Comments | darxus: I seem to have gotten my rear derailer straightened out.

darxus

I seem to have gotten my rear derailer straightened out.

Sep 11, 2013 23:01

I went into it thinking I totally knew what I was doing, since I was pretty comfortable with the front derailer by the time I went to bed last night. But it wasn't cooperating. I was only messing with the cable tension knob. And... it was not very responsive.

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bicycle

Comments 6

volta September 12 2013, 08:06:02 UTC

In my experience with consumer level bikes (<$500), the derailleurs require adjustment so frequently a locknut would serve almost no purpose. When I was commuting by bicycle (~25mi round trip over moderately hilly terrain, and I was/am out of shape enough that made for a lot of gear changes) it was unusual if I only had to adjust once a week. I suspect higher quality equipment requires less frequent adjustment, but have no relevant experience to back that up. My friends who are "into" bikes still give me crap about the bikes I used to ride.

I no longer own any vehicles that lack IC engines, but I have recently been giving serious thought to a "city bike" to keep in the office for travel around town. Suggestions welcome.

darxus September 12 2013, 16:17:51 UTC

Well, what kind of bike do you want? Road (race) bike, for maximum speed? Hybrid for more comfort? Endurance bike for theoretically slightly more comfort than a typical race bike? Cyclo-cross bikes are like road race bikes but more durable - Specialized actually recommends them for commuting in sub-optimal conditions (weather, roads). But I kind of doubt endurance or cyclo-cross bikes are worth the additional cost ( ... )

I'm glad you're having fun with it drwex September 12 2013, 14:36:46 UTC

I have an old clunker of a bike that I've had for *mumble*thirty-some*mumble* years. I keep being afraid that it's going to fall apart spontaneously or develop some major problems but so far so good.

Re: I'm glad you're having fun with it darxus September 12 2013, 14:46:50 UTC

Cool. Probably a good idea to look it over thoroughly for weld cracks?

Re: I'm glad you're having fun with it drwex September 12 2013, 14:49:47 UTC

I suppose that's possible. I'm not sure if the bike shop guys checked for that during its tune-up a few months ago. Also I'm not sure I could spot such a crack before it got really huge.

perspicuity September 13 2013, 03:21:29 UTC

most bikes i've worked on have physical range locks outs front and back

and the cables have finger level adjustments on both ends of each cable; i've had to tweak on the fly.

AND if you count the actual cable clamp, that's two more.

when i upgraded my shifters, the instructions came with "the procedure"... basically you first have to reset the physical ranges, adjust gross physical cable length, and then tune the tension levels.

the pros can do it in under 20 minutes. takes make 2-3 times longer as i rarely have to do it. after new cables break in, very few adjustments are required, even phyiscal ranges.

keep it clean, and lubed, esp the chain, and bob's your uncle.

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