a perfectionist.

I really want to be self-sufficient mechanically again.

When do you guys finally admit defeat and let the LBS scratch the blazes out your pride and joy on their work-stands?
Beware missing the obvious....if they were working ok before you cack handedly removed the wheel (as you put it) there shouldnt have been a problem when you put it back....if you put it back straight !!!
I had this in the past, fettling a bike with the rear wheel off, then lost the settings. Tried so many adjustments, it just wouldnt have it, then for some reason i took the wheel back out, put it back in...perfect.
It must have been slightly skewed in the dropouts, causing the problem
 

mrandmrspoves

Middle aged bald git.
Location
Narfuk
Glad its not just me. My wife thinks I have a bad temper and no patience, but I know better :laugh:.

I've lost count of the times I've wanted to throw a gadget, phone or computer through one of my own windows.

I'm one of the calmest most laid back people around...........except when a !"£$%%%5!!! nut is seized or I cannot work something out mechanically. Then I throw all my toys out of my pram and sulk like a child before calming myself down (no one else should ever try and calm me down when I am at this stage) before looking at the problem in a rational manner when usually I sort it very quickly and then feel embarrassed that I behaved like such as **at!
 

mrandmrspoves

Middle aged bald git.
Location
Narfuk
BTW, I was a Samaritan volunteer for a number of years (a brilliant organisation) and I can assure you we took a lot of very very very strange calls ....though I never took one from somebody with bicycle troubles!
 

Gary E

Veteran
Location
Hampshire
I'd never allow an LBS (or anyone else for that matter) to work on my bike. It's about as alien to me as pulling over in the car to ask for directions!! :wacko:

Haven't found anything I couldn't manage yet, my only difficulty comes when I need a special tool but that's just another excuse to enlarge my tool box - win-win ^_^
 

mrandmrspoves

Middle aged bald git.
Location
Narfuk
I'd never allow an LBS to work on my bike. It's about as alien to me as pulling over in the car to ask for directions!! :wacko:

Haven't found anything I couldn't manage yet, my only difficulty comes when I need a special tool but that's just another excuse to enlarge my tool box - win-win ^_^

What is it about us men and our tools? :becool:
 
OP
OP
Widge

Widge

Baldy Go
Hi all, and thanks for your comments.............I don't think my rain sodden desperate puncture repair was the CAUSE of my gears going out of whack......more a case of gradual cable stretch and random twiddling of the cable tensioner!

I think I have them fettled back again.....and nothing mis-shifts or grates....so what mechanical noise is still evident I put down to cheap (think tin-plate chainset and cheapest chain in the bin) components?
After all-there must be reason why Dura-Ace costs five times more than 2300/Sora?:whistle:

I'll put off my visit to the LBS (much as I lurve them) until things REALLY go pie-shaped!

best

w
 
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