Hi Just purchased a 1992 Peugeot Festina Chromoly Frame Road bike. The previous owner had possibly used it in a single gear because the bike will not change gears. It has the Shimano RSX shifters & dérailleur. I am not sure how to adjust the gears, when moving the shifters, nothing happens, but i can manually with my hand drop the chain down the cassete. I think it maybe something to do with the 2 screws on the rear deraillier and the gear cable tension screw, but i am not sure if i would also need to make any adjustments on the shifters. I am presuming there must be a mothod of adjusting the gears so that they do not change, I need to reverse this so i can use the gears, as the bike is a beauty and rides really nicely.
Gears stuck in place, advice required
- Thread starter roccostan
- Start date
Joe of Loath
Old School Hero
First off, take the cable out of the clamp on the derailleur. Does it move when you click the shifter?
If yes, it's the limit screws. Undo the H one and pull the derailleur away from the wheel (this works best with no chain) until it's aligned with the smallest gear. Then let go and undo the L one until it's aligned with the big gear.
If the cable doesn't move, it may be snapped, rusty or the shifter is broken. Report back if this is the case.
If yes, it's the limit screws. Undo the H one and pull the derailleur away from the wheel (this works best with no chain) until it's aligned with the smallest gear. Then let go and undo the L one until it's aligned with the big gear.
If the cable doesn't move, it may be snapped, rusty or the shifter is broken. Report back if this is the case.
Joe of Loath":1qwnxqen said:
I will go and check the bike now, but this applies to both front & rear shifters, they have both been stuck or fixed in place so that the gears dont change. I will pop down now and take the cable out of the clamp and then look for movement in the cable? presumably. will report back shortly.
I have removed the cable from the front & rear deraillieurs, when moving the big lever (the brake lever) sideways, there is a pull on the cable, but when moving the smaller lever which sits just behind the brake lever, there is no tug on the cable. This maybe because they are already gone as far as they can......I have also noticed the rear derailliuer is sitting horizontally accross the bottom of the bike instead of vertically, i.e straight down as a normal deraillieur should do so. Now I am wondering this maybe because the chain has been shortened?
S1m0nR
Old School Hero
Hey there,
Nice bike! You say that the brake lever pulls the cable in? That's good. If you then pull gently on the cable, does the little lever allow it to come back out again? Hopefully it does. Operate the small lever while pulling the cable until it stops moving the cable. Now, keeping gentle tension on the cable, click the brake lever a click at a time and verify that on each click, the cable is drawn in.
With any luck it'll click for as many speeds as you have on your rear block.
Test the other lever in the same way, but as far as I remember, the two levers' functions are reversed, i.e. the large (brake) lever allows the cable out and the small one takes it in - I could be wrong about that (it's been a while!) but you'll soon work it out.
By looking at the picture it appears that the chain is too short because the derailleur cage is past its limit. A new chain (or a couple more links) should sort that one.
To get the chain length right, put the chain on the largest ring at the front and back and make it long enough so that the derailleur is just before its limit - that way it'll not be too long when you're on the two smallest rings.
Hope that helps.
PS forgot to add, looks like the bike may also benefit from slight adjustment of the handlebar angle - if you release the clamp and tilt them up slightly they should be about right - received wisdom is that the bottom of the drop should point directly at the axle of the back wheel.
Nice bike! You say that the brake lever pulls the cable in? That's good. If you then pull gently on the cable, does the little lever allow it to come back out again? Hopefully it does. Operate the small lever while pulling the cable until it stops moving the cable. Now, keeping gentle tension on the cable, click the brake lever a click at a time and verify that on each click, the cable is drawn in.
With any luck it'll click for as many speeds as you have on your rear block.
Test the other lever in the same way, but as far as I remember, the two levers' functions are reversed, i.e. the large (brake) lever allows the cable out and the small one takes it in - I could be wrong about that (it's been a while!) but you'll soon work it out.
By looking at the picture it appears that the chain is too short because the derailleur cage is past its limit. A new chain (or a couple more links) should sort that one.
To get the chain length right, put the chain on the largest ring at the front and back and make it long enough so that the derailleur is just before its limit - that way it'll not be too long when you're on the two smallest rings.
Hope that helps.
PS forgot to add, looks like the bike may also benefit from slight adjustment of the handlebar angle - if you release the clamp and tilt them up slightly they should be about right - received wisdom is that the bottom of the drop should point directly at the axle of the back wheel.
Robbied196
Senior Retro Guru
Check out YouTube you'll find everything you need to know about bike set up, adjustment and maintenance.
Rear Derailleur adjustment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j1gSwhsVN8
The mechanics are simple, but that's often not reflected in bike shop prices!
Rear Derailleur adjustment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2j1gSwhsVN8
The mechanics are simple, but that's often not reflected in bike shop prices!
For those of you that have Shimano shifter problems there is a great video on you tube.
How to take apart a Shimano RSX STI shifter.
Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkGNN_2CfCY
How to take apart a Shimano RSX STI shifter.
Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkGNN_2CfCY
