Almost become a single speeder. Sort of...

[Chris71]

A disproportionate amount of my weekend was spent trying to sort the gears out on my mountain bike. After studying how-to guides on the web I set about finally setting up my derralieurs once and for all, which took me nearly an hour somehow. I then went out for a quick ride in the local park to check everything worked.

Come Sunday I drove out to some more serious trails and had a great couple of hours doing my first proper off road riding all year. But on the way back the shift seemed to be a bit more hesitant on the front mech, so I started fiddling with the barrel adjuster. Big mistake. First I got a situation where I'd cured the upshift, but it wouldn't go down. Then it'd go down but not up. Finally I ended up with a situation where it was stuck in the middle ring and no matter which way I ajdusted it, the mech wouldn't go up or down. How is that even possible?

On the upside, I was at least blissfully unaware of the local youths torching my local High Street while I was away in leafy Hertfordshire...

[Mars]

Been there recently:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a... derailleurs - frustrations

I was riding around with limited gearing options so when "The Man From Cult" sorted the mout finally, it was a revelation. My bike feels just like it did when it was new again.

[shalmaneser]

The single most important thing about setting up the front mech is the location vertically relative to the chainrings. After that everything else comes easily.

if it's not shifting at all, check the cables, especially the outers, aren't wrecked.

[Mr Gear]

Anyone found a good "how to" video they can share the link to?

I have sorted mine through trial and error, but there MUST be a knack to it.

[Chris71]

The weird thing is it was more or less okay when I started the ride! I don't think the cable was slipping through the clamp or anything and I didn't turn the adjuster that far, so I can only surmise it was voodoo.

Was nice to get back on the road bike with some clean crisp shifts this morning. Plus with the school holidays and the riots it was more or less as quiet as the trails!

[the_kato]

Park Tool have an excellent "how to" with pics for just about anything

Looky

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

[GreatGranny]

You just have to be methodical re. setting up gears especially the rear.

Make sure all cables are clean, replace all if any doubts, it is worth it, and don't be afraid of removing the front mech completely and starting from scratch.

I used to replace my chain every 3-6 months depending on usage, every few weeks when doing alot of rides out in the Peaks during crappy weather.