Something odd happened to my rear derailleur

Gododdin

Hi all - first post here! I recently bought my first 'proper' bike a Kona Sutra, and I've been really enjoying getting used to it. But a few days ago I was out on a ride and something happened so that the gearing was not working very well (sorry, I know that's a bit vague). When I got it back I asked a friend who knows a bit more than I do about bike mechanics, but he was baffled. Nothing 'catastrophic' happened and nothing seems to be broken. I'm attaching a couple of pics of the rear mech which seems to have shifted somehow so that the mech is sometimes touching the chain stay. Also both the chain and the cable seem very slack now. Any help in getting this sorted would be very much appreciated! If you need more pics or info just let me know and I'll do my best.

Monty Dog

The rear mech engages with a stop on the rear mech hanger - yours looks to have 'jumped' forward and the little metal boss on the back of the rear mech mount is not engaging with the frame - therefore you have no spring tension which pushes the mech backwards and keeps the chain tight. Unscrew the rear mech from it's mount and refit with the arm of the parallelogram at about 45 degrees and make sure the protruding boss engages with the frame.

Gododdin

Thanks Monty Dog - much appreciated! That's exactly what it was - now fixed and working perfectly. Lovely day here in the Outer Hebrides so I'm going for a ride...