Question regarding gears, and keeping them in tip top condition

[Mushroomgodmat]

Hi,

So Iv had my bike for a few few months (done about 400miles on it), and so far its been pretty close to perfect

But now, after pretty constand daily use, the gears are starting to miss, by that I mean they have gone slack (?) but im finding getting the the right gear a bit of a gamble, sometimes it wont click over when should., sometimes the gears change without any real imput from myself.

I obviosly should take it in for a service (and thats probably what I will do) but at the same time id like to know how to fix it myself, or atleast better understand the problem?

Does anyone know the problem Im taking about, and if so does anyone know of any good tutorials on how to service the gears of a hybrid bike?

cheers!

 

[Hydra]

This vid is helpful and really easy to follow, and there's also Bicycle Tutor. (edit: Fnaar beet me to it

)

 

[Globalti]

Your cables are probably just settling down. The inners will stretch a little and the outers will compress a little so you need to take up some slack by winding out the adjuster where the cable curves around and enters the rear derailleur; just one anticlockwise turn at a time until the gears are indexing correctly again.

 

[g00se]

Your cables are probably just settling down. The inners will stretch a little and the outers will compress a little so you need to take up some slack by winding out the adjuster where the cable curves around and enters the rear derailleur; just one anticlockwise turn at a time until the gears are indexing correctly again.

Yup, if you bought the bike new from a shop, they usually include a few service/checkup after a month just for this (and brake cables etc).

 

[Svendo]

Your cables are probably just settling down. The inners will stretch a little and the outers will compress a little so you need to take up some slack by winding out the adjuster where the cable curves around and enters the rear derailleur; just one anticlockwise turn at a time until the gears are indexing correctly again.

I assume by turn you mean 'click', about 1/8th of a full turn 45 deg. or so.

 

[Globalti]

Whatever reference suits you; just unscrew a bit at a time until the gears index again.

If you find that the derailleur has become sluggish when moving down to a smaller cog, it's time for a new cable outer where it curves around to that adjuster. The outer is very stressed here and can wear and get a bit manky with rust and dirt, which begins to impede the gears. I replace my outer every six months; a quick clean of the inner with some wire wool and a wipe with fingers wetted with chain lube is all that's needed. The best way to do this is to buy a couple of metres of cable outer from your LBS and invest in a cable cutter. You need a supply of the little aluminium end caps and some plastic ferrules to finish it off. Alternatively take the bike to the LBS because it's a five minute job. Or just ask them to cut a piece of cable and replace it yourself.