07-24-2015, 08:43 PM
The other day I bought a mountain bike secondhand and have been researching it's problems trying you find the best solution. I managed to reattach the rear brakes after the cable had come out of a couple holders on the frame. I put air in the tires and took it for a test run only to find that the gears, which I fully expected to give me trouble, not only don't work so great, they actually won't shift at all. Both shifters (twist shifters built into both handles) click when turned, and visibly affect the cable tension, which does seem loose to me (though I know nothing about bikes). I used the barrel adjuster for the rear derailleur and kept trying to no avail. Even got the cable so tight the shifter couldn't reach the tightest gear and the derailleur still won't even appear to move. It's not stuck in the lowest or highest gear, I can get pictures if it helps, it stretches out but won't move side to side to move the chain. Is it beyond fixing? Is it a cable problem or the derailleur itself? It's a TD one, if it helps. The cables need to be replaced either way but if I can fix it by adjusting them it'd be wonderful. I know the limit adjustment screws are inaccurate because I messed with them trying to get any kind of result, nothing got it closer to changing gears. Couldn't even tell what I needed to adjust because it just never did anything at all. I tried finding an answer online and still no luck. Please help!
