Is my new bike set up ok?

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Graemecauk
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Joined: 6 May 2017, 6:11pm

Is my new bike set up ok?

Post by Graemecauk »

Hi, I've just bought a new mountain bike (Rockridge 340) mainly as a means of getting some exercise now I'm getting on a bit. It's the first bike I've ridden for nearly 20 years so I'feel like a complete novice. When I first took my bike out I had some trouble shifting between the 3 front gears. It didn't catch very cleanly. I was confused until I realised that the numbers on the left gripshift do not line up with the point at which the derailleur kicks in. I expect in time I'll get a feel for the correct position on the gripshift but is this normal? Does it suggest that I need to take the bike back to the shop for further adjustment on the gears? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
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Lance Dopestrong
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Re: Is my new bike set up ok?

Post by Lance Dopestrong »

It could be that you're still rusty, that the gears aren't set up properly, or because the cheap Shimano twist grip gears are poor performers. Difficult to say without seeing the bike.

Welcome back to cycling BTW.
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Cyril Haearn
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Joined: 30 Nov 2013, 11:26am

Re: Is my new bike set up ok?

Post by Cyril Haearn »

When changing derailleur gears you should keep turning the pedals, but gently so the chain is free to move

As an experienced cyclist one does this without thinking :wink:

I use a hub gear, I keep turning the pedals while changing, just a bit slower

One soon develops a feel for this
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crossroads
Posts: 164
Joined: 14 Apr 2010, 10:44am

Re: Is my new bike set up ok?

Post by crossroads »

Hi, looking at the spec for that bike (if its the BTWIN Rockrider 340) its a pretty basic bike with low end components, which you would expect for £159 - (I sometimes wonder how that's possible) - its okay but I suspect that as your finding even when new and set up properly (assuming it is) its always going to be a bit 'clunky' on the gear changes so I wouldn't worry about it , have fun with it and if your enjoying cycling you can always consider something better in the future. If you did just unbox it and put the wheels on etc. then the gear setup may well be off even new out the box, so it may well get better with a fettle by someone who knows whats what. If that's not you then a shop should not charge much for a basic gear tune up , if your not confident I wouldn't attempt it myself as its oh so easy to make it worse rather than better - its not hard you just need to know whats what. I just wouldn't expect ultra slick smooth changes from what you have.
Hope that helps
esuhl
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Joined: 22 Mar 2017, 3:20am

Re: Is my new bike set up ok?

Post by esuhl »

Graemecauk wrote:When I first took my bike out I had some trouble shifting between the 3 front gears. It didn't catch very cleanly. I was confused until I realised that the numbers on the left gripshift do not line up with the point at which the derailleur kicks in. I expect in time I'll get a feel for the correct position on the gripshift but is this normal? Does it suggest that I need to take the bike back to the shop for further adjustment on the gears? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.


Ignore how the numbers line up on the gripshift for now. When you click the gripshift in one direction or the other, do the gears change fairly smoothly and evenly, or do you need to rotate the gripshift past the "click" to get the gears to change properly? If the latter, you probably need to adjust the gear shifting.

When I was a novice, I took my bike to a shop and paid for them to adjust the gears. But it can take a while for the gear cables to "settle down" (especially with cheap components), and it's just so much easier if you understand how to adjust the gears on your bike. Then you can tweak it on the fly and know how to keep your gears shifting smoothly all the time.

There are plenty of videos on YouTube that will explain the basics of gear adjustment. It's really quite straightforward, just a bit fiddly to get "absolutely right". But you'll easily be able to get better adjustments yourself than if you get a bike shop to do a "one off" fix. Gear cables stretch over time, so it's worth being able to do this yourself.
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