Bike Skipping 3rd Gear?
Discussion
So, I've had my bike since February, and have used it pretty much every single day since then (am still a fat b
d though!). However the last fortnight it has been acting up. It all started when one day, when I shifted into 6th, the chain went completely off the gears and got stuck between where it should have been, and the frame. Stuck it back on there by hand, making sure it was the right gear, and carried on, resulting in the notes I took in the lecture I was cycling to being covered in oil. And for a couple of days it was fine, but then the same issue happened. Again, I stuck it back on there, but this time I did a few laps of the empty car park outside my flat to find out the issue. Turns out when shifting up, it skips 3rd and goes straight into 4th, so 3=4, 4=5 5=6, and 6=off the edge, and me getting to the kerb as quickly as possible, shouting and swearing.
Took it to a mate at Uni, who happens to work in the local Halfords bike hut bit, he took a look at it, tightened the gear cable, and screwed some screws, and that worked fine, for about 48 hours, and now it's happening yet again. Since tonight has been my first free night since before the issue began, I've had the bike pretty much in pieces, turns out the crank is slightly loose; could this cause my problem? With it being loose, it gives the impression that it is buckled, or somehow not perfectly round as it should be, however I'm not able to take it off tonight as my 13mm socket has gone missing; I'll be headed to chat to my mate tomorrow so will try and get it looked at, but is there anything I have missed; parts worn, bent, or fked in some other way?
d though!). However the last fortnight it has been acting up. It all started when one day, when I shifted into 6th, the chain went completely off the gears and got stuck between where it should have been, and the frame. Stuck it back on there by hand, making sure it was the right gear, and carried on, resulting in the notes I took in the lecture I was cycling to being covered in oil. And for a couple of days it was fine, but then the same issue happened. Again, I stuck it back on there, but this time I did a few laps of the empty car park outside my flat to find out the issue. Turns out when shifting up, it skips 3rd and goes straight into 4th, so 3=4, 4=5 5=6, and 6=off the edge, and me getting to the kerb as quickly as possible, shouting and swearing.Took it to a mate at Uni, who happens to work in the local Halfords bike hut bit, he took a look at it, tightened the gear cable, and screwed some screws, and that worked fine, for about 48 hours, and now it's happening yet again. Since tonight has been my first free night since before the issue began, I've had the bike pretty much in pieces, turns out the crank is slightly loose; could this cause my problem? With it being loose, it gives the impression that it is buckled, or somehow not perfectly round as it should be, however I'm not able to take it off tonight as my 13mm socket has gone missing; I'll be headed to chat to my mate tomorrow so will try and get it looked at, but is there anything I have missed; parts worn, bent, or f
ked in some other way?If the adjustment made to the cable tension fixed the problem temporarily then I would assume that this is the problem again.
While the chainset not being tight could cause a gear changing issues: it wouldn't suddendly stop when your friend fixed the cable tension.
I think the cable has stretched, what you should do is put the bike upside down, find the adjuster nut where the cable meets the rear deraileur. Put the deraileur in the lowest gear and turn the cranks, get someone to change the gears while you slowly turn the adjuster knob, you need to turn it clockwise (the metal sleeve inside the adjuster knob should start to come out of the adjuster).
Turn it very slowly and only a few degrees at a time, check all of the gears. Repeat until the gears are changing properly, make sure to check the movement up the cassette and back down.
Hope this helps.
While the chainset not being tight could cause a gear changing issues: it wouldn't suddendly stop when your friend fixed the cable tension.
I think the cable has stretched, what you should do is put the bike upside down, find the adjuster nut where the cable meets the rear deraileur. Put the deraileur in the lowest gear and turn the cranks, get someone to change the gears while you slowly turn the adjuster knob, you need to turn it clockwise (the metal sleeve inside the adjuster knob should start to come out of the adjuster).
Turn it very slowly and only a few degrees at a time, check all of the gears. Repeat until the gears are changing properly, make sure to check the movement up the cassette and back down.
Hope this helps.
To add to what Nick said, if you want to try adjusting your rear derailleur yourself, I followed the tutorial below and found it very useful...
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/rear-dera...
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/rear-dera...
Sorry for the lack of updates chaps, been extremely busy. Tried making adjustments myself but it really didn't go well. Took it to my mate in the end, who kept it for the whole weekend while adjusting everything, ended up replacing the cassette in the end. It's only a cheap Apollo bike, nothing fancy, just to get to uni and back every day.
Gassing Station | Pedal Powered | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff