Very hard rear deraileur shifting
10-25-20, 12:41 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Very hard rear deraileur shifting
I just bought a very cheap folding bike for my wife to try as an experiment. It has two deraillers and two shifters (obv). The shifters are the motorcycle style index shifters. The rear derailler shifter is really, really hard to shift. I've never had one that hard. Where do I start looking for the problem? (Since it's a folder the shift cable is longer than most cables, so maybe that's it; but on my Bike Friday--a different bike--it's about that long but nowhere near the tension.) I'm just looking for hints on where to start looking. I just brought it home and haven't lifted a wrench yet.
10-25-20, 01:31 PM
#2
Senior Member
Possible drag on the cable somewhere in the housing? Disconnect the cable from the Dr and shift it again, see if it is easy or still hard.
10-25-20, 03:52 PM
#3
Senior Member
Thread Starter
3Speed
Great idea. I'll try it. If thats not it, what's next? I guess lube the shifter and the RD and after that see if there's a tension adjustment in the RD?
10-25-20, 04:01 PM
#4
Senior Member
Definitely move the dr over the cogs with your hand while pedaling the crank. See if it is hard to move. Lube the pin points on the dr too. Your shifter(thumb) I know some will be harder to move if they are tightened down to much. Suntour is that way.
10-26-20, 10:40 PM
#5
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My Downtube's Shimano Revoshifter is three years old, and I've put 1500 miles on it this year. It got stuck. With no cable tension, it clicked freely, but I couldn't turn it past two gears under tension, even with a channel lock pliers. I injured my right thumb, probably carpal tunnel, in September trying to shift it. I replaced the cable first. Then I tried a different derailleur. It was the shifter in my case.
I tried a old indexed lever shifter and it worked fine, so I ordered a Altus trigger shifter. All is well now, except I have to press the lever with my palm to go to the bigger gears because of the thumb injury.
I tried a old indexed lever shifter and it worked fine, so I ordered a Altus trigger shifter. All is well now, except I have to press the lever with my palm to go to the bigger gears because of the thumb injury.
11-01-20, 06:21 AM
#6
Senior Member
I just bought a very cheap folding bike for my wife to try as an experiment. It has two deraillers and two shifters (obv). The shifters are the motorcycle style index shifters. The rear derailler shifter is really, really hard to shift. I've never had one that hard. Where do I start looking for the problem? (Since it's a folder the shift cable is longer than most cables, so maybe that's it; but on my Bike Friday--a different bike--it's about that long but nowhere near the tension.) I'm just looking for hints on where to start looking. I just brought it home and haven't lifted a wrench yet.
I just replaced my wife's Downtube with a cheap trigger shifter. Part was $13 from Treefort and came with cable.
11-03-20, 05:40 PM
#7
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Yeah, I only got 12 years from mine
11-04-20, 04:02 PM
#8
Senior Member
Thread Starter
3speedslow: You got it! I tried moving it with my hand. Then I tried liberally applying WD40 to every available point on the whole drive train. IMMEASURABLY easier shifting. I'm going to replace the whole cable run and the housing this weekend. In the process, I disassemble the other pieces of the shifting system and clean and lube them.
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