Went to install some brake pads on my Denago Commute 1 (no bike stand so i flipped er' upside down) finished that, and decided to degrease my chain while I was at it. While engaging the shifter up and down i heard a strange noise and realized there wasn't any tension in the down shifter. Flipped it back up and saw 0 movement of the chain while shifting.
I took the plastic hub off the down shifter by unscrewing the single screw, and made sure it was secure and aligned properly… I think. Though the tension in the down shifter is still loose?
It was then that I realized the shifter cable wasn't sitting into the screw hub part (i forget the name) – but hopefully the video gives an idea of what I see. I'm thinking this might be the issue as to why when I hit the up and down shifter the derailleur doesn't engage at all.
My bike is my lifeline and I can't affford to take this thing to the shop, really hoping to learn more about what I can do to avoid that.
Thank you =)
Shimano Microshift not changing gears (no prior experience, noob here)
byu/Doctor_Sharp inbikewrench
by Doctor_Sharp
6 Comments
It’s super loose at the derailor, if you haven’t touched it I’d say it got something to do with your shifter.
If you are not sure what you are doing and you ABSOLUTELY need the bike, take it to a shop
There’s no tension at all on that cable. Look up some videos on how to set up a shifter + rear derailleur.
looks like you need to tension your rear d cable and tighten the bolt.
As others have said, there is no tension in the shift cable, therefore the shifter can’t move the derailleur around. For there to be that much slack, something is likely not seated properly somewhere in the shift mechanism. The Denago Commute 1 appears to use a continuous length of cable housing from the shifter to the derailleur, so it would have to be at either the shifter or the derailleur.
First, if you haven’t already, pick up the rear tire and pedal the bike forward by hand a bit. When putting the rear wheel back in, it’s possible you set the chain on the wrong gear and the derailleur isn’t being held by cable tension, but by the chain being stuck on the wrong gear. If the gears clunk when you pedal forward, then the issue might be fixed. It’s a simple thing, but easy to overlook if you haven’t gotten on the bike yet.
If that doesn’t work, I would try shifting into the highest and lowest gears on the shifter and checking the amount of slack cable there between the end of the cable housing and the screw on the derailleur itself.
If the extra length there or between the shifter and the cable housing doesn’t change, the cable has likely become dislodged from its “seat” inside the shifter. You could try to seat it yourself with some YouTube videos, but shifters are pretty mechanically complicated.
If the amount of free cable does change when you shift up and down, then the shifter is probably okay. That amount of extra cable couldn’t have come about by stretching, but possibly the pinch bolt holding the cable onto the derailleur was loose enough that some extra cable got yanked out. You could try loosening the pinch bolt (5mm Allen), pulling on the free cable end to get rid of the slack, and then firmly tightening the pinch bolt again.
Some further pics/vids of the shifter and derailleur might help pinpoint a problem/solution. Good luck, I hope this helps!
Probably the cable slipped from it’s anchor point. Get an Allen key, unscrew the cable ( that silver bolt in the video). Pull on it and firmly retighten the bolt. Do finer adjustments with the barrel adjuster.
if your bike has exposed cable and the cable housing is only present in some places, any of those housings may be out of its place.