Changing down a cog

mrDMH

Hello,

I've got a spec allez elite 2013 model, it has shimano tiagra gearset and i'm getting something a bit odd when changing down a gear, when I'm on the big cog at the front.

When I change down, i hear a continual clicking to get rid of the noise I change up, but that doesn't actually go up a gear it just removes the noise?

I pretty new to bikes in general so excuse the ignorance if this is something 'normal'

thanks,
Daniel

zx6man

Sounds like a tension issue to me, and with it being a brand new bike could have suffered some initial cable slackening. Most bikes get a free 6 week service to sort this kind of initial bedding in thing out.?

Def not normal though

CiB

It's called trimming, when you move the mech (front or rear) just enough to get the chain or the mech in the right place. All quite normal and part of riding a bike.

If it's happening on every gear change the indexing just needs tweaking a bit. Learn how to do that and you're ¾ of the way to being able to build your own bikes.

Anonymous

It sounds like when you are changing down, the gear doesn't actually change. The rear dérailleur at the back is moving, but not quite enough to actually shift the chain, so it clicks as it is not running freely. Then you change up, and it runs freely again.
What happens when you change down 2 gears at a time? Does that make the chain then jump?

If this isn't the case, then it could be that when you change gear, it rubs on the front dérailleur as the chain moves.

In both examples it is a case of working out which of the 2 it is (front or or rear derailleur) and then adjusting it accordingly.
It's quite simple, but if you don't feel comfortable doing this, then you can ask your local bike shop to do it or I would recommend you have a look on youtube for a video. Just search 'adjusting your gears' or something and it will show you. Its quite simple, and certainly valuable to know how, as gears tend to need adjusting every now and then anyway.

zx6man

Do you get trimming on the rear? Thought that was front Mech only

CiB

mrDMH wrote:

When I change down, i hear a continual clicking to get rid of the noise I change up, but that doesn't actually go up a gear it just removes the noise?

If I'm reading this right, you change down but in the new gear it makes the noise, so you change up again a bit without actually changing gear? Yes?

It needs nothing more than adjusting the cable - the indexing on the levers isn't aligned with the actual position of the rear mech, so you need to fiddle with it till it is. Easy; 5 minutes on Youtube will show you how.

zx6man

Youtube rules... helped me on most bikey stuff when I first got into it :-)

mrDMH

Thanks for the quick replies everyone!!

I do have a free 6 week service which I'll book in for, but I'd like to have a go myself for the future, I'll do some research this evening.

CiB, that's right yeah :-)

It sounds like an easy fix then. I have also noticed when I'm in certain gears the cable on the front gear touches the pedal which annoys me, must fix that too!

Anonymous

And so the fettling starts! Enjoy

CiB

It doesn't need research, or waiting for the 6 week service to happen, or for Youtube to produce the right results.

See where the cable goes into the rear mech? There's an adjuster there. Turn it a quarter turn in either direction then test the result. If it makes matters worse turn it the other way. Keep doing the quarter turn until it's right; it won't take much to get there. That's all there is to it.

Don't touch the limit screws on the mech body.

That's it. You're now a proper cyclist who can maintain his own bike instead of having to wait for a shop to do it and charge you accordingly. Enjoy.

mrDMH

Yes SIR!

thanks for that, i will get on it this evening and have a tinker. It's all handy stuff to know

chrisaonabike

CiB wrote:

See where the cable goes into the rear mech? There's an adjuster there. Turn it a quarter turn in either direction then test the result. If it makes matters worse turn it the other way. Keep doing the quarter turn until it's right; it won't take much to get there. That's all there is to it.

I had exactly this problem when I was test riding my bike... the adjuster didn't cure it (LBS man didn't believe me to start with).

They then put a new mech hanger on it (or so they said) which fixed it immediately. (I was slightly concerned that if something had got bent, something else might be damaged but couldn't see any evidence).

Just a word of warning in case there's something more subtle wrong.