Noobiest of noobs needs an answer to a gear issue

[Troutmagnet]

Hi peeps!

Great site you have here! It all looks very helpful and useful, and I'll try my hand at some of the walkthroughs at some point but thought I'd ask a few questions first...

Okay, I just got back into biking after a 25 year hiatus (horrifying accident - long, ugly story), and just picked up a second hand starter mountain bike to ride with my 11 year old daughter (she got the good one).

Everything seems fine until today when I tried riding it around the block to test out the new brake pads I installed. I noticed that the right Shimano paddle shifter (Shimano Atlus SIS) is stuck on gear 7.

I can shift the gear series to the second and third set of 7 gears with the left paddle shifter and the derailler and chain set shift accordingly (although I do have an alignment issue I need to take care of later). But it seems I'm stuck with gears 7, 14, and 21- nothing in between.

I'm thinking it's a cable issue. What do you guys think?

[nfmisso]

cable most likely; shifter maybe;

1st disconnect the cable at the shifter - take a picture BEFORE disconnecting so that you route the cable properly when you reconnect.

The derailluer should be able to move freely, but limited by the chain. Put the bike on a stand, or turn upside down, spin the cranks, push the derailleur to lower (bigger) gears. There is a fairly strong spring inside the derailleur, but thumb pressure should be more than enough to move it.

With the cable disconnected; try the shifter while holding on to the end of the cable.

Next remove the cable from the shifter, and try the shifter.

Make sure to lubricate the cable with Tri-Flow or similar light oil (i use 3 in 1) then install the inner cable in the housing [do your brake cables too]

It is a good idea to replace all of your cables - Wal-mart has a whole set for $5-

[cny-man]

(07-07-2012, 01:09 AM)Troutmagnet Wrote:  I can shift the gear series to the second and third set of 7 gears with the left paddle shifter and the derailler and chain set shift accordingly (although I do have an alignment issue I need to take care of later). But it seems I'm stuck with gears 7, 14, and 21- nothing in between.

I'm thinking it's a cable issue. What do you guys think?

Most likely the cable is rusted in place. If you don't know how to determine what is wrong and you have an "alignment issue" as well I would recommend you take it in for a tune-up. Odds are it needs more than a tweak or two.

[nfmisso]

(07-08-2012, 10:15 AM)cny-man Wrote:  

(07-07-2012, 01:09 AM)Troutmagnet Wrote:  I can shift the gear series to the second and third set of 7 gears with the left paddle shifter and the derailler and chain set shift accordingly (although I do have an alignment issue I need to take care of later). But it seems I'm stuck with gears 7, 14, and 21- nothing in between.

I'm thinking it's a cable issue. What do you guys think?

Most likely the cable is rusted in place. If you don't know how to determine what is wrong and you have an "alignment issue" as well I would recommend you take it in for a tune-up. Odds are it needs more than a tweak or two.

Your reply is not in the spirit of this board.