Cable tension, limits are off, or derailleur hanger is bent.
If it worked fine before, limits are probably fine.
If it hasn’t had an impact on the derailleur, like a crash or was dropped, the hanger is probably fine.
If it’s a new bike, shift cables tend to stretch a little and need some adjustment.. you can pretty easy remove the slack from the cable with either a barrel adjuster or adjusting the punch bolt. If you got the bike from a bike shop, they probably offer a free initial tune up that will take care of this.
But also look into cross-chaining.. you generally don’t want to be in the big cogs when you’re on the big chainrings because it’s putting lateral strain on the chain. It’s not terrible to occasionally do it but you shouldn’t regularly ride in those gears, you’ll find a similar ratio in the small chainring.
BabaTona on
Probably adjust limit screws or and barrel adjuster
jeffbell on
By any chance have you tightened all the little screws recently?
MrRichardH on
There are a few possible sources of your problem:
1. Not enough cable tension. Use the barrel adjuster on the derailleur to add more.
2. Low limit screw needs adjusting. If you can’t push the derailleur far enough to align the upper jockey wheel directly under the largest sprocket of the cassette (with your thumb, with the chain loose) then you need to adjust the L screw.
3. B tension adjustment required. The B tension screw changes the distance between the upper pulley wheel and the cassette. If there isn’t enough B tension, that jockey wheel can foul on the cassette, preventing the gear shift.
4 Comments
Cable tension, limits are off, or derailleur hanger is bent.
If it worked fine before, limits are probably fine.
If it hasn’t had an impact on the derailleur, like a crash or was dropped, the hanger is probably fine.
If it’s a new bike, shift cables tend to stretch a little and need some adjustment.. you can pretty easy remove the slack from the cable with either a barrel adjuster or adjusting the punch bolt. If you got the bike from a bike shop, they probably offer a free initial tune up that will take care of this.
https://youtu.be/Bbk5RcH0bbQ?si=DK87cj5QE7hG8K1C
But also look into cross-chaining.. you generally don’t want to be in the big cogs when you’re on the big chainrings because it’s putting lateral strain on the chain. It’s not terrible to occasionally do it but you shouldn’t regularly ride in those gears, you’ll find a similar ratio in the small chainring.
Probably adjust limit screws or and barrel adjuster
By any chance have you tightened all the little screws recently?
There are a few possible sources of your problem:
1. Not enough cable tension. Use the barrel adjuster on the derailleur to add more.
2. Low limit screw needs adjusting. If you can’t push the derailleur far enough to align the upper jockey wheel directly under the largest sprocket of the cassette (with your thumb, with the chain loose) then you need to adjust the L screw.
3. B tension adjustment required. The B tension screw changes the distance between the upper pulley wheel and the cassette. If there isn’t enough B tension, that jockey wheel can foul on the cassette, preventing the gear shift.
Good luck.