New Cables and Rear Der. Adjustment Help!

[rsl]

Last night after a short ride with my wife, she was complaining that her shifting was "just not right." Her bike is probably about 8 years old and I don't think it's ever had a tune-up. I've been wanting to practice some mechanic skills for awhile, and she gave me the green light to put on new cables and adjust the derailleurs.

For my first time doing all of this all was going fine, until I was making the final adjustments to the rear derailleur. Here's what's happening: the shifting seems fine - the chain runs the range of the cassette without a problem, and without wanting to jump either up or down. Front derailleur seems to be fine too - no rubbing on either the high or low chainring. The problem, however, is that as I turn the crank by hand there is quite a good amount of noise coming from the rear cassette area. Plus, the crank doesn't turn smoothly - it has a very noticeable hitch as I pedal it forward by hand, and it feels almost as if the links in the chain aren't matching up with the teeth in either the pulleys or the cogs.

It's a triple chainring configuration and the parts are 8 speed Sora.

Please help!

Thanks!

[David Kirk]

If it's shifting OK but making noise while in gear it's a good bet that the chain and cassette are worn out. 8 years on the same cassette and chain are a long time.

Dave

[eddief]

cause we'd be starting in the middle with no baseline after eight years.

sounds like the bottom bracket could be shot. after 8 years, as dave said, could be stretched chain, worn cogs, cable out of adjustment, etc.

either buy a book and some tools and start from scratch by adjusting things to see if they can be smoothed out. if they can't be smoothed then you need to start replacing parts. if you start replacing parts it should be done with a method that minimizes expense.

or if you're not in the mood, take it in to the lbs and see what they can do.

[Jiwa Jiwa]

the park tool site is also a good resource for diy'ers. not sure if even what's written on the site can diagnose what you're describing, but may be worth a shot if you're trying to learn on your own.

http://www.parktool.com/repair/

[rePhil]

It could be worn chain and cogs.But did you try adjusting the cable tension on the rear derailleur? With the bike in a workstand and while turning the pedals over try adding or removing tension on the rear cable and see if it makes a difference. If it's a bad adjustment you would be able to see the chain jumping around on the rear cogs while turning the cranks.

[rsl]

Thanks for all the suggestions thus far!

As for cable tension, the chain isn't jumping around at all - it seems to make smooth shifts - it''s just really rough and noisy when pedalling, and there's that hitching feeling as the chain makes its way through the pulleys and around the cogs.

Also, as for wear, though the bike is 8 years old, it hasn't seen much use at all. I'd be surprised if the parts had more than 1,000 miles on them. Could they still be worn out? I thoroughly cleaned chain, cogs, derailleur pulleys with a brush and degreaser prior to reinstalling everything.

Again, Thanks for the help!

[Jiwa Jiwa]

did you take the chain off to clean it, then put it back on? if so, a link could be stiff and binding. or its not threaded thru the rear der. cage correctly. or maybe the freewheel/cassette got gunk in it in the cleaning that is causing the grinding and bad operation....

[rsl]

did you take the chain off to clean it, then put it back on? if so, a link could be stiff and binding. or its not threaded thru the rear der. cage correctly. or maybe the freewheel/cassette got gunk in it in the cleaning that is causing the grinding and bad operation....

Hmmm... Good thoughts. I did take it off to clean it. I'll check it for stiff or binding links. I'm pretty sure that it's threaded through the pulleys correctly -but I'll double check that too.

Thanks for the help!

[SoCalSteve]

Hmmm... Good thoughts. I did take it off to clean it. I'll check it for stiff or binding links. I'm pretty sure that it's threaded through the pulleys correctly -but I'll double check that too.

Thanks for the help!

That was my first thought as well. You can actually see the "binding" link as it moves through the drivetrain.

Good luck,

Steve

[rsl]

I went home on my lunchbreak and basically started over - things are now shifting quite well!

Thanks for the help :beer: