Hello there bike mechanics!
My chain drops 2 gears down when I back pedal, plus there is a lot of noise coming from the gear itself. What can be done?
Thank you 😁
by TurcoKeremit
Hello there bike mechanics!
My chain drops 2 gears down when I back pedal, plus there is a lot of noise coming from the gear itself. What can be done?
Thank you 😁
by TurcoKeremit
8 Comments
The derailleur could probably use an adjustment. Might be improper cable tension or the low limit screw is too tight. I would suggest watching the [park tool video](https://m.youtube.com/watch?si=C2ZYloQa6au_Xj5T&v=UkZxPIZ1ngY&feature=youtu.be) on rear derailleur adjustments. Covers all possible adjustments from limit screws to b tension.
Edit: grammar
Nothing can be done about the jumping gears when you back pedal. This is very common with large cassettes like you have, and especially so on 1x systems. The chainline is just too aggressive and there’s nothing keeping the chain located on the cassette when you’re going backwards – that’s the job of the derailleur when you’re going forwards.
That is a fair bit of noise when pedalling forwards, and it sounds like your limit screw is too far in if it’s shifting well otherwise. If the shifting is junk it may be a combination of limit screw and cable tension. I second the other comment of looking at the park tool video, it’s very good
Yeah, that happens with 1x systems due to the large cogs and lateral bend in the chain.
When you pedal forward, the rear derailleur keeps the chain on the correct cog.
When you pedal backwards, there is no derailleur “above the cassette” so to say, that keeps the chain on the correct cog. Hence the chain wants to return to the path of least resistance which is a straight line. So it tends towards the middle of the cassette and you drop down a couple gears.
Don’t back pedal. Bikes don’t like it and you can’t ride backwards.
If you can’t even reset your crank to the top for starting off without it happening then it’s an issue and you might need to adjust your gears.
If you get down on the floor behind your bike – is your rear mech hanging straight down and in line with the gear you’re in ?
Totally normal especially on wide range 1x drivetrain when chain is on smallest or biggest cogs
View it as a feature rather than a bug. Need to gift to a taller gear in a hurry? With one short back-pedal you’ll be ready to launch without reaching for your shifter!
Sadly this is common with large cassettes, but not guaranteed.
If the large cog is worn it can make this worse, as the chain can slip off easier. If you have a short chainstay length it can make this worse. If you have a mediocre 1x conversion and the crankset has an incorrect chainline (chainring is too far outboard) it can make it worse.
I have two wheelsets for my gravel bike with identical hubs and cassettes. One cassette spent a bunch of time on a Fat bike wearing down the big cog before being repurposed, and it will drop gears when backpedaling, but the other wheelset with a fresh cassette will not. Similarly the worn cassette did not have issues on the Fat bike due to much longer chainstays (600 mm vs 425mm).
Oh hell, wasn’t this a pervasive meme about a year ago? Are we on a carousel?