Help - I can't drop into Granny Gear!

widetyres
widetyres Posts: 17
edited July 2009 in MTB workshop & tech
I was on a long XC ride yesterday, and about a third of the way into the ride I couldn't drop into Granny Gear - A bit of a problem when I hit the steep climbs. When I basically droped down all I can hear is the chain rubbing against the Derailleur - frustrating! What have I to tweak to get it to drop again? Thanks.

Comments

  • BorisSpencer
    BorisSpencer Posts: 786
    Clean your cables and mech.

    Shift into the big ring on the front while turning the cranks, then shift to the granny without turning the pedals, your cable will go slack and you can unhook the outers from their stops and give the cables a good clean and lube.
    The same principle works on the rear aswell.
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  • Sleepycol
    Sleepycol Posts: 66
    Have you checked your limit screw? It could be that it is set too high and won't let the cage drop down any further.
    Also check your cable tension. If it seems tight when dropping down to the inner ring then mabye it needs slackening off a bit.
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  • stumpyjon
    stumpyjon Posts: 3,983
    I'm guessing from what you said it was alright and then became a problem mid ride? Sounds like Boris has got it right, cables will have probably gunked up or the mech itself. Give everything a good clean, could also be worth replacing the cables if you know what you're doing (or get your LBS to do it, 15 min job to change them and set everyhting up properly, well maybe 30 mins :wink: ).
    It's easier to ask for forgiveness than for permission.

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  • The Spiderman
    The Spiderman Posts: 5,625
    If the cable clean doesn`t work,undo the cable from the clamp,reset the stop screws so the mech sits over the granny,check alignment of the mech too.Take up slack,tetighten cable clamp.Cable tension may need tweaked once recalmped to get indexing spot on.
    Theres a good video guide on the weldtite website.
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  • lordmerchant
    lordmerchant Posts: 378
    I had this yesterday, looked at my front mech, looked dead clean, but a quick look at the back revealed the spring was caked. Cleaned it out now, lubed good as new.
  • widetyres
    widetyres Posts: 17
    Thanks for all your posts - a quick clean of the mech and slight lube of the cables has got me back up and running - time to get back out on the bike a hit the hills! Cheers.

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