Common Derailleur issues

• Slack in Cable

• Dirty housing or corroded cable

• Bent Der. Hanger

• Combination of factors

Getting to know your Derailleur

• While in the stand, pedal the bike and watch what happens as you shift.  Look at it from the side and then have a friend pedal it and watch standing directly behind it.

• Shift to the smallest cassette on the bottom and pedal the bike while you pull the cable with your hands…What happens when you pull the cable?

• Pedal the bike through the gears, shifting one gear at a time, and watch how quickly it shifts up and down.  Make mental notes on how quickly up goes up and down each cassette.

Making the basic Barrel adjustment.

• Shift to the smallest cassette on back (always start cable adjustments here)

• Turn the barrel adjustment clockwise until it stops.

• Go up through the gears one at a time and observe how it shifts. 

• Shift down to the smallest cassette and test the tension on the cable.  Is it more or less?

• How did this affect your shifting?

• Begin to back the barrel adjust back out in ½ turns and test the shifting between adjustments. 

• Tighten the cable until the chain drops onto each cassette with a slight hesitation, and then loosen in quarter turns.  (Basically, tighten until it is too tight, then loosen the cable in ¼ turns until it falls instantly on the next cassette during down shifts)