HELP!!! Novice with gearshift problems. SRAM X5/SX5

bigred407

Hi guys, despite being 32 & having bikes for years i'm not very technically minded when it comes to repairs. My good friend usually helps but he's been busy of late & i really want to get this problem sorted so i can use my bike again. I'd take it to the local shop but everytime i go there they look at me like i have two heads & i'd rather sort it myself if i can without forking out for a repair bill.

BIKE: 2009 GT Tempest 1.0

REAR MECH: SRAM SX5 MED CAGE

SHIFTERS: SRAM X5 9 SPEED TRIGGER TYPE

Now to outline the problem. I removed the wheels front & rear to fit another set of tyres to try. That was the easy part, although i found removing the rear wheel a bit fiddly due to the bike having horizontal drop outs (something i'm not used to) which may be where i've done something wrong. So... tyres changed, pumped up & wheels refitted (back one fiddly going back in again) & out for a quick run around the block to make sure all is good. It wasn't. Front mech shifting fine. Rear mech is where the problem is. It shifted fine but it's like it's shifting a cog out if that makes sense? I mean it won't shift down to the smallest cog at the rear & when trying to shift to the largest it wants to shift too far & drop down behind the rear cassette. I've had a look & can't see anything snagged or that looks out of place. Rather than mess around with the screws on the rear mech i adjusted the tebsion on the shift cable to try and remedy the problem but it doesn't solve the problem fully & leave the chain a bit "jumpy". Only thing i wasn't sure of is when putting the back wheel back in the drop out was if it was originally all the way in or somewhere in the middle, would this make any difference?

I'm assuming i've done something stupid which can be repaired easily (i hope!!) & i'm sure some of you guys will probably know what to do so.... HEEEELLLP!!!!

Cheers

Paul.

supersonic

Sounds like you do need to adjust the limit stops.

anjs

Did you do any damage removing the wheel might be bent gear hanger?

bigred407

Thanks for the input guys. Thinking i'll remove the rear wheel again to check & see if i've damaged anything, then refit & try it. Then if it's still the same i'll try moving the limit screws. I know i'm asking whats probably obvious but i take it thats the ccrews marked "+" & "-" :oops:

Cferg

Yeah, H and L it will be, High and low, play about with them there's some good videos on youtube, but you should notice what they do by playing about with them and shifting inbetween.

You'll want to bring the high down and the low up if that makes sense, the H screw is too loose so is allowing the rear to go too far?

That is if your problem is down to the screws.

captainfly

It sounds like the cassette/indexing are off by a cog, which is odd, before you start playing with limit screws or even cable tension (as your current shifting sounds like a too tight cableor bent inwards mech hanger ) check the wheel is lined up and in the dropouts properly.
Pic would be good from the rear of the mech.

Gwaredd

What /\ he said. If it was shifting fine before you took the wheel out, you've done something wrong putting the wheel back in. Have you done the skewer up too tight or too loose? Sometimes that can put the shifting out a fraction.

diy

Definitely leave the limit screws alone and check the wheel is properly home in the drop outs. Gears don't suddenly start dropping a cog.

However, check also that the cable screw is not loose and slipping, it might be that the mech is not biting the cable properly and its slipping.