Gear shifting / Griding wheels

Well I decided to sit down today for an hour and give the bike a once over. Did the usual clean lube etc and fixed some random issues but came across two problems I couldn't fix so any advice would be great.

I bent the hanger a few weeks ago, got it straightened out but the gears have been acting weird ever since. I can shift up and down no problem but if I want to change direction I have to double shift. Basically if I've been shifting in one direction for a while, when I want to go back the other way I have to shift twice to get the gears to change once. I had a brand new hanger lying around so I decided to go ahead and replace it figuring that the bent hanger was the issue. Unfortunatly no luck, even with the new hanger the problem is still there. I've lubed the cables, lubed the dérailleur, checked for anywhere the cable could be getting stuck and reset the cable about 4 times and still no luck. Could it be an issue with the shifter itself?

The second problem is that my front wheel seems to be very stiff. I took it off the bike and rotated it in my hands and the problem seems to be with the hub. I took off the rubber seals and dripped some lube in to the hub and left it to soak in for a few minutes on each side. It helped a little but theres still a jerky griding motion going on. Can hubs be serviced or would I have to go and get a new one and a wheel rebuild along with it?
Originally posted by andykc View Post



The second problem is that my front wheel seems to be very stiff. I took it off the bike and rotated it in my hands and the problem seems to be with the hub. I took off the rubber seals and dripped some lube in to the hub and left it to soak in for a few minutes on each side. It helped a little but theres still a jerky griding motion going on. Can hubs be serviced or would I have to go and get a new one and a wheel rebuild along with it?
There you go, the perfect chance to go and buy some nice new tubless wheels :)
Hub problem sounds like it needs to be stripped,cleaned,re greased and then the cones set correctly.Not a big job.

good video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNqXQ...eature=channel

Im not sure about the gear change,but it really sounds like a sticky cable.I know you oiled it,but thats what I think.I'll have a look at youre bike tomorrow at the club race if you like.
Originally posted by Micky View Post
Hub problem sounds like it needs to be stripped,cleaned,re greased and then the cones set correctly.Not a big job.

good video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNqXQ...eature=channel

Im not sure about the gear change,but it really sounds like a sticky cable.I know you oiled it,but thats what I think.I'll have a look at youre bike tomorrow at the club race if you like.
Thanks for the offer micky but unfortunately I usually can't get out early on a Thursday. I might try getting a new set of cables and see if that helps.
Cable issue- sounds like the outers- ie. the plastic (or ceramic in some cases) outer sheath that the gear cable should glide inside, I've had the same problem - good quality cables & outers changed at the same time eliminates this problem, also doing it sooner rather than later will save you screwing up the shifters too (as I found out . . . D'oh)
Even with a bent mech hanger you can set your gears up to work perfectly.. a bent hanger might have caused the problem but you can always work around it..

Also make sure the derailler isn't bent.. then do a full reset on the derailler.. make sure the limit screws are correctly adjusted and the derailler is in line with the cassette at the high and low points.. when you bend a derailler these things can go all out of alignment..

Make sure cable tension is set up correctly.. cable tension is critical for shifting.. you can have everything else set up 100% perfect but if the tension is off (even a tiny bit with Shimano) then it will not shift correctly.. either up or down..

Make sure the inner & outer cables are clean.. the inner is not corroded and the outer is bunged up with crap..

To narrow down the problem between cables and shifters grab the inner gear wire and change gear manually by hand.. if the cables are fooked then you'll feel it straight away.. pull the inner cable tight and let it go.. the derailler should run up and down through the gears with ease..

Finally check to see if your derailler is a Shimano or Sram... if its Shimano the best thing to do is douse it in petrol, set it alight and beat it to death with a universal Ralfie removal installation adjuster fitting tool... a hammer..!!

As for your hub.. if they are cartridge bearings then just ride them into ground and then replace them.. you won't damage your hub in any way.. if they are loose ball or open caged ball bearings running against the hub body then they should be replaced straight away.. forget about cleaning them and all that sh!te.. once they are rough the damage is done... check the cones for signs of pitting and make sure they are not too tight.. cartridge bearings don't use cones..

@ Harri - where do you get Ceramic gear cables..??
Leave Shimano alone!! They are probably the only thing that have not failed dismally on me over the years.
Does anybody remember the time Gerlie ( thats a lady who cleans her bike all the time and wraps it in bubblewrap ) broke his Sram shifters off on the descent of death !! SRAM cheapo Yugoslavian Muck..when i'm bating the **** out of my XT shifters to get them to work with my 2kg Lumphammer, all I ever get is a few scratches..get away from us with your Anti Shimano propaganda..did you ever see the state of SRAM Fishing reels !! Huh !!
And don't forget Kev Cooper was able to pound his into shape with a huge rock up Brockagh, and finish the spin.
Originally posted by Mac the Knife View Post
...
Decided to go ahead and take the hub apart to see what type of bearings I had. Loosened the hub by half a turn and the problem stopped. I'll double check it after the next few spins but I think the hub might just have been slightly over tightened.

As for the gears. I've done a complete reset on the deraileur a few times now. About 90% of my gear cable is exposed and threaded through the frame so I reckon it's probably a bit of grime in the small bit of outer down at the derailuer (even though I've poured about half a bottle of lube down it). I'll see about getting a new set of cables/outers and see if that fixs things.

Cheers for all the help.
Originally posted by andykc View Post
Decided to go ahead and take the hub apart to see what type of bearings I had. Loosened the hub by half a turn and the problem stopped. I'll double check it after the next few spins but I think the hub might just have been slightly over tightened.
In my experience you need to leave a tiny bit of play in the cones as when you tighten the QR it takes up this slack.

I learnt that from the psycho cycle guy!
Well I decided to sit down today for an hour and give the bike a once over. Did the usual clean lube etc and fixed some random issues but came across two problems I couldn't fix so any advice would be great.

I bent the hanger a few weeks ago, got it straightened out but the gears have been acting weird ever since. I can shift up and down no problem but if I want to change direction I have to double shift. Basically if I've been shifting in one direction for a while, when I want to go back the other way I have to shift twice to get the gears to change once. I had a brand new hanger lying around so I decided to go ahead and replace it figuring that the bent hanger was the issue. Unfortunatly no luck, even with the new hanger the problem is still there. I've lubed the cables, lubed the dérailleur, checked for anywhere the cable could be getting stuck and reset the cable about 4 times and still no luck. Could it be an issue with the shifter itself?

The second problem is that my front wheel seems to be very stiff. I took it off the bike and rotated it in my hands and the problem seems to be with the hub. I took off the rubber seals and dripped some lube in to the hub and left it to soak in for a few minutes on each side. It helped a little but theres still a jerky griding motion going on. Can hubs be serviced or would I have to go and get a new one and a wheel rebuild along with it?
Originally posted by andykc View Post



The second problem is that my front wheel seems to be very stiff. I took it off the bike and rotated it in my hands and the problem seems to be with the hub. I took off the rubber seals and dripped some lube in to the hub and left it to soak in for a few minutes on each side. It helped a little but theres still a jerky griding motion going on. Can hubs be serviced or would I have to go and get a new one and a wheel rebuild along with it?
There you go, the perfect chance to go and buy some nice new tubless wheels :)
Hub problem sounds like it needs to be stripped,cleaned,re greased and then the cones set correctly.Not a big job.

good video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNqXQ...eature=channel

Im not sure about the gear change,but it really sounds like a sticky cable.I know you oiled it,but thats what I think.I'll have a look at youre bike tomorrow at the club race if you like.
Originally posted by Micky View Post
Hub problem sounds like it needs to be stripped,cleaned,re greased and then the cones set correctly.Not a big job.

good video here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNqXQ...eature=channel

Im not sure about the gear change,but it really sounds like a sticky cable.I know you oiled it,but thats what I think.I'll have a look at youre bike tomorrow at the club race if you like.
Thanks for the offer micky but unfortunately I usually can't get out early on a Thursday. I might try getting a new set of cables and see if that helps.
Cable issue- sounds like the outers- ie. the plastic (or ceramic in some cases) outer sheath that the gear cable should glide inside, I've had the same problem - good quality cables & outers changed at the same time eliminates this problem, also doing it sooner rather than later will save you screwing up the shifters too (as I found out . . . D'oh)
Even with a bent mech hanger you can set your gears up to work perfectly.. a bent hanger might have caused the problem but you can always work around it..

Also make sure the derailler isn't bent.. then do a full reset on the derailler.. make sure the limit screws are correctly adjusted and the derailler is in line with the cassette at the high and low points.. when you bend a derailler these things can go all out of alignment..

Make sure cable tension is set up correctly.. cable tension is critical for shifting.. you can have everything else set up 100% perfect but if the tension is off (even a tiny bit with Shimano) then it will not shift correctly.. either up or down..

Make sure the inner & outer cables are clean.. the inner is not corroded and the outer is bunged up with crap..

To narrow down the problem between cables and shifters grab the inner gear wire and change gear manually by hand.. if the cables are fooked then you'll feel it straight away.. pull the inner cable tight and let it go.. the derailler should run up and down through the gears with ease..

Finally check to see if your derailler is a Shimano or Sram... if its Shimano the best thing to do is douse it in petrol, set it alight and beat it to death with a universal Ralfie removal installation adjuster fitting tool... a hammer..!!

As for your hub.. if they are cartridge bearings then just ride them into ground and then replace them.. you won't damage your hub in any way.. if they are loose ball or open caged ball bearings running against the hub body then they should be replaced straight away.. forget about cleaning them and all that sh!te.. once they are rough the damage is done... check the cones for signs of pitting and make sure they are not too tight.. cartridge bearings don't use cones..

@ Harri - where do you get Ceramic gear cables..??
Leave Shimano alone!! They are probably the only thing that have not failed dismally on me over the years.
Does anybody remember the time Gerlie ( thats a lady who cleans her bike all the time and wraps it in bubblewrap ) broke his Sram shifters off on the descent of death !! SRAM cheapo Yugoslavian Muck..when i'm bating the **** out of my XT shifters to get them to work with my 2kg Lumphammer, all I ever get is a few scratches..get away from us with your Anti Shimano propaganda..did you ever see the state of SRAM Fishing reels !! Huh !!
And don't forget Kev Cooper was able to pound his into shape with a huge rock up Brockagh, and finish the spin.
Originally posted by Mac the Knife View Post
...
Decided to go ahead and take the hub apart to see what type of bearings I had. Loosened the hub by half a turn and the problem stopped. I'll double check it after the next few spins but I think the hub might just have been slightly over tightened.

As for the gears. I've done a complete reset on the deraileur a few times now. About 90% of my gear cable is exposed and threaded through the frame so I reckon it's probably a bit of grime in the small bit of outer down at the derailuer (even though I've poured about half a bottle of lube down it). I'll see about getting a new set of cables/outers and see if that fixs things.

Cheers for all the help.
Originally posted by andykc View Post
Decided to go ahead and take the hub apart to see what type of bearings I had. Loosened the hub by half a turn and the problem stopped. I'll double check it after the next few spins but I think the hub might just have been slightly over tightened.
In my experience you need to leave a tiny bit of play in the cones as when you tighten the QR it takes up this slack.

I learnt that from the psycho cycle guy!