Gear slippage when pushing hard...

[youngsyr]

Can anyone please help me with a problem I'm having with my new bike?

I bought this bike about 6 months ago as an assemble at home job:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

[I can already hear the groans about Halfrauds and Apollos already, but it had been a long time since I'd been on a bike, so I wanted a cheap taster to see if riding to the mile and a half to the station each morning was something that I was going to keep up. Plus I didn't want anything over £200 in case it was stolen]

Overall I'm fairly impressed with the bike, apart from one issue which seems to be a recurring theme if you read the reviews: the gears tend to slip when you're trying to put a lot of power through them (slow turning of the pedals, up hill - I weigh 16st).

This problem seems to be particularly affecting the smallest gears at on the back wheel (gears 5, 6 and 7 on the right hand Shimano twist selector) when I'm in the largest cog on the gears at the pedal end (gear 3 on the selector).

I've tried playing around with the selectors, but it doesn't make any difference.

The gears were all assembled and on the bike as it came in the box, I just had to attach the handle bars, saddle, front wheel and pedals to the frame.

Is there anyway to adjust the gear mechanism to stop it slipping, or is it just a design fault?

[blinkythefish]

youngsyr said:

Can anyone please help me with a problem I'm having with my new bike?

I bought this bike about 6 months ago as an assemble at home job:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

[I can already hear the groans about Halfrauds and Apollos already, but it had been a long time since I'd been on a bike, so I wanted a cheap taster to see if riding to the mile and a half to the station each morning was something that I was going to keep up. Plus I didn't want anything over £200 in case it was stolen]

Overall I'm fairly impressed with the bike, apart from one issue which seems to be a recurring theme if you read the reviews: the gears tend to slip when you're trying to put a lot of power through them (slow turning of the pedals, up hill - I weigh 16st).

This problem seems to be particularly affecting the smallest gears at on the back wheel (gears 5, 6 and 7 on the right hand Shimano twist selector) when I'm in the largest cog on the gears at the pedal end (gear 3 on the selector).

I've tried playing around with the selectors, but it doesn't make any difference.

The gears were all assembled and on the bike as it came in the box, I just had to attach the handle bars, saddle, front wheel and pedals to the frame.

Is there anyway to adjust the gear mechanism to stop it slipping, or is it just a design fault?

When you say the gears "slip" do you mean the chain moves relative to the rear gears? It sounds like your chain has stretched in the 6 months you've had the bike. Can you look at the chain to see how well it fits the gears? or get hold of a chain measuring tool? I would have thought that your chain should have been good for more miles than this, but it is maybe a side effect of buying a bike with a cheaper chainset......

If this is the case, then you may be very lucky and just get away with replacing the chain, but 49 times out of 50, you'll need a new chain and cassette.

[youngsyr]

blinkythefish said:

youngsyr said:

Can anyone please help me with a problem I'm having with my new bike?

I bought this bike about 6 months ago as an assemble at home job:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

[I can already hear the groans about Halfrauds and Apollos already, but it had been a long time since I'd been on a bike, so I wanted a cheap taster to see if riding to the mile and a half to the station each morning was something that I was going to keep up. Plus I didn't want anything over £200 in case it was stolen]

Overall I'm fairly impressed with the bike, apart from one issue which seems to be a recurring theme if you read the reviews: the gears tend to slip when you're trying to put a lot of power through them (slow turning of the pedals, up hill - I weigh 16st).

This problem seems to be particularly affecting the smallest gears at on the back wheel (gears 5, 6 and 7 on the right hand Shimano twist selector) when I'm in the largest cog on the gears at the pedal end (gear 3 on the selector).

I've tried playing around with the selectors, but it doesn't make any difference.

The gears were all assembled and on the bike as it came in the box, I just had to attach the handle bars, saddle, front wheel and pedals to the frame.

Is there anyway to adjust the gear mechanism to stop it slipping, or is it just a design fault?

When you say the gears "slip" do you mean the chain moves relative to the rear gears? It sounds like your chain has stretched in the 6 months you've had the bike. Can you look at the chain to see how well it fits the gears? or get hold of a chain measuring tool? I would have thought that your chain should have been good for more miles than this, but it is maybe a side effect of buying a bike with a cheaper chainset......

If this is the case, then you may be very lucky and just get away with replacing the chain, but 49 times out of 50, you'll need a new chain and cassette.

Thanks for the reply, what I mean is that if I'm in gear 6 on the back wheel and going up hill and pushing hard (but slow revolutions) on the pedal, the selected gear will slip between 6 and 7, or at least that's what I assume it's doing. Every now and again (sometimes twice per revolution of the pedal, sometimes as low as every 4th revolution) the chain seems to lose all "grip" on the back gear and the pedals slip about 1/20th of a revolution with no resistance as I push, as if the chain has come off, before "catching" on the same gear I was in before, allowing to pedal to be pushed around with normal resistance.

I'm not sure why I wrote 6 months, I actually meant 6 weeks, but either way this problem has been there since I bought the bike. Could it be that the chain needs adjusting (it has come off once already, so perhaps it's loose)?

Edited by youngsyr on Wednesday 11th November 16:09

[Digga]

youngsyr said:

blinkythefish said:

youngsyr said:

Can anyone please help me with a problem I'm having with my new bike?

I bought this bike about 6 months ago as an assemble at home job:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

[I can already hear the groans about Halfrauds and Apollos already, but it had been a long time since I'd been on a bike, so I wanted a cheap taster to see if riding to the mile and a half to the station each morning was something that I was going to keep up. Plus I didn't want anything over £200 in case it was stolen]

Overall I'm fairly impressed with the bike, apart from one issue which seems to be a recurring theme if you read the reviews: the gears tend to slip when you're trying to put a lot of power through them (slow turning of the pedals, up hill - I weigh 16st).

This problem seems to be particularly affecting the smallest gears at on the back wheel (gears 5, 6 and 7 on the right hand Shimano twist selector) when I'm in the largest cog on the gears at the pedal end (gear 3 on the selector).

I've tried playing around with the selectors, but it doesn't make any difference.

The gears were all assembled and on the bike as it came in the box, I just had to attach the handle bars, saddle, front wheel and pedals to the frame.

Is there anyway to adjust the gear mechanism to stop it slipping, or is it just a design fault?

When you say the gears "slip" do you mean the chain moves relative to the rear gears? It sounds like your chain has stretched in the 6 months you've had the bike. Can you look at the chain to see how well it fits the gears? or get hold of a chain measuring tool? I would have thought that your chain should have been good for more miles than this, but it is maybe a side effect of buying a bike with a cheaper chainset......

If this is the case, then you may be very lucky and just get away with replacing the chain, but 49 times out of 50, you'll need a new chain and cassette.

Thanks for the reply, what I mean is that if I'm in gear 6 on the back wheel and going up hill and pushing hard (but slow revolutions) on the pedal, the selected gear will slip between 6 and 7, or at least that's what I assume it's doing. Every now and again (sometimes twice per revolution of the pedal, sometimes as low as every 4th revolution) the chain seems to lose all "grip" on the back gear and the pedals slip about 1/20th of a revolution with no resistance as I push, as if the chain has come off, before "catching" on the same gear I was in before, allowing to pedal to be pushed around with normal resistance.

I'm not sure why I wrote 6 months, I actually meant 6 weeks, but either way this problem has been there since I bought the bike. Could it be that the chain needs adjusting (it has come off once already, so perhaps it's loose)?

Edited by youngsyr on Wednesday 11th November 16:09

Ithink, if it's that new and it's slipping then you either have an alignment issue with the front gear mech (that shifts the chain accross the pedals chainwheels) or you may have an issue with your chain - a duff link which is kinked or improperly assembled and it usually slips on the pedal end, rather than the wheel/cassette end.

[youngsyr]

Digga said:

Ithink, if it's that new and it's slipping then you either have an alignment issue with the front gear mech (that shifts the chain accross the pedals chainwheels) or you may have an issue with your chain - a duff link which is kinked or improperly assembled and it usually slips on the pedal end, rather than the wheel/cassette end.

Thanks, I believe the slipping is happening at the wheel/cassette end, but it's difficult to tell because my journey to the station is all downhill, meaning that the uphill ride where the problem occurs is the return journey in the evening when it's dark. It's also a random occurrence, so I can't cycle uphill in the dark constantly looking down!

It only seems to happen in gears 5, 6 and 7 on the cassette and it gets more frequent/likely the lower the gear (smaller the cog). Gear 5 on the back is ok with rare occurrence, 6 is quite bad unless going downhill when it's ok and gear 7 is very bad unless going downhill.

[hman]

check your gears for bent teeth, it sorted mine.

does your bike freewheel ok?

[blinkythefish]

youngsyr said:

blinkythefish said:

youngsyr said:

Can anyone please help me with a problem I'm having with my new bike?

I bought this bike about 6 months ago as an assemble at home job:
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/...

[I can already hear the groans about Halfrauds and Apollos already, but it had been a long time since I'd been on a bike, so I wanted a cheap taster to see if riding to the mile and a half to the station each morning was something that I was going to keep up. Plus I didn't want anything over £200 in case it was stolen]

Overall I'm fairly impressed with the bike, apart from one issue which seems to be a recurring theme if you read the reviews: the gears tend to slip when you're trying to put a lot of power through them (slow turning of the pedals, up hill - I weigh 16st).

This problem seems to be particularly affecting the smallest gears at on the back wheel (gears 5, 6 and 7 on the right hand Shimano twist selector) when I'm in the largest cog on the gears at the pedal end (gear 3 on the selector).

I've tried playing around with the selectors, but it doesn't make any difference.

The gears were all assembled and on the bike as it came in the box, I just had to attach the handle bars, saddle, front wheel and pedals to the frame.

Is there anyway to adjust the gear mechanism to stop it slipping, or is it just a design fault?

When you say the gears "slip" do you mean the chain moves relative to the rear gears? It sounds like your chain has stretched in the 6 months you've had the bike. Can you look at the chain to see how well it fits the gears? or get hold of a chain measuring tool? I would have thought that your chain should have been good for more miles than this, but it is maybe a side effect of buying a bike with a cheaper chainset......

If this is the case, then you may be very lucky and just get away with replacing the chain, but 49 times out of 50, you'll need a new chain and cassette.

Thanks for the reply, what I mean is that if I'm in gear 6 on the back wheel and going up hill and pushing hard (but slow revolutions) on the pedal, the selected gear will slip between 6 and 7, or at least that's what I assume it's doing. Every now and again (sometimes twice per revolution of the pedal, sometimes as low as every 4th revolution) the chain seems to lose all "grip" on the back gear and the pedals slip about 1/20th of a revolution with no resistance as I push, as if the chain has come off, before "catching" on the same gear I was in before, allowing to pedal to be pushed around with normal resistance.

I'm not sure why I wrote 6 months, I actually meant 6 weeks, but either way this problem has been there since I bought the bike. Could it be that the chain needs adjusting (it has come off once already, so perhaps it's loose)?

Edited by youngsyr on Wednesday 11th November 16:09

In that case, it does sound more like an adjustment issue. The chain comming off is probabaly due to the top and bottom settings on the deraillier needing adjusted. There should be two screws, one which sets the max range of the derailler and one which sets the min. Adjust these so that the gear will change, but wont come off.

The missalignment of the chain/gear is a different adjustment. There should be a cable tensioner on the derailler, the shifter or possibly somewhere else on the cable. Ajusting the tension in this will change where the derailler ends up everytime you change gear. Adjust this so the derailler lines up with the gears.

[youngsyr]

hman said:

check your gears for bent teeth, it sorted mine.

does your bike freewheel ok?

Seems to, no noises etc and picks up a head of steam down hill. I haven't had it on its back to check for wheel wobble, I guess this is my next step?

[blinkythefish]

hman said:

check your gears for bent teeth, it sorted mine.

does your bike freewheel ok?

Yeah, Bent teeth/chainlinks is also a good bet.....

[hman]

youngsyr said:

hman said:

check your gears for bent teeth, it sorted mine.

does your bike freewheel ok?

Seems to, no noises etc and picks up a head of steam down hill. I haven't had it on its back to check for wheel wobble, I guess this is my next step?

nah, wheel wobble wont be it, but bent teeth in the rear sprockets can cause the chain to jump.


If no teeth are bent then try adjusting the "middle" adjuster (either at the lever end or at the gears end) to see if you get a better shift.

You should also clean your chain and sprockets then lube the chain...


After that its going to be new rear cassette and chain.


I'll bet its the middle adjuster or bent teeth.

[youngsyr]

Cool, thanks for all your help. I think this is a bit beyond my capabilities (I don't even know which part the derallier is) so rather than waste all your time, I'll check the teeth and then take it back to Halfords (I have a free 6 week check up on it) and see if they can adjust it properly.

If they can't fix it then I may well ask for a refund and then spend a bit more on a better bike.

I did just realise why they give you a free check up at 6 weeks though - you're then outside the 28 days statutory refund limit and who wouldn't wait for the free check up to fix any problems rather than take the bike back early? Very sneaky.

Edited by youngsyr on Wednesday 11th November 16:36

[snotrag]

I cant beleive no-one has picked up on this yet.

Im not being arsey but - the problem is most likely you.

The gear combinations you are talking about are all wrong.

The fact you talk about pedalling slowly uphill, is all wrong.

Do you know any experience cyclists? Good ones?

Because you need to learn about the correct use of cadence, pedalling technique, and how to operate your gears.

Pedalling UPHILL in a large Ring/small sprocket is something you should not be doing.

It is bad for your bike and its bad for you.

Sorry if that sounds really arsey but its the only way I could think to word it.

[snotrag]

ETA - Trying to be helpful...

post up your location.

Someone should know a good, reputable LBS who can help.

I suggest you visit them and explain your problems - you need to get your bike properly setup, and you need some advice on the correct manner in which you should be making use of the gears.

[hman]

snotrag, whilst you are correct about technique, its something else (other than having to stand on the pedals to get anywhere uphill) causing the chain to jump.

A chum of mine rides veeery diffrently to me, uses the same middle gear on th erear and just goes up and down on the front- its all wrong to me and he's snapped a few chains, but he never has the chain jumping gears under tension.

Personally I come from the 70-90 cadence, a lot of others go slower or higher.

[B52er]

Defo do all of the above...
But also check each individual link in the chain, what often happens is that one goes stiff. happened to me a few times!
If it is that just pop the link rod 1/2 way out, lube it then put it back in.

[youngsyr]

snotrag said:

I cant beleive no-one has picked up on this yet.

Im not being arsey but - the problem is most likely you.

The gear combinations you are talking about are all wrong.

The fact you talk about pedalling slowly uphill, is all wrong.

Do you know any experience cyclists? Good ones?

Because you need to learn about the correct use of cadence, pedalling technique, and how to operate your gears.

Pedalling UPHILL in a large Ring/small sprocket is something you should not be doing.

It is bad for your bike and its bad for you.

Sorry if that sounds really arsey but its the only way I could think to word it.

Perhaps I haven't explained it clearly enough, the problem is at its worse in the large chain ring/small sprocket set up, where even a slight incline will see the gears slip, but it's still a problem in medium chain ring/small or medium sprocket set up going up hill.

Naturally the steepest part of the uphill journey I would attempt to go up in medium chain ring and around 3rd smallest sprocket and with a reasonably low cadence (I think my legs are built for short/slow bouts of power rather than long/quick repetitions), and the gears will still slip in that set up ocassionally.

Edited by youngsyr on Wednesday 11th November 16:58

[Digga]

B52er said:

Defo do all of the above...
But also check each individual link in the chain, what often happens is that one goes stiff. happened to me a few times!
If it is that just pop the link rod 1/2 way out, lube it then put it back in.

True, plus they can also get bent/kinked when the bike's in transit and it is not unheard of for links - especially joining links - to be incorrectly assembled.

[dave_s13]

Just take the fecker back to Halfords and don't accept it back until they either sort it, give you a new bike or, ideally, give you a refund. You can then go out and buy a proper one!!

Only need to spend another 150-200 and you cold have something infinitely better. Spending that little bit more than you'd like on a push-iron makes a LOT of difference, up to a point anyway.

[youngsyr]

dave_s13 said:

Just take the fecker back to Halfords and don't accept it back until they either sort it, give you a new bike or, ideally, give you a refund. You can then go out and buy a proper one!!

Only need to spend another 150-200 and you cold have something infinitely better. Spending that little bit more than you'd like on a push-iron makes a LOT of difference, up to a point anyway.

I think I may be out of the statutory refund period unfortunately, but they do offer a free check-up.

In any case, upgrading would double the cost of the bike, and I'm only using it for around 15 minutes a day, mostly on tarmac. It's not like I need an all singing, all dancing, carbon-framed, wonder machine and I doubt a bike that costs twice as much will be twice as good. I'd be perfectly happy with it if it could just hold all of the gears.

[deckster]

youngsyr said:

dave_s13 said:

Just take the fecker back to Halfords and don't accept it back until they either sort it, give you a new bike or, ideally, give you a refund. You can then go out and buy a proper one!!

Only need to spend another 150-200 and you cold have something infinitely better. Spending that little bit more than you'd like on a push-iron makes a LOT of difference, up to a point anyway.

I think I may be out of the statutory refund period unfortunately, but they do offer a free check-up.

No such thing matey, it's all about fitness for purpose and don't let them fob you off with any 28 days rubbish. Yes bikes need adjusting and chains (and cassettes, one could argue) are consumable items - but six weeks is nowhere near long enough. It's not reasonable to return the whole thing but you're entirely justified in getting them to tune it up and replace bits if need be.

Personally I reckon you've probably just had a bit of cable stretch which is entirely normal, particular on a low-end bike with cheap cables. A five minute adjustment should see you good, and it really is worth spending the time finding out how to do this kind of thing yourself