- Right, we've got five minutes now
to make sure that your gears are shifting correctly.
Importantly, first of all to check
is to make sure that the ferrules on the end of the cables
that they're snug on there and they're not loose at all,
and also that any cable stops, such as here,
the gear cable is in there correctly,
inside of that ferrule.
But let's move on and look at the actual derailleurs
to make sure that they're working in tip top condition.
Right, so let's start off then with the rear derailleur.
Now make sure that the chain
is in the biggest chain ring at the front
and in the smallest sprocket here at the rear.
So that's essentially the highest gear.
So the best way of doing this
is to actually stand behind the bike, or sit in my case,
and look at where the upper poly wheel is.
Basically, that wants to be slightly further across
than this sprocket here, the highest sprocket.
That way, when you are changing gear to go into it,
normally you're putting quite a lot of flex
through the rear end,
and sometimes the shifting can't be perfect.
So it only needs to be a millimeter or two further across.
That way, you're going to be spot on
when you're laying down the power.
Next up, we're gonna look at the L-limit adjustment screw,
so that's the lower limit.
So first of all, make sure you're in
the smallest chain ring at the front
and then simply give the pedals a turn
and try and get it into that sprocket there.
So that's the easiest one for you to be pedaling in.
If the chain is struggling to get in,
make sure that basically you just undo that L-screw,
just quarter of a turn, or half a turn,
to allow the chain to go on it,
and then you're good to go.
You might need to just give that
a little bit of fine adjustment,
but you certainly don't want those jockey wheels
to be any further inboard than the actual sprocket itself.
That way, if that was to happen,
you could land yourself a hefty repair bill
as your derailleur could well get tangled up in the spokes
and not only destroy a wheel but also a frame
and derailleur in the worst case.
Now if it is going too far across, stop immediately,
and actually tighten that screw in
a couple of turns I would say,
and then repeat that first process
to try and get that chain moving there sweetly.
Right, let's have a look then
at the front derailleur, shall we?
Now it puts it into the easiest gear,
so the small chain ring here
and then the big old sprocket here at the rear.
Now, have a look and see that there's about a millimeter gap
between the inner cage plate
and the actual outside of the chain, furthest inward.
That way, when you're out of the saddle
putting some effort through climbing,
you're not gonna have that annoying rubbing sound.
If you do, then there is a L-limit adjust screw there
and you can simply turn or adjust that either way,
to either reduce the gap or increase it.
And then for the big ring,
what you want to have is almost in effect the opposite.
So you want a millimeter gap
between the inside of the derailleur here
and the chain there.
So again, there's an H-screw
for you to have a little play around with
and make sure you've got that gap there
so that you can shift onto the big ring with ease.
Now for the indexing.
Yep, a rattly gear is very, very irritating,
not only to yourself, but to anyone else
who you're riding with.
So, my preferred technique for this
is to actually put the chain
into the smallest number of teeth sprocket here at the rear.
So basically your highest gear.
And then undo the cable clamp,
and then make sure it's pulled through,
you know, tightly, but don't yank on it.
There's no need to actually do that.
Then re-tighten it and then change gear
into an easier gear, and then pedal away.
And then whilst pedaling, at the same time,
turn your barrel adjuster here,
to enable the rear derailleur to actually move across
onto the next sprocket.
Once it's moved over there
and there's no rattling or irritating noises,
your gears should be indexed fine.
So stop, leave that barrel adjuster alone,
and just actually move up through the gears,
up and down through and actually make sure
that every gear is engaging correctly.
So, front derailleurs,
how do we actually fine tune those then?
Yep, that's right.
They don't have a barrel adjuster, like here.
So, for instance, on this Shimano 105 derailleur,
we've actually got a small socket that we can turn
and that does in fact put a little bit of tension
onto the cable either way.
Now, if you haven't got one of those,
it's quite likely you've got an inline cable barrel adjuster
that you can work against each other
and then that provides just that little bit
of extra cable stretch or release.
So you'll be able to adjust your front derailleur that way.
Hopefully now your gears are working silky smooth
and no mistimed shifts.
A couple of other things though, just to consider.
Your gear cables, both inner and outer,
make sure that they are nice and fluid
and that there's no kinks or bends inside of them,
as well as grit and dirt,
because that can affect the gearing.
Also, finally, your derailleur hanger.
I always bang on about these.
You lot probably get sick and tired
of me talking about them.
Make sure it's straight and in line
because that can give you so many problems at the rear.
Now, let me know your tips
for setting up gears in five minutes
in the comments section down below,
and also remember to like and share this video
with your friends.
If your friend has got a bike
that doesn't change gears very well,
make sure they know about this video.
Also, check out the GCN shop at
shop.globalcyclingnetwork.com.
You can get an apron,
so you don't get your GCN T-shirt dirty.
How good is that?
And now for another great video, click just down here.