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Hello all-
With no bike shop here in St. Thomas its very difficult to get my bike tuned up and if I have a problem with it I cant get it fixed easily. I am having problems with my bar end shifters on my TT bike- the rear derailleur is not lining up with the gears and I have no clue what the issue is. I dont think that my derailleur hanger is bent but it could be. Does anyone here in STT have experience fixing bikes?
Posted : May 7, 2010 2:47 pm
Give Tom at Stamina Sports on STX a call at (340) 719-6749. I know he has the ability to ship between islands. http://stamina-sports.com/
Lisa
Posted : May 7, 2010 7:53 pm
Hi mrl38,
Between the shifters (not knowing what "problems" you're having) and the rear der not lining up, it sounds like the cable has stretched or slipped a little from the fixing bolt. My advice is to turn the barrel adjuster(s) at the shifter (and leading to the der if you have one there, too) all the way in (clockwise as you're looking at the cable enter the shifter/der), then counter-clockwise one turn each, loosen the fixing bolt (should be about a 5mm hex wrench) on the der enough to pull the cable snug. While holding the cable snug (I use needle-nosed pliers), tighten the fixing bolt very snug to hold the cable in place. With the bike off the ground (or upside down on the saddle and bars) rotate your pedals so the rear tire is spinning. If you can shift easily from low to high gears (relative to your chainrings), you're golden. If not (and this is probably the case; it always is for me) you may need to continue (at 1/4 turn max for each "missed" shift point) turning the barrel adjuster(s) counter-clockwise until shifting well from 1st through 5th (on the small ring) and 6th through 9th (big ring). Indexed shifters are very sensitive to cable tension, and this is what I've tried to walk you through. If your cables are old (say more than a couple of years) they may have rust forming or sand/dirt inside the housing, preventing the cable from moving freely and no amount of fiddling will fix it. You'll need to get new cable(s).
If you haven't taken a tumble and are careful about where you lean your bike, the hanger should be okay.
An excellent resource for maintenance is the Park Tool site at: http://www.parktool.com/repair/
If you want, PM me and I'll send you some links to sites where you can get parts/tools/etc. priced right and sent here. (Out of necessity I've had to become a "wrench" for my bike since moving here.)
I hope this helps and if you need anything else, let me know!
Posted : May 7, 2010 7:59 pm
