Adjusting bike shifters is necessary when the shifting becomes nonresponsive or the chain rattles between cogs before settling in the appropriate gear. The main cause for this is a stretched cable in the shifting system. Since the cable is under constant tension, it will stretch as result of time and use. The slacker the cable is, the less responsive it will be in transferring movement from the shifting lever to the rear derailleur. You can adjust the bicycle shifters fairly easily in just a few steps.
Step 1
Elevate the rear wheel from the ground and rotate the pedals in a forward direction to get the wheel slowly spinning. You can do this with one hand on the seat, raising the rear wheel off the ground, and the other hand moving the pedal.
Step 2
Shift to the smallest gear to create slack on the cable.
Step 3
Stop the rear wheel from spinning and put the bicycle down. You can lay it down on its side to make the adjustments, lean it against the wall or better yet, put it in a bicycle work stand.
Step 4
Loosen the bolt holding the cable to the rear derailleur with the Allen wrench.
Step 5
Turn the barrel adjuster on the cable clockwise until it stops. The barrel adjuster increases or decreases cable tension and is commonly located midway along the shifting cable. It may also be near the shifter or the rear derailleur.
Step 6
Turn the barrel adjuster counterclockwise two turns.
Step 7
Pull any slack out of the cable and use the Allen to tighten the bolt.
Step 8
Check the cable tension by shifting back and forth through the remaining gears. Repeat the cable tension adjustments on any gear that hangs up or is slow to respond.
Tips and Warnings
- In most cases, the bike will shift poorly in one gear, not all. Isolate this gear and make your adjustments there first, which may save you time. But make sure to run through all gears to check tension and ease of shifting before taking the bike back to the road or trail and risking a breakdown.
- Do not overtighten the cable. Remember that it has to move several distances in order to shift through the full range of gears. If you make it too tight in one gear, it might snap when you try to move to another gear higher on the rear cog.
Things You'll Need
- Allen wrench (metric for bicycles built in Europe, China and Japan)
References
- "The Bicycle Repair Book"; Rob Van der Plas; 1996
- "Complete Bike Maintenance"; Fred Milson; 2002
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