Problem with shifting to inside ring

Nova_era

Hey,

I just got a new bike today so I'm quite confused and so on, but after taking it out for a spin earlier I realised that I can't move from the outer to the inside chain ring, as neither of the gear shifters will budge (suggesting they can't go any further, except it's both of them on the left side).

I'm really illiterate when it comes to technical things to excuse me, but is there a straightforward way to fix this?

Thanks, Rory

bcmf

what kind of shifters

Joff

Very hard to diagnose without looking at it but here goes;
1st Check the front mech isn't seized by trying to move it by hand
2nd Check cable isn't seized somewhere - have one hand on cable near front mech and move shifter, you should feel the cable tighten.
3rd There will be two limit screws on the front mech, one for max outward movement and the other for max inward. Could be the inward one is too tight.

NOTE:You say a new bike, if new from a shop take it back and get them to sort it, otherwise if you do something wrong, bang goes your warranty!

Dr.Millah

Check out here man, http://www.parktool.com/ walk through of most things related so you might find a problem. But if in doubt, bring it back to the shop.

irishmotorist

Nova_era wrote: »

Hey,

I just got a new bike today so I'm quite confused and so on, but after taking it out for a spin earlier I realised that I can't move from the outer to the inside chain ring, as neither of the gear shifters will budge (suggesting they can't go any further, except it's both of them on the left side).

I'm really illiterate when it comes to technical things to excuse me, but is there a straightforward way to fix this?

Thanks, Rory

What type of bike did you get? That will help with figuring out what kind of shifters....

blorg

Is it a racer with STI levers?

Nova_era

irishmotorist wrote: »

What type of bike did you get? That will help with figuring out what kind of shifters....

It's a trek 1.2 with Shimano Sora shifters

cdaly_

And if they are, there should be one thing (either brake lever or separate gear lever) to push to change one way and another (either second lever behind the brake lever or a small 'click' lever) to change the other way. It will be the second lever to change to the inner chainring.

Edit. Just read your reply. With the sora shifters, you push the brake lever sideways to change one way and click a small button near the hinge of the lever to change the other way. For the left shifter, push for higher gear, click for lower. For the right shifter, push for lower gear, click for higher.

Nova_era

cdaly_ wrote: »

And if they are, there should be one thing (either brake lever or separate gear lever) to push to change one way and another (either second lever behind the brake lever or a small 'click' lever) to change the other way. It will be the second lever to change to the inner chainring...

Yeah I know how to change the gears :P Cheers for the reply though

My problem is that the gear shifters on the left side of the bars won't do anything, so when I push the brake lever to the right, or flick the smaller thing, nothing happens.

DirkVoodoo

Nova_era wrote: »

Yeah I know how to change the gears :P Cheers for the reply though

My problem is that the gear shifters on the left side of the bars won't do anything, so when I push the brake lever to the right, or flick the smaller thing, nothing happens.

Have a look at the cable tension. Does the thumb shifter make a click and do nothing or does it not click at all? My sister has a sora equipped Trek and they take a good bit of pressure.

Nova_era

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Have a look at the cable tension. Does the thumb shifter make a click and do nothing or does it not click at all? My sister has a sora equipped Trek and they take a good bit of pressure.

It doesn't click at all

I feel like if I push it any harder it could break, as the right thumb shifter works very smoothly

DirkVoodoo

That's normal for all gear systems. The front derailleur is releasing more cable than the rear derailleur for each "click". I don't know much about the internals of the STI shifter though, so this is more of a guess than anything else.

EDIT: Is the bike new as in brand new? Take it back to the shop!

Nova_era

Yeah I picked it up this evening and then went out for a spin..

I'll go back in later on in the week I guess, time is very limited at the moment due to work etc.

Thanks for all the replies anyway guys, and don't lose sleep, I do know how to change gears!

blorg

As others have said, take it back to the shop rather than risk breaking something.

It's not an affront to you regarding knowing how to change gear- it is pretty common with people new to STI shifters that they don't realise the brake is a shift lever, which would leave them pretty much in the situation you described.