Alright so I'm just curious seeing as we have a few avid serious bikers on here, how you would go about fixing gears on a mountain bike.

I know that left it pretty broad so I'll elabroate as specific as I can be...

Basically 1st and 2nd gear would keep clicking while in motion, as if it didn't want to stay in either gear. So I oiled it up a bit thought maybe it was just stiff from storage over the winter. Well that fixed 2nd gear, but 1st still clicked. So then someone else started to take a look at it and started loosening and tightening some of the wire pieces for the gears and by the end of that I now only have first, second, and third gear. (Bike has 21 speeds). And the even funnier part is you can click through 4-7 on the shifter but absolutely nothing moves or happens, its like it went to fixed gear with 3 fixed gears ... lol

Where do I start, and what do I need to look at/for ??

Any help is greatly appreciated. If it matters its a Huffy 21 speed mountain bike.

- T.

It sounds like the rear derailleur cable has been over-tightened. First, loosen the rear cable adjuster(s) for more slack - that should get your higher gears back. As for the initial problem, your derailleur could be bent/out of adjustment, or you may just have a stiff link.

To check for a stiff link, shift to the middle chainring up front, and your small sprocket on the rear. Slowly pedal backwards, and watch as the chain goes through the tight turns over the rear derailleur pulleys. As the chain makes the tight turns over the pulleys, you will see a spot where the chain won't want to pass smoothly. You can then oil the tight link, and work it out with your fingers (repeatedly move the link back and fourth until it moves freely). If you find a link/rivet coming apart, you will need a chain tool. If there are no stiff/damaged links, move on.

The derailleur has to hang straight. Put it in first (largest sprocket, closest to the spokes to be clear). Look at it from behind - the 1st gear, upper pulley, and lower pulley should be in a straight line. If they are not, no amount of adjustment will help (the derailleur or hanger would need to be straightened/aligned first). If they are straight, make sure the cable is not too tight (as you shift toward 7th, the cable should have a lot of slack in it). There are 2 limit screws on the derailleur. The H screw controls how far the derailleur moves to the chainstay as you unscrew it, and the L screw controls how close the derailleur can come to the spokes. Assuming that loosening the cable did not allow the gears to drop to the smaller cogs, slowly unscrew the H screw until the derailleur pulls the chain to the small cog again.

I am in the East end - it should be a simple job if you get stuck.

- JP.

/\ exactly what he said

don't just throw a new chain on it. Chains and cassettes (gears) break into each other...change them in unison

a simple tune up at a bike store (I would recommend Cyclepath) is super cheap and well worth it

Cyclepath is good here, but I just noticeed you are in Belleville - I worked for Dougs Bicycles years ago. If you go there, you won't get ripped off.

JP - Great write up for help, that made sense of quite a few things! Thank you very very much! I will give that a shot and hope for the best.

The person that tried to 'fix' it the first time was messing around with those screws in the derailleur, so as soon as you started explaining that I had a feeling where at least one issue is lol

Some ppl in the past slandered Dougs, actually as a rip off, I personally not having even gone there other than to look around wouldn't agree with that, they're very friendly, sure some things may be expensive but its not like we're walkin around Canadian Tire. lol My favorite place to go was always Stephen License though, however I'm tryin to fix this on low budget for now, if it comes down to having to pay to fix it I'll goto 1 of the 2 for sure. Fingers crossed I can fix it myself, I rather enjoy cycling daily and not running daily... lol

Thanks again for the help, I truly appreciate it.

- T.

I forgot to mention that the gear shift on the left side handle bar (1,2,3) that changes the middle gear sprocket chain position is seized. Not quite sure how or where.


If it helps for the other issue anyways, here's a few shots of the rear.









- T.

Yeah, considering bike shops sell seat posts that cost more than a Super Cycle, there are many folks that see specialty bike shops as a rip-off. Come on though - would your Mayor rip you off? Neil is as honest as they come, but he and Doug both started off working at Stephen Licence many moons ago, and they are a good shop too. Most Super Cycle, Huffy, Free Spirit, etc bikes average between $100-300, and can be had for half that on sale at the end of the season. It makes even a basic tune up potentially cost more than the bike is worth. I have never been a bike snob, and always tried to tune the dept store machines to work reasonably well.

Looking at the pics, the screw on the right should the "H" limit screw, and I can see that it is screwed in almost all the way. Slowly unscrew it until the derailleur pulls the chain out to the smallest sprocket. Just make sure the cable is slack, otherwise the cable will stop the derailleur from hitting the limit screw stop. Once it does, look at the derailleur from behind the bike. Again the 7th gear, and the derailleur pulleys should form a straight line. If you go too far, the chain can fall off, and jam between the small sprocket and the chainstay/dropout.

This may be a bit too complicated, but it looks like the frame has a slotted cable stop on the seat-stay. You can pop the cable housing out of the stop without removing the inner cable. Slide the housing up the wire, and lightly lube the cable under it. It will make the shifting much smoother.

- JP.

Nope still makes sense to me lol ill give that a try thx . Lol

-T.

The those limit screws are definatly off...

Other then that and the cable, just keep "playing" around with it.. there really isn't much to them...