Poor Shifting - 6 Main Causes Of Bad Gear Change. Bicycle Troubleshooting

[@lindsaycollins1654]

Wish I had found this video before working my own way through solutions 2 - 6 with out success. Finally slid back the rear cable housing, cleaned the gunk and rust off the cable inside, even needing to use steel wool to smooth it out, a dab of lubricant and success! Thank you.

[@ajjrm]

Thanks again. Need to replace my chain and probably buy a decent freehub. I'm going to wash the housing as advised. This is my first road bike, early days I'd put so much lube on the chain it was terrible, it'd start making noises within 2 days. Looking at your bike you can't even see anything on it. You live and learn. Merci.

[@jimmetan7031]

I had suffered some of the problems you mentioned. At the moment my 10 years old Rapid Rise Shimano is giving me a lot of problems shifting gears. I think I am going to solve this problem with your advices like changing the guide pulley especially. Both the pulleys are also 10 years old. LOL. Thank You for sharing your knowledges.

[@jake-the-neko5531]

That moment you suffer all of these problems in one go

[@gliderman9302]

Dats bad

[@jonrep8181]

On Older type Gear Shifters another thing that can make poor shifting is broken cable strands in the gear shifts on the handlebars. The strands fatigue at Bends. The whole cable best to be replaced when this happens.

[@rgmtb]

Great points here! Nothing is better than having your bike shift great. I'm really glad you talked about cleaning your bike and how it affects shifting. People complain that their bikes won't shift and at the same time have it covered in dirt and mud! Nice video ;-)

[@cannondany]

Thanks!

[@massspike]

A similar problem to the moving cassette can be if there is too much play in the bearings (insufficient pre-load on the loose bearings). I just had this happen when I upgraded from a 10-speed to 11-speed. It went from quiet/smooth to noisy/rough in the mid-block only. It was brand new set-up (as clean as you could get), the gears were indexed properly, and the cassette wasn't loose but there was a little play when applying pressure at the rim. The chain seemed to be rubbing against the adjacent cogs. I figured out that in small cogs there wasn't enough leverage to move the cassette and in the really big gears (e.g. 46T) there wasn't a cog to rub against -- I guess the tolerances of the 10-speed were just high enough to avoid the problem. I just overhauled the hub and really dialled in the pre-load.

[@cannondany]

Yes, thanks for your input :)

[@redtobertshateshandles]

I think this is my issue after servicing the bearings and cassette. Not enough pre load on the bearings , they are NOT the cone type.

[@QTrueYT]

I still can't understand why when I wheelie on 4th gear MT the gear/chain respins in the same spot wich couses me to stop pedaling and fall off

[@dkhundeboll]

Hi - you have many valuable information and your videos has a very high technical quality. I have a small suggestion for your videos. In this you talk about 6 reasons for bad shifting. I suggest you insert a small text in the video when you start on each topic, to clearly identify now you talk about item 1 and now item 2 - and at the end a very short summery of the 6 reasons. This would move this video from very good to brilliant in my world. Thanks for nice video - I will look forward for more !

[@kottelkannim4919]

0:59 "Dirt on the cables, housings and cable guides" 3:17 "Bent derailleur hanger or bent rear derailleur itself" 5:46 "Worn out chain" 6:53 "Play in the rear/front derailleur + excessive pulley wheels play" 8:22 "Freehub wobble(?)" 9:28 "Jammed/dirty shifters"

[@theodorebowie6298]

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[@kysonbruce1767]

@Theodore Bowie Instablaster :)

[@theodorebowie6298]

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[@theodorebowie6298]

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[@richietattersall2122]

I had a landlord with a Shimano Deore set-up with a rear Derailleur that kept jumping, he was about to take it into the local shop where we lived in Brooklyn, I managed to stop him. He had kinked the tube, I replaced it and he had a functioning bike again.

[@jeremyemilio9378]

I hope he gave you a rent discount for that month

[@Amatronix999]

6 main causes of bad gear change: 1.derailleur 2.derailleur 3.derailleur 4.derailleur 5.derailleur 6.derailleur All the tech like hydro forming,carbon moulding,airforks/shock and they still drag a chain over sprockets and have a shifter hanging on an axle? Cmon bike industry youve been taking the piss for too long.

[@sennemarquenie]

there's a big variety in shifting mechanisms but they are only populair on touring bikes since they're too heavy to use them on road-or mountainbikes

[@derfurz8618]

Carlospicywiener there is no lightweight good longlasting cheap alternative. If deraileurs are as bad as you say then its propably easy for you to tell me a few problems of them that could be fixed by an alternative that still has to be functional

[@VincentAziz]

Carlospicywiener chain?

[@claudiovijaya]

I service my front derailleur and shifter and even changed the inner, but now i can't twist the grip shifter at all... Failed miserably....have ordered new microshift front shifter from AliExpress

[@fr7260]

means shifting directly back gear to low while front gear is in high is bad???please help

[@bulllet.tcb2005]

My bike's wobbling freewheel made the derailleur wobble and is worn a lot

[@michaelmcfadden4397]

I've never seen a youtube video mention a bent chainring, which caused havoc on my shifting and was the last thing I looked at after replacing everything else. 7 main causes of ........

[@bobborycki8510]

Great tips, for my 20 year old Miele mountain bike.

[@atexnik]

Can a slightly worn out cassette also be the cause of poor shifting? I have a folding bike with revoshifter and tourney RD. The hanger is dead straight (have it checked with ParkTool wrench), the RD is flimsy by its own, but it was always like that. I swapped the chain for the new one, but still the shifting doesn't occur as good as was before, especially on the last 2-3 smallest cogs. The cassette (actually, the freewheel) doesn't look worn when compared to a new one, so I suspect it is either the RD or the shifter itself, however, visually, the RD moves fine, and stops just under each cog, in parallel to them. I guess, I need to swap the components one by one to figure out the culprit.

[@arisxa4118]

for me it was that the derailer was not vertical with the cassette

[@Fjlbc]

I just bought a new MTB bike and i will use this and the other videos about maintenance on it since they are extremely usefull and complete. thank you!

[@PopkosCZ]

I´ve got a road bike that sat a two years in a box and have a problem with rear Sora R3000 deraileaur poor shifting. I tried the first problem, if the rear derailleaur is moving when pressing the shift lever but it stays at place and moves only after a click. Considering it is a brand new bike, should lubing the cables solve the problem? I have internal cables in the frame..

[@henrikjonsson4340]

THANKS!!!! because you are add that DIRT is the most bad thing to a gear system. It is like gravel in an engine. It is easy to adjust a new one BUT not an greasy one. So keep on the good genuine YT-videos you do... :)

[@GoustiFruit]

I need to adjust my gearing, can't wait for the next video on the topic :-)

[@TwinShards]

6:20 This is not a fully accurate chain wear test, obviously using the tool is better. Because if your gear is very weared it will show the same sign but it's not the chain. Some unexperienced cyclist may do this test after watching this and conclude they should change the chain, but it's not actually what they need to change. _____________________________ Also, where is my #7 ? In USA / If you don't ride your bike in Winter condition then it's unlikely. But in Canada / Winter Condition, if you ride your bike in the snow. Your Rear Derailleur may seize overtime depending on how it has been made. I have a Shimano Deore DX and it has this issue. The 2 Steel Pivot incased in the Aluminium frame of the derailleur started to seize because the seals that were originally keeping salty water and other junk out started to get too old and corrosion went in. It resulted in the derailleur having a hard time to pull back all the way to the lowest gears because the friction was greater than the spring's strenght. I had to drill 2 holes in the opposite side to hammer out the pivot so i could clean it. Once it was done, it was working like new.

[@redtobertshateshandles]

No, someone with a worn cassette always has a worn chain.

[@mel5301954]

Is it normal to have a tiny bit or. hair play of clearance after installing a cassette gear 11 x 50T . The hair play i am talking about is when i hold the 50t gear and move it back and forth towards the spoke and towards the hanger there is a very tiny bit of play or clearance which i think i need to put in a spacer at the back of the cassette gears. Is this normal???

[@Temmered]

My gear shift is extremely inaccurate it "claims" to do 7 speeds but only does 3 clicks.

[@tanujmukund1]

my front derailleur does not move from 1st to 2nd but moves to 3rd properly and 3 to 2 and to 1 properly please suggest how to solve this

[@Tubeeeeedoooo]

Tanuj Mukund adjust derailed adjustment screws... there is plenty of vids on doing this correctly in a sequence.

[@Nik-tm6vq]

Same problem for me

[@Bjoggi308]

You might want to look into balancing your wheels to eliminate that wobble. Otherwise great info and good pointers.

[@cannondany]

Yes, they wobble like hell...

[@mikeylindseysadventures4212]

they make a derailleur bending tool park tool or cheaper for the cost of a new hanger now btw

[@kevinmontoya7318]

Nah I just bend it by hand

[@heinifalk809]

Thanks for this vid. Does the play in the casette happen to all wheelsets or is it inherent on the shimano hub wheelsets more?

[@blackdragon3games799]

i cant shift in my second front blade and lowest at the rear, plz help me

[@norbertschweiger1324]

Most informative cycling channel and videos! how to service/change the freehub then? Danke! is that bike even cleaner than when it was new?

[@M4NGO2K]

My rear derailleur has a lot of side to side play but I've tried 3 different derailleurs 1 was new. Could it be my frame? Maybe damaged derailleur hanger threads?

[@badside185]

I have kross globate 1. 1 is that cycle good

[@alirwec]

HELP !! i have bike powered with shimano gear system. it has 3 front cogs and 7 back cogs the problem is it only falls in the 6th-7th gear it doesn't fall in bigger gears, what should I do? good engineers i need your help

[@kacperolszewski3775]

Adjust your limit screws

[@TivonSanders]

Sounds like you have a cable tension issue. Use the barrel adjuster to fine tune the tension.

[@b14dy]

Danielu, gdzie kupujesz rękawiczki "serwisowe" i jak się one nazywają. Dzięki

[@OffTheSaddle]

Great video, I've been a mechanic for over 10 years now and I just started a KZbin channel. I'd appreciate any advice keep the videos coming the more good information out there the better the it is for cycling.

[@joen3992]

My Norco Storm 28er was upgraded to Deore 9 speed. In a ll 3 rings, it sticks at 6. To the point I have to shift the Deore shifter twice to go to 7. Then you get a 'clunk' sound of the chain jumping. 1,2,3,4,5 smooth. 7,8,9 and back are fine. It just sticks at 6. Quite annoying let me tell you! LBS adjusts the cables checks the chain and it works. Tomorrow it does it again out of spite and it fucking pisses me off!!! Thinking its the hanger.

[@Tubeeeeedoooo]

Joe N you can see in derailer H and L adjustment screws these screws with very little adjustment can help by moving the derailer to align the gears. In your case the L screw sounds like it's screwed to far in so the smallest gear isn't being aligned. Look up on KZbin "adjustment of rear derailer screws" to get more detailed instructions

[@filiptrajkovski5834]

I had the exact same problem for so long. Adjustments only gave a good result a day or so. A few days ago it stuck in 9 so LBS changed the cable and the housings and now works great, though it's been only around 230 km since.

[@NatSatFat]

OH nice info, like you bike! can you tell me how many teeth on your Double Chainring and your large gear on your cassette please?

[@WasabiBunny]

Really useful video, thanks,

[@magpie7791]

hi sick biker is it ok to put a 130mm hub on a 126mm drop outs? I want to increase my gears from 7 to 9, as I'm shifting my gears to much to find a good ratio now I'm getting better. is this a good idea as I don't want to buy a new bike just for more gear ratios. cheers Ed

[@Hassle68]

if my switching becomes poor on the front derailleur I just charge the battery and I'm back to crisp switching on a button press :)

[@robertbawden1702]

very clever man. BRAVO. my bike finally work goot now ya. 10/10

[@johnreese3762]

Very good video/information, thanks a lot!!

[@djaybadfish1]

Sickbiker, would you say its ok to clean your chain, cassette, derailers and all cables after every ride? I ride from 20-100 miles a week, pretty much everyday all depending on the Florida weather. Plus I live on a beach and salt eats everything!

[@Tubeeeeedoooo]

djaybadfish1 use a degreaser on a cloth not too much now as your only taking crap of the outside of the chain and run the chain through the cloth. Then regrease again not too much just enough to protect and ensure smooth running.

[@TheMightyRubber]

When you were explaining the cassette wobble, your bike was shaking quite hard. Are your wheels unbalanced or was it just from turning the cranks?

[@cannondany]

Yes, the wheels are unbalanced.

[@DedicationSheerWill]

My shifting won't go Up now... Idk why

[@brown2666]

Hello sir. I'm in the market for an endurance road bike. Could you please advise me on whether the cannondale synapse carbon 105 is a good bike or not?

[@Hassle68]

Brown 266 the cannondale synapse is a lovely bike for long distance riding but it is still very race orientated. I bought a felt vr2 though

[@IvansBikesBmws]

Super informative. Love it.

[@cannondany]

So nice to hear that!

[@ApocaIypse666]

man i have some of those problems it sucks to know man

[@Joe-yj9yf]

What does bad shifting mean? I have a problem in which my cycle shows gear 2 but the gear will be on number 3 how to fix that.

[@aadibelhe8548]

I know this a late answer but your gears have not been indexed properly. The cable tension is quite bad

[@Luffy-fw8id]

I already watch your merida video but I still can't decide to go for reacto 400 or scultura 400 btw which one is stiffer

[@Luffy-fw8id]

Pls help :(

[@cannondany]

Scultura will be much stiffer laterally.

[@Luffy-fw8id]

SickBiker thank you

[@shaktimagar4407]

Very nice information thanks

[@rogerwilliams3603]

First you guy, good a instructions I will try my best to use all those tips. MR Roger Bassi saying thanks. 😅

[@bendenisereedy7865]

The seventh reason for poor shifting is a dragging cable caused when you have internal cables and in fitting a new inner cable you have accidentally twisted it around the internal hydraulic brake pipe, also inside your downtube. Guess how I know this?

[@mamelc5685]

Thank you, very helpful 😊

[@731550ossiel]

Fantastic video, learned a lot

[@earthbeauty1]

THANK YOU TO MUCH PLAY MUST GET SERIOUS TO RIDE SMOOTHLY

[@lonnieclemens8028]

I purchased 21 speed bicycle yesterday. It was used and had been hanging up in a garage for 5 years. I rode it today and I am not getting maximum use of the gears. It's too easy too pedal in setting 2-6 and 2-7. Then I switch up to 3 and have to go all the way to 7. Something doesn't feel right. I have another 21 speed bike and do not have an issue with this.

[@PaulHung77]

OMG! so clear and precise. I wish my MTB ran as smoothly as your instructions. Great video

[@thomashewittknewit5510]

What if your bike had 100 gears ?

[@siclmn]

You can end all your shifting problems by getting bikes that have DI-2. No more cable problems.

[@Ali-Rida]

After a lot of research on YT to fix my bike's rear derailleur shifting issue I finally found the issue and solution! Couldn't find a YT video on this matter! I explain it below: 1) The most common type of housing has an inner thin wires tube and an outer plastic covering tube. Apparently after a while because of pressure the outer plastic tube jams and the inner tube wires are exposed that can get crushed by pressure on ferrels! This causes a serious metal-metal fraction between the cable and thin wires of housing, worse than any dirt or rust can do! 2) Loosen the shifter cable and release the cable at the derailleur (watch YT guides) and through all housings to free all housing parts. 3) You have to cleanly cut the exposed thin wires of housing to align it with plastic cover tube. Be careful not to block inner empty hole (where the cable passes) by crushing the wires. You need a sharp wire cutter (or a specialized tool from bike shop!) Then clean up both ends of housing and lube a bit. 4) Insert the cable in all housing parts and through the derailleur cable clamp. Since you lost some housing length, to have the same tension on the cable at a particular gear you need to pull the cable out of derailleur cable clamp a bit compared to what it was before. This needs to be fine tuned to have perfect correspondence between shifter and derailleur for all gear range (watch YT guides). Hope it helps someone.

[@taurus20077]

If you have Di2 or eTap, step 1 doesn't really apply since there are no shifting cables.

[@flor.e.cultura]

You are a genious!!!

[@cannondany]

Oh, there are many other issues with electronics...

[@linang2211]

I’m enjoying the bike so far kzbin.infoUgkxMesz3KOGEmwmvyKQfLfrRSUXLFzfVHZA My only real complaints are the brakes and the pedals. I feel like a bike designed for bigger people should have much larger pedals and more heavy duty brakes. I’ve only gotten two really good rides out of it, minimal downhill action, and the brakes feel like they’re already going out. A larger person has more momentum, so I think this wasn’t thought through very well. Also, I wear size 13-14 wide shoes. My feet cramp up on these pedals that are clearly made for smaller feet. Since I’m not a pro rider (and I don’t think many are who purchase this bike) I don’t think that the straps on the pedal are necessary at all. None of this takes away from the enjoyment I get from riding, however. I’ll just head to a bike shop to improve on a few things.

[@thabitkhalifa8527]

Great vid

[@suggesttwo]

better a 20 year old made in Japan steel Shimano derailer than a new one from Malaysia.

[@edwardrotonili8650]

Thanks!

[@britneywhitney100]

Must Have!!!

[@ak_vg9715]

Great vid.

[@danfuerthgillis4483]

That was horrible sounding gear changes , holy crap man not even my $300 GMC Denali road bike sounds like that. The cable for the back Derail is too loose, the Cogs are not indexed properly ( pay attention to the jockey wheels!!!), the Cassette needs to be replaced as it is wobbling, the chain is dry as a bone. Poor Cannondale man it's being abused. There should no crunching noise when switching the back cogs only for the Front Rings should be heard with the chain being moved by the front derailleur. Good video but I would not trust you with my $300 GMC denali lol.

[@toby000000]

Why don't you make a you tube clip and post your suggestions on here? Would be interesting to see how you would have done this differently / better?

[@wilsonimperial9807]

Thanks for info bro

[@relayer]

The music in the background is really annoying.

[@DraVin09]

super helpful thanks!

[@cannondany]

:)

[@Peac249]

this is the perfect video that i always wanted

[@will1nice]

Just buy a single speed and worry less

[@amjustin3048]

Super

[@Ashiquei]

you need to use my bike for these videos, so it covers all use cases besides your bike is way to clean and shinny to have any problems...

[@dummydami9892]

I need 2 clicks to downshift

[@shadigif8916]

Sick Sick Sick Sick Sick Sick Sick Sick Sick Sick Sick Sick Sick shifting

[@Ali-qb9em]

❤

[@marcusmartin5758]

Im using single speed, problem solved.

[@tenminutetokyo2643]

DOOOD!

[@mrcrowley1977]

Great video thanks for the tips 👍👍