My Freerider will not stay in 4th gear, jumps to 5th gear everytime I move up from 3rd to 4th. My LBS can't diagnose the problem because they can't seem to get the hang of riding a front-wheel 'bent. Anyone know what needs adjusting or what I can explain to them what needs fixin'?
Problems shifting
- Thread starter JonB
- Start date
Trevski
Active Member
I've had this problem too, usually after riding in bad weather, and more often an issue changing down rather than changing up, though I've had your 'skipped gear' problem too. In my case, the issue has always been a lack of lubricant exacerbating a problem of lack of adjustment. Whenever I have the dodgy shift problem, I remove, wash, and re-lube the chain (if inside my 200km cleaning schedule), clean the sprockets, chainwheels, and front and rear derailluers, and reinstall the chain. I then adjust the front and rear derailluers according to the methods shown here http://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html. So far, this has always resolved the problem. I'm not a bike mechanic, so if your LBS can't fix this, there should be any number of other slightly less local BS's that can. That 'I can't fix it because it's a FWD recumbent' attitude is just blatant stupidity. The drivetrain on any recumbent is just 'standard bike'...only the chain is a little longer. On our Cruzbikes, there isn't even the excuse of a longer chain. When mine wore out, I replaced it with a standard Shimano 8 speed chain.
Sorry if I got a little carried away in my criticism of your LBS who you may quite like, but I work in the customer service industry (car parts), so I value product knowledge, customer service, and most importantly, a willingness to be flexible and understanding in the interpretation of a customer's issues.
That feels better!
Cheers,
Trev.
Sorry if I got a little carried away in my criticism of your LBS who you may quite like, but I work in the customer service industry (car parts), so I value product knowledge, customer service, and most importantly, a willingness to be flexible and understanding in the interpretation of a customer's issues.
That feels better!
Cheers,
Trev.
Doug Burton
Zen MBB Master
Hi Dan,
Perhaps there is a bit of "clickety-clickety" before it skips a gear?
First, make sure the gear cable isn't binding where it passes through the pivot clamp. This can make the shifting adjustment seem to change as you ride.
Also, sometimes shifting is improved if you run the "B-tension" screw in a bit to increase the chain tension.
Let us know how you go.
Best,
Doug
Perhaps there is a bit of "clickety-clickety" before it skips a gear?
First, make sure the gear cable isn't binding where it passes through the pivot clamp. This can make the shifting adjustment seem to change as you ride.
Also, sometimes shifting is improved if you run the "B-tension" screw in a bit to increase the chain tension.
Let us know how you go.
Best,
Doug
Thanks for all the ideas, I cleaned the chain but that didn't help much, and the pulleys were aligned correctly so I turned the indexing adjustment at the cable end and problem solved! It shifts and holds all gears just fine now. I guess sometimes is the simple stuff that needs attention.
