Hey everyone,
First off – I'm very new to bikes and don't have much knowledge at all, so I'd really appreciate it if you could keep your answers simple and beginner-friendly!
I'm having a problem with my gear shifting. I recently bought a used bike and at first everything seemed fine, but pretty quickly the shifting stopped being smooth and some gears became completely unreachable.
Then yesterday my chain came off. After I put it back on, things seemed okay at first – but I noticed the chain was sitting on the wrong sprocket in the back, so I adjusted it manually and kept riding. For a while I could shift through the gears again, but then suddenly the whole rear derailleur seems to have come loose somehow, and now I can't shift at all.
I'd be really grateful for any ideas about what might be causing this or how to fix it. Happy to share a video if that helps. Thanks!
What´s wrong with my gear shifting???
byu/Pitiful-Purchase-377 inbikewrench
by Pitiful-Purchase-377
10 Comments
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It’s definitely a cassette, it needs a lock ring. Easy easy to put it on.
Welcome to the world of bike repair. It can be a challenging and fun hobby at the same time. This is a great project to start with.
You’ll need to take your wheel off. Be careful not to lose those gears since they are all loose right now. Look up youtube videos of swapping a cassette on a bike wheel. You likely don’t need to replace it as long as none of the parts are missing.
Basically, your cassette is made up of multiple pieces that lock together. Yours are not set correctly so they are loose and wobbling about. Take the wheel off, set them properly, and lock them with the lock ring. FYI you may need a specific tool to do this. Any bike shop should be able to sell you the right one if you show them the picture once your wheel is off.
Go to a bike shop, or better yet if you have a local bike coop with classes
Looks like someone has put sprockets on top of a freewheel, I think I caught a glimpse of a thread at the end or something in there.
You need to take the wheel off completely and look closely then research what kind of freewheel you need to get.
Or freehub if it ends up being a freehub but I agree with the commenters that its most likely a freewheel.
Perhaps start reading this:
https://www.parktool.com/en-int/blog/repair-help/freewheel-removal-and-installation#
Park tools youtube videos on what a cassette and freewheel is and the how to remove and install a cassette might help you understand what is going on here:
If you don’t even have a clue what’s wrong here. Go to the bike shop. Also if your cassette is in this condition, 100% other parts of your bike are in a bad state so be prepared to hear that.
Looks loose
This almost looks like there’s no lock ring.