is it possible??? :(

[ultraslacker]

could I have bent my rear derailleur already???

as I mentioned before, the chain has been slipping since my last trail ride. So tonight I checked it out thoroughly, with my Zinn book in hand, to see if I could figure it out myself.

It is pushing the chain too far inward (towards the wheel). No matter how I adjust the little alignment screws, nothing I do can bring it back far enough that it's not pushing the chain in. So the chain is catching on the cogs and sometimes it just jumps onto the next cog. On the largest cog, it is rubbing against the plastic guard and the chain doesn't even settle in for much of the time.

I'm going to take it in tomorrow and get it checked...

[ultraslacker]

also, if I do buy a new one, how hard is it to replace it myself? Or would I need special tools that I don't have?

[J-D]

I don't know about the workings of a bike... hope you don't have to paid to get it fixed. Fingers crossed for you

[ultraslacker]

I think I may have fixed it!!

I was watching some repair videos on youtube, lol. And they suggested adjusting the cable tension (which I had tried before but not far enough apparently). Gave it a few twists and it seems to have helped! Still a bit of a click in the highest gear but I'll try it on the road in the morning... how simple was that...

[Jwolf]

Cool stuff, holly. I'm impressed.

[turd ferguson]

I don't know your bike, but on mine the derailleurs adjust with the barrels at the ends of the cables, not with the screws. Turn the barrel to align the chain with the cog. Its a pretty frequent adjustment on my bikes.

[ultraslacker]

I don't know your bike, but on mine the derailleurs adjust with the barrels at the ends of the cables, not with the screws. Turn the barrel to align the chain with the cog. Its a pretty frequent adjustment on my bikes.

It's both. The H/L screws adjust the sideways limits of the derailleur (how far in or out it's allowed to go) and the barrels adjust the cable tension. Oddly, I don't have a barrel on my rear derailleur, only at the top on the handle bars (but the front derailleur has both... go figure!).

[turd ferguson]

I don't know your bike, but on mine the derailleurs adjust with the barrels at the ends of the cables, not with the screws. Turn the barrel to align the chain with the cog. Its a pretty frequent adjustment on my bikes.

It's both. The H/L screws adjust the sideways limits of the derailleur (how far in or out it's allowed to go) and the barrels adjust the cable tension. Oddly, I don't have a barrel on my rear derailleur, only at the top on the handle bars (but the front derailleur has both... go figure!).

That's what I mean. The barrels adjust the tension and the screws adjust the limits. The tension (against the spring in the derailleur) position the assembly, the screws don't move anything unless you're against the limit.

You'll know your a pro when you start adjusting the gears and brakes while you're riding.

[ultraslacker]

I don't know your bike, but on mine the derailleurs adjust with the barrels at the ends of the cables, not with the screws. Turn the barrel to align the chain with the cog. Its a pretty frequent adjustment on my bikes.

It's both. The H/L screws adjust the sideways limits of the derailleur (how far in or out it's allowed to go) and the barrels adjust the cable tension. Oddly, I don't have a barrel on my rear derailleur, only at the top on the handle bars (but the front derailleur has both... go figure!).

That's what I mean. The barrels adjust the tension and the screws adjust the limits. The tension (against the spring in the derailleur) position the assembly, the screws don't move anything unless you're against the limit.

You'll know your a pro when you start adjusting the gears and brakes while you're riding.

When I was playing with the screws the derailleur was moving visibly and significantly... it was pretty interesting, actually. But I'm confused about your statement that they don't move anything... cuz I see it move when I adjust them. :)

Going to keep playing and adjusting until I get it right... hopefully won't need to replace any parts for awhile! I am a little mystified though at how suddenly it went out of alignment, which is why I worried that I had bent something; maybe I still did. But I'll keep working at it. :)

[turd ferguson]

You might be talking about different screws than the ones I'm thinking of.

[Beerslinger]

http://www.sheldonbrown.com is a great site to pick up all sorts of bike info. Mostly tailored towards road bikes, but I've been able to pick up lots from there.