Gear problems

[Ceri JC]

Hi Folks,

The following problem occured on the rideout yesterday. Fine all day and this started 50 miles or so from the end: I'm having difficulty changing gears on the my bike. The pedal seems to move reasonably freely, but the gear don't actually engage. It seems most difficult putting it into first, second is a bit easier, then the other gears are easier again (but still harder than usual).

Not only does the problem not seem to exist when the engine isn't running (eg just electrics turn on), but it seems to come and go (I'd say 1/4 of the time, it seems to work normally, the rest of the time, it's difficult).

The bike was in for a service comparatively recently (about 300 miles back) and they changed the oil and filter. I have heard that using fully synthetic oil can make it hard to find neutral (which I am also having difficulty with), but could it cause the symptoms described above? As an aside, I had been using fully synthetic prior to this service and didn't have these problems, so it seems unlikely. The bike did get drenched yesterday, but it was well lubed only a few days earlier.

Anyone got any idea:
what it is causing it,
anything to look for,
or how to fix it?

Bike is still under warranty, so I'll probably take it in to be checked over whatever the resolution, but I need to do 80-odd miles today, so if I can do something to sort it in the meanwhile, it would be ideal.

Thanks in advance.

[derbybiker]

try cleaning and re-lubing the gear change lever where it fits to the foot peg. I had similar problems that went away once I cleaned and oiled that bit. Add a small drop of oil each week now and the problems never returned.

[Ceri JC]

try cleaning and re-lubing the gear change lever where it fits to the foot peg. I had similar problems that went away once I cleaned and oiled that bit. Add a small drop of oil each week now and the problems never returned.

Thanks, will do. Something I did notice when I removed one of the rubber joint covers (to see everything underneath was okay) was that a single drop of what appeared to be oil fell out. Should I put some 3 in 1 in there too?

[Ceri JC]

All sorted, the gear pedal itself was a bit of a red herring (although, having oiled it, it's now smoother than ever :)). The problem was due to the clutch cable having gradually re-adjusted itself. As result, the dogs weren't disengaging entirely, so I was effectively clutchless shifting. This also explains why it was harder to change at low revs on 1st/second, but once I was reving a bit harder, it was easier to flick it up.

How did I find this? It happened to get stuck in first (couldn't move to neutral), so I started it in first, but with the clutch pulled in all the way. The bike surged forwards slightly (not much, my foot stopped it, but it was enough to feel). A bit of clutch adjustment and it's good as new.

Can anyone think of anything I could use as a spacer, to keep the adjuster at the length I like? It'd need to be sort of like an extruded washer/tubing. Soft enought that I could cut it to length/make a slot the thickness of the cable cut in one side, to allow me to fit it. Similarly, firm enough that it wouldn't get squashed if the adjuster tries to move.

Similarly, do clutch cable "stretch" over comparatively short periods of time? Can overtightening compound this problem? I vaugely recall from my mountain biking days, loose brake cable, tighten, soon stretches loose again, so you tighten it more, etc. etc. I did notice it was a bit tight after my last service, just wondering if this could of caused the problem.

Cheers, Ceri.