Problem with gears on my new bike

woody007

Hello

After many weeks of research and window shopping I finally decided on a new mountain bike and I opted for the Saracen Vortex LE.

My knowledge of bikes is very minimal, I remember in the good old days when one purchased a bike purely on the amount of gears but now you have to consider forks, chains, frames etc...!!

I picked up my bike earlier today and I have just arrived back after a quick blast. The bike is very good however the gear change is not and it's very reluctant to change between top gears. The problem is present when changing between the 3 different cogs (excuse my lack of technical jargon!) and I haven't been able to get it onto the larger cog. Any ideas what the problem could be?

Also, any tips on maintenance once I've been out? Do I need to wash/oil the forks or chain in any particular way?

Many thanks

Dale

nicklouse

cable tension.

have a read of parktools it has good how toos.

woody007

Thanks, I'll have a quick read as it sounds like it could be the tension which needs adjusting.

Team515

Could just be with the bike being new. I had the same problem with my bike when i first got it

Markwe

I had much the same problem only difference was that it wouldn't shift into the lowest front cog - I found that when trying to climb a Devon hill. The problem I was having was that it kept trying to bite but never quite making it. Luckily it happened just before I took it in for a 6 week service and it now works fine.

supersonic

Happens on new bikes - the gears settle in, the outer cables move further into their stops and put things out of kilter a little, hence many offer this 6 weeks check. Cant beat learning how to do them yourself though, really is quite simple and is usually just a twist of the adjuster barrel.

dav1

supersonic wrote:

Happens on new bikes - the gears settle in, the outer cables move further into their stops and put things out of kilter a little, hence many offer this 6 weeks check. Cant beat learning how to do them yourself though, really is quite simple and is usually just a twist of the adjuster barrel.

Learning how to do it yourself is a great thing. once you have done it a couple of times it is a very easy repear to do.

A while back i did to a friends bike trail-side with a multitool in about 5 minutes

if you have it done at an LBS (or any work for that matter) and its done whilst you are in the shop i fond its always good to watch closely at whats being done.