I’m Having Gear Problems On My New Mountain Bike…?

I've just bought a new 18-gear mountain bike and I don't think it's been set up very well. The gears are loose even when going on slight downhill (no extra speed built up when pedalling) and I can't get the left gear shift to go any further than halfway round when I try to get onto a higher gear. I've tried to tighten the cables but I really don't know what I'm doing. Can anyone offer some advice to a clueless commuter?

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6 Comments »

singletr said:

Did you buy this in a big box store? Those bikes aren’t very good & the people assembling them don’t know what they’re doing. If so, return it & go to a local bike shop, their worst bike will be better than the best bike at Target or Walmart.
A bike shop will be able to properly adjust all the components of your bike. If you bought it there, they’ll do it for free when you buy it & some may do free minor adjustments for life.
Don’t try to adjust something you don’t know on a bike. The odds are you’ll only make it worse. I can do about 80% of the maintenance on my bike, but I’ve never mastered the shifter adjustments, so the shop always gets mine. REI in my area has a great bike repair shop & the prices are very fair.
Good luck.

# 18 February 2010 at 11:11 am

fixed wheel yellowbelly said:

initially ot sounds as if your front derailleur stop adjuster is incorrectly set meaning that the derailleur cannot move far enough to engage the gear that you want.
When this is adjusted so that the chain will shift onto the sprocket (and not too far as it will unship the chain from the chain set), the cable might need adjustment in order for the gear changing mechanism will operate over the range of the chain rings.
I’m not really sure what you mean by loose gears?
Get the bike back to the vendors. The machine should be sold as fit for purpose. If you cannot change gear, it is not fit. If they have no maintenance facility,either get a discount so that you can get it fixed, say £50, or a full refund.

# 18 February 2010 at 4:55 pm

Bob A said:

You can try to adjust the barrel adjuster that is located right where the cable goes into the left shifter. It will have little nubs on it and will screw in and out. You want to turn it counter-clock wise 1/2 turn at a time and try to shift to the highest gear. You can do this while you are ridding. You do not want to adjust the screws or unclamp the cable.

# 18 February 2010 at 9:28 pm

g-man said:

If you’re so inclined you might try http://www.sheldonbrown.com. Great site with how to instructions for most bike problems shift adjustments included. From what you describe that seems to be the problem and usually easily rectified with some minor adjustments.

# 19 February 2010 at 1:28 am

answer said:

The Bottom screw adjusts the low gears. You might play with the adjustment barrel too. Also you can play with the cables until you get it right. Get some beers, and make a bored night of it. It can take a while if you are learning.

# 19 February 2010 at 5:28 am

sno f said:

take it in to a bike shop have them do a tune-up on it. sounds like the cables are stretched. or back to where you purchased have them do a free tune-up.

# 19 February 2010 at 11:15 am