Sticky gear shift question
Discussion
Firstly, I have watched all the YouTube vids showing how to correctly adjust my derailleur at the back, but I still have a problem.
8 speed Shimano Acera derailleur on a Specialized Hardrock Sport 2006 model.
I mostly use the bike for commuting 20 miles round trip 3-5x a week.
For this I am really only ever on gears 5 through 7 and 8 for a brief bit of downhill through Hyde Park (all on the top front cog).
Over the last year the cable seems to have stretched, so about once a month I needed to give the derailleur a quick anti-clockwise notch or two in order to smooth the down-shifts when it sometimes wouldn't shift down without some extra pressure on the shifter.
This worked fine until the last week or so.
Now, it just about happily shifts down. Only just. One notch clockwise at the back and it isn't happy.
However, on the shift up from 5-6 it takes simply AGES to pop into 6, sometimes waiting for a convenient pothole to help it along the way (plenty of those but even so).
Shifting up again from 6-7 or 7-8 is NO PROBLEM.
Obviously if I do a clockwise notch it improves but then the down-shifting fails to work.
In my imagination the problem could be caused by the gear cable getting stuck or the derailleur spring is for some reason "weak" between 5-6 but fine between 6-7-8.
Should I buy a new derailleur (only a tenner at CRC) or just try a new cable (£2).
Or am I missing something obvious??
Everything is lubed to the max...
Any advice?
8 speed Shimano Acera derailleur on a Specialized Hardrock Sport 2006 model.
I mostly use the bike for commuting 20 miles round trip 3-5x a week.
For this I am really only ever on gears 5 through 7 and 8 for a brief bit of downhill through Hyde Park (all on the top front cog).
Over the last year the cable seems to have stretched, so about once a month I needed to give the derailleur a quick anti-clockwise notch or two in order to smooth the down-shifts when it sometimes wouldn't shift down without some extra pressure on the shifter.
This worked fine until the last week or so.
Now, it just about happily shifts down. Only just. One notch clockwise at the back and it isn't happy.
However, on the shift up from 5-6 it takes simply AGES to pop into 6, sometimes waiting for a convenient pothole to help it along the way (plenty of those but even so).
Shifting up again from 6-7 or 7-8 is NO PROBLEM.
Obviously if I do a clockwise notch it improves but then the down-shifting fails to work.
In my imagination the problem could be caused by the gear cable getting stuck or the derailleur spring is for some reason "weak" between 5-6 but fine between 6-7-8.
Should I buy a new derailleur (only a tenner at CRC) or just try a new cable (£2).
Or am I missing something obvious??
Everything is lubed to the max...
Any advice?
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