07-29-2015, 02:18 PM
Hello. I'm new to this message board - thanks for reading this.
I'm almost at my witts end with adjusting my wife's mountain bike. It's about 15 years old, Specialized brand 21 speed. Original Shimano shifters seem to be locked up - I've read that the grease hardens over the years. I tried loosening them up with Brake Clean spray, but to no avail.
I found a new pair of Shimano Shifters online (Amazon Prime) with very good reviews, so I decided to completely replace the ones that were on the bike.
The installation was easy, but adjusting the shifters - front and rear - to work has proven to bemore than I can figure out. I've spend 3 nights working on the adjustments, watching You tube videos, - and even watched one video on my Iphone right at the bike, pausing it each step of the way.
I've taken a few photos of the bike. Once I get this figured out on my wife's bike, I'm going to replace the ones on my bike too. I don't know if I'm arrogant, or pig-headed, but I refuse to take the bike in to have them adjusted. I do everything myself and I'll be darned if this is a job that I can't figure out how to do.
The rear shifter derailer seems to be pretty well adjusted right now, but the front derailer/shifter is now the problem for me. It seems like if the cable is tight enough to shift shift from the smallest grear to the middle gear, the cable won't allow the shifter to move into the 3rd gear index because the cable is too tight. And if I loosen the cable enough to shift from 1 to 3 - largest gear - it's too loose to move the chain. I'm completely confused.
Wayne
I'm almost at my witts end with adjusting my wife's mountain bike. It's about 15 years old, Specialized brand 21 speed. Original Shimano shifters seem to be locked up - I've read that the grease hardens over the years. I tried loosening them up with Brake Clean spray, but to no avail.
I found a new pair of Shimano Shifters online (Amazon Prime) with very good reviews, so I decided to completely replace the ones that were on the bike.
The installation was easy, but adjusting the shifters - front and rear - to work has proven to bemore than I can figure out. I've spend 3 nights working on the adjustments, watching You tube videos, - and even watched one video on my Iphone right at the bike, pausing it each step of the way.
I've taken a few photos of the bike. Once I get this figured out on my wife's bike, I'm going to replace the ones on my bike too. I don't know if I'm arrogant, or pig-headed, but I refuse to take the bike in to have them adjusted. I do everything myself and I'll be darned if this is a job that I can't figure out how to do.
The rear shifter derailer seems to be pretty well adjusted right now, but the front derailer/shifter is now the problem for me. It seems like if the cable is tight enough to shift shift from the smallest grear to the middle gear, the cable won't allow the shifter to move into the 3rd gear index because the cable is too tight. And if I loosen the cable enough to shift from 1 to 3 - largest gear - it's too loose to move the chain. I'm completely confused.
Wayne