Clicking front rings when switching gears

[mary74123]

Hi,
Wondering if anyone had any advice for me... I recently acquired a great condition, recently tuned up 18 speed Miyata and noticed that when I am going uphill and trying to get into the lowest gear, I'll have the back set to the largest sprocket but can't seem to switch from the middle to the smallest sprocket in the front. It clicks and clicks but just doesn't get there despite the gear shifter pushed as far as it'll go. Last time it seemed that if I did the reverse and was already in the lowest gear/smallest sprocket in front before I shifted the rear into the lowest gear/large ring, then I'd have no problems, but that didn't work last night! I'm not very experienced with bike terminology or maintenance, but I believe the front gears are friction shifters whereas the rear are index shifters if that makes a difference? It also looks like the front deraileur is situated right above the smallest ring when shifted to that position. My bike gave me no problems with this for the first few months until this problem started recently.

Thanks!

[cyclerUK]

It won't make any difference to the front if friction or index.
It is the strength of the spring in the front derailleur that shifts the chain from large to small rings.
Incorrect height or angle of the derailleur can upset changing and also if the Lo limit screw is set to tight.
See this video for checking your derailleur height etc:-
http://bicycletutor.com/adjust-front-derailer/

Another possible cause is a worn chain.

Has the changing got worse over time?
Suddenly given problems?
Or been like this since getting the bike?

[mary74123]

Thanks so much! I'll check out the video and check out the chain. The changing seemed to just happen recently, but I've been riding it a lot more the past few months. The bike is over 20 yrs old but is in awesome shape, supposedly less than 200 miles on it and recently tuned up, so I doubt the chain is worn, but I'll take a better look at it..
Thanks again!

(06-22-2010, 09:18 AM)cyclerUK Wrote:  It won't make any difference to the front if friction or index.
It is the strength of the spring in the front derailleur that shifts the chain from large to small rings.
Incorrect height or angle of the derailleur can upset changing and also if the Lo limit screw is set to tight.
See this video for checking your derailleur height etc:-
http://bicycletutor.com/adjust-front-derailer/

Another possible cause is a worn chain.

Has the changing got worse over time?
Suddenly given problems?
Or been like this since getting the bike?