Matching Parts

[diverdon]

Hello all , Finding out sometimes things aren't as simple as I think .

Because of buying a motorized rear wheel I had to change from an 8 speed gearset to a 6 speed as the wheel wouldn't fit in the "droupouts" otherwise . I knew about this before the wheel/hub assembly purchase . It was in the instructions .

Next I figured that the 8 speed "Click" gripshifter wouldn't work with the 6 speed gearset . So the bike shop sold me a Shimano SIS 6 speed index shifter . No big deal I figured out how to put it on .

Then thanks to your great instructions I learned how to adjust the Derallier ... Thanks .. BUT ... There is a Shimano Deore LX SGS derallier on this bike and after failing to get the shifter to work right I found out this derailler is made for 8 or 9 gears ???

What now ? Getting a little frustrated . If I only knew for sure the derailler was the problem and what would be a good replacement to use ... This bike is a Trek 7500 Hybrid from 1999 .. If that helps ..

Sorry for the long (Book) here . I probabally still didn't give enough information to help . The shifter now skips gears and won't go all the way up or down sometimes . I had it working pretty good on a stand but on the ground it is still messed up ..

Thanks so much if anyone can help somehow . I searched some for simular questions but found none . Thought this would be common ..

Thanks again ... Don J.....

[Joe_W]

OK, the important paragraph is where you write:

Quote:The shifter now skips gears and won't go all the way up or down sometimes . I had it working pretty good on a stand but on the ground it is still messed up ..

Possible problems for "won't go all the way up or down" are:

• * dirty / corroded cable
  * kinks in the cable / housing
  * housing where the cut end was not smoothed before installation
  * too long / too short housing
  * derailleur gummed up
  

Those are the things I'd check first.

First fix this, only when this is working reasonably well you can start to adjust the derailleur / indexing. I'd say that you will probably get the derailleur / shifter combo to work ok, though some differences in the amount of cable pulled per gear might exist. This might be fixed by a slightly different cable routing on the derailleur.

[diverdon]

(12-08-2009, 04:42 AM)Joe_W Wrote:  OK, the important paragraph is where you write:

Quote:The shifter now skips gears and won't go all the way up or down sometimes . I had it working pretty good on a stand but on the ground it is still messed up ..

Possible problems for "won't go all the way up or down" are:

• * dirty / corroded cable
  * kinks in the cable / housing
  * housing where the cut end was not smoothed before installation
  * too long / too short housing
  * derailleur gummed up
  

Those are the things I'd check first.

First fix this, only when this is working reasonably well you can start to adjust the derailleur / indexing. I'd say that you will probably get the derailleur / shifter combo to work ok, though some differences in the amount of cable pulled per gear might exist. This might be fixed by a slightly different cable routing on the derailleur.

Thanks soooo much for the reply . This is the last day of a short "Vacation" so if it doesn't get done today imnot sure when I'll get to it ...

I keep the bike inside an air conditioned apt and had the cable apart when I installed the new 6 speed shifter . All of the cables look great .

However .. The Derailler is/was gummed up some . It did seem to work very freely but just had a load of dirt and grease on it . I cleaned it some and will go at it again today .. I have a bike rack for the back of my car which works well to hold the bike while I work on it ..

So I will give it another shot . Had it working good on the Bike Rack ... but does the skipping etc on the ground in the test ride ..

Waiting for Friday to be able to order batteries for the motor . It would be good to get it working before then . I have had several bikes 5 of them and this is the first one with problems like this . Guess I should feel lucky...
Thank You All for looking at this .. Don J.

[Joe_W]

So, do you experience the skipping also when the derailleur and the sprockets are well aligned? How many km did you ride with this chain (I assume this is still the old one)? Did you check for chain wear? http://bikeride.com/chain-wear/

[diverdon]

Hi Joe , Thanks so much for the reply .. I tried to clean the chain and derailler today . Then checked the adjustment again .. Looked at a few videos on the internet showing how to adjust just in case I could pick up something from them ...

The stop adjustments were good and then when I hooked up the cable I got it right on the stand ... Again ... But then on the street it would skip or not go into high gear when I clicked to it .. Reset the stops to move thederailler over and got skipping still and gears that did not match with the shifter indicator ..

I fooled around off and on for 3 hours today ... Then did what I should have to begin with ... Took it to the shop .. The mechanic says he thinks he can adjust it to work although he agreed that the derailler is not made for 6 gears but it should work anyhow ???

I pick it up Friday . And ....Geeeesh .. There are a lot of new cool bikes out I didn't know about .. Gotta look into that for a future "Wish List"

Thanks Again for your help , Don J.

[DaveM]

Just checking - it is a Shimano freewheel right? I think the derailleur should work fine, but shifter and freewheel definitely need to match. Problem could be bent derailleur hanger, bent derailleur, worn out derailleur, etc. rather than incompatible parts.

[diverdon]

(12-08-2009, 07:30 PM)DaveM Wrote:  Just checking - it is a Shimano freewheel right? I think the derailleur should work fine, but shifter and freewheel definitely need to match. Problem could be bent derailleur hanger, bent derailleur, worn out derailleur, etc. rather than incompatible parts.

Thanks again Dave , Yes .. the derallier it a Shimano Deore LX SGS .. When I looked into that I read that it was made for 9or 8 gears . I don't know the mechanics of the derailler so I have no idea if it would work . The bike mechanic seemed pretty cool about making it work . Seemed to say that cleaning and adjusting is what I need . Just like Someone else in this thread said...Oh well I will probably know Friday and if all goes well I will get the 4 SLA Batteries I need ... Woo Hoo ..

PS this is an electric bike $$$ For the batteries will come friday . Payday every 2 weeks . Thanks , Don J.

Thanks sooo much to everyone again , Don J.