Gear Problems

badback
badback Posts: 31
edited October 2009 in Workshop
My gears have started to slip, I think. Pretty sure its my rear thing however have tightened it up as much as possible with the adjuster by hand and stil it slips, any ideas that don't involve lots of money. Cheers

Comments

  • Bill D
    Bill D Posts: 62
    When this happened to me recently I called in to my LBS. They told me it was the chain & sold me a new one. Problem solved for about £20. Felt like I'd got off lightly. The chain wasn't old but it had got twisted when it had come off one of my front chainrings once and jammed ever such a little bit. Chains seem much more fragile nowadays than they used to be.
  • pjm-84
    pjm-84 Posts: 819
    Slip?
    Paul
  • Check every single link in the chain to find if one link is stiff. Check the chainring and cassette for worn teeth. They look like shark teeth, or noticeable gaps between the cassette teeth and chain. The chain might be too loose.
  • will3
    will3 Posts: 2,173
    badback wrote:
    My gears have started to slip, I think. Pretty sure its my rear thing however have tightened it up as much as possible with the adjuster by hand and stil it slips, any ideas that don't involve lots of money. Cheers

    There;s a couple of things that can cause this:
    1) chain wear (most likely) the chain will stretch over time. If you've done more than 1000 miles on it, look here first. You can check chain wear using a special tool, or just using a ruler. Google is your friend.
    2) poorly adjusted rear mech. If the indexing is slightly out, you can sometimes get slippage or jumping between gears. ths should be obvious if you look at it closely. Root causes of this can be a) poor adjustment (unlikely if it's just started) b) contaminated cables/housings c) bent gear hanger
    3) worn cassette. if your chain is really streched (>0.75%) then your cassette is likely worn also. TBH if you've got to the stage where it;s slipping due to chain wear then it'll deffinitely be worn. In this case you will probably have to change the cassette with the chain, or the new chain will slip just as badly.