Problem changing gears

[dixnix]

I have a 3 year old Roadmaster. I am having problems changing gears on both the front and the back. I can move from 1 to 6 or from 1 to 3 but then I cannot move it back. My husband will put the chains back and again I can move the gears forward but it will simply not go from 4 to 3, for instance. Any ideas? Dixie

[Painkiller]

pics are a plus, I would tell you to disconnect the cables from the derailleurs to test the spring action by hand. check for housing kinks and frayed cables. check out the tutorials on how to reset them. If it is out of your scope you have to to take it to a shop.
are your shifters moving in both directions?

[dixnix]

(09-08-2011, 07:53 PM)painkiller Wrote:  pics are a plus, I would tell you to disconnect the cables from the derailleurs to test the spring action by hand. check for housing kinks and frayed cables. check out the tutorials on how to reset them. If it is out of your scope you have to to take it to a shop.
are your shifters moving in both directions?

Thanks for the suggestions. We live in a small town with no bike shop but my husband is mechanically inclined. I will pass this on to him. To answer your question, I can go from 3 to 2 or from 2 to 1 on the front or from 6 to 1 on the rear but then I can't go back. My husband can when he rides my bike but while pedaling and turning hard, it simply will not go back but I have no problem going from 6 to 1 on the rear or 3 to 1 on the front. I have been riding on pretty level road for the last couple of years but we are thinking of going again to the Katy Trail so got my book out to see what I was doing wrong on my gears as we wil have some hills as this has been this way for some time but was not a problem. If I had a shop to take it to I would so any help would be appreciated.

[ghost]

Probably a set of dry or frayed cables plus adjustment needed. A bike shop could do it in an hour, but if your husband can do it even better. You really need a stand and some proper cable cutters and the cable ends etc. Not hard but takes a little patience. I worked in one shop that come the cycle season. bad cables were most common repair. Hope all works out.

[dixnix]

(09-09-2011, 09:06 AM)ghost Wrote:  Probably a set of dry or frayed cables plus adjustment needed. A bike shop could do it in an hour, but if your husband can do it even better. You really need a stand and some proper cable cutters and the cable ends etc. Not hard but takes a little patience. I worked in one shop that come the cycle season. bad cables were most common repair. Hope all works out.

I found guy at an auto repair shop who is knowledgeable on bikes. He will check it but says the cable looks okay. He thinks he can make an adjustment so that I will be able to change the gears. He will also check the bike over in the event there is some other problem. Thanks for your response. We live in a small town so I rode my bike to his shop and walked home. Good workout!

[Eamoby123]

Sorry if I hijacked this thread but I also have a similar problem. When I shift my gears (I have twist ones) my gears will not change for whatever reason. When I twist the gear changer on the handlebar it moves very easily until it gets to the bottom where eventually it changes to a random gear! My question is is this a simple matter of changing the inner shift cable or is there something in the gear rotator on the handlebars that is amiss?

[Joe_W]

I don't really understand your problem:
- is it the front dérailleur or the rear?
- what is "the bottom"? Largest or smallest chain ring or sprocket?
- what do you mean with "random gear"? Does it shift fine otherwise? Is it always the same gear or within a certain range?