No lateral movement when adjusting derailleur screws...

Rothkored

Hello all,

I'm having a problem where I found I couldn't shift down to the smallest cog.
The first thing I did was look for a large bit of grit etc in the spring, but there doesn't seem to be anything obvious, just the usual small particles of road dust.
Next I tried the tensioner on the wire that feeds into the back of the derailleur; that seem to have no effect, so next I went on to adjusting the "H" & "L" screws, at which point I noticed that there didn't seem to be any lateral movement as I was turning the screws.
It might be worth noting also that there is no further click ofter it has shifted down to the 2nd smallest cog.

It's all been quite sudden as it was fine just 2 weeks ago. I've ridden about 200km since then, but haven't had any knocks or falls, nothing that could have contributed.

I live in Japan, and although I speak some Japanese, non-everyday conversations can still be a problem sometimes, so before I succumb to the inevitable visit to the LBS (who will probably be po-faced as I bought my bike when I was overseas), I'd like to see what advice/suggestions you fellow riders can offer me.

My thanks & appreciation in advance!

nicklouse

have a read of the set up info on Parktools so you fully understand what does what.

Often it is best to go back to the start. disconect the wire and then set up on the small cog add wire sort tension. then set the top stop to stop over shifting.

on-yer-bike

If youve fiddled around with the screws I would disconnect the wire and start again. Otherwise you may have a nasty shock when your mech goes into the spokes. The stop screws are adjusted intially without the wire connected and ideally without the chain. You line the jockey wheels up visually with the two outer sprockets. For the big sprocket you push the mech over with your hand. They are then fine tuned if necessary when all connected up again.

Rothkored

@Nicklouse & On-yer-bike

Thanks for the replies; they're thoroughly appreciated.

I'm fairly new to cycling in a serious sense (used to just do short commutes), so don't feel confident enough yet to attempt taking such important & delicate things apart.
I think I'll have to bite that snooty LBS bullet for the time being, get it sorted properly.

In the meantime I'll be sure to check out the Parktools & SB sites for future reference.

Cheers!
R.

nathancom

It really isn't too hard, just watch a couple of videos and all you need at your fingers and a Philips head screwdriver. There are some videos in the workshop section on this website as well. It is a 5 minute job and saves you £15 at LBS.

arlowood

Hi there

Have a look at this video. IMHO it is one of the better ones and goes through the set-up process in simple layman steps.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkzvfCaI ... re=related

If you want to save yourself some Yen then this procedure is one that you should get familiar with.

Hope this helps.

Rothkored

Cheers for your replies Nathancom & Arlowood.

I've had a bit of a tinker around, and it seems better. I just need to make some incremental adjustments now to fine tune it.

Thanks again to all posters for your advice, it's appreciated.

smidsy

Rothkored wrote:

Hello all,
It's all been quite sudden as it was fine just 2 weeks ago. I've ridden about 200km since then, but haven't had any knocks or falls, nothing that could have contributed.

In which case (having ruled out dirt/debris/lubrication) it was probably cable stretch and would have been sorted with the barrell adjuster.

For future reference once the mech travel is set (which is done by the 2 limit screws) and working correctly there is no reason to alter it and any sudden non performace of shifting (assuming no damage) will probably be due to the cables.... Either tension, lubrication, routing or condition. This applied to inners and outers.