Can't get to small ring. Help!

bilbot79

Just got bike a few months back but now it won't shift into the small ring at the front. If I give the metal bit a little push inward and then pedal it will do it but not just by the shifter.

I lubed it up but no impact. Is there something I need to tighten?

terrydel

Who needs the small ring?!

Adjust the front mech, that should do it.

bilbot79

Just got bike a few months back but now it won't shift into the small ring at the front. If I give the metal bit a little push inward and then pedal it will do it but not just by the shifter.

I lubed it up but no impact. Is there something I need to tighten?

steamsey

Easy and cheap to fix. Some things to try - in order:

- watch you tube vids on how to index gears - the "metal bit" is called a front mech or derauiller - it's possible your front gears are not properly indexed. A small turn of an adjuster bolt on the shifter might sort this in no time

- mechs have a thing called high low adjustment which is a "permanent" adjustment you make to ensure when mech moves it can't move too far, pushing the chain into places it shouldn't go. Assuming the indexing is ok, the next thing might be high low BUT on a new bike and assuming no one has been at your high low screws, it shouldn't be this

- new gear cable - many times gearing problems are solved by throwing in a nice new gear cable (€3)

- if none of the above work - could be damaged mech or shifter, especially true if they are cheap ones

cython

bilbot79 wrote: »

Just got bike a few months back but now it won't shift into the small ring at the front. If I give the metal bit a little push inward and then pedal it will do it but not just by the shifter.

I lubed it up but no impact. Is there something I need to tighten?

The bolded above makes this sound like one of two most obvious causes to check - either a gunked up/corroded/stiff front mech (or indeed cable connected to same), or a broken spring in the mech.

OP, if you can move the mech cage back and forth easily by hand, I would lean towards the broken spring theory, as if the mech is stuck enough to not return, it should need a good deal of force to move by hand (also moving it towards the big ring should be against the spring action, and thus be particularly difficult). In that scenario, you're looking at a replacement mech.

Vizzy

From the other thread that you started (with the photo) it appears that there is a lot of road grime and gunk after building up on the derailleur.
Give that a good cleaning with a stiff brush and some degreaser(washing up liquid would do if you are stuck but a proper degreaser or even a drop of petrol would be better).
Lube the cable where it enters the outer cable as well.

If you click your shifter to get it to shift on top the lower chainring, does it move at all ?

If that doesn't fix it I would check the adjustment screw, check the indexing of the gears and check that the spring in the derraileur is not broken, in that order.

magicbastarder

threads merged - photo now in post #3

yeah, first thing to do is a good wash and oil.

crosstownk

magicbastarder wrote: »

threads merged - photo now in post #3

yeah, first thing to do is a good wash and oil.

Clean and lube first.

If that doesn't sort it, I'd be inclined to simply release the cable at the mech*. If the derailleur springs back to the small ring position then the cable is most likely seized/stuck/whatever or the cable could be sticking up at the shifter. If it doesn't spring back then the problem lies with the mech itself.

*If the cable has an inline barrel adjuster then loosen it rather than releasing the cable.

07Lapierre

bilbot79 wrote: »

Just got bike a few months back but now it won't shift into the small ring at the front. If I give the metal bit a little push inward and then pedal it will do it but not just by the shifter.

I lubed it up but no impact. Is there something I need to tighten?

With a 5mm allen key, release the bolt holding the cable onto the derailleur.
Once you do this, spin the pedals. If the derailleur moves the chain onto the small ring, the problem is with the cable (cable is seized due to excess gunk!). if it doesnt move the chain, the the derailleur itself is siezed due to excess gunk! it could also be a combination of both.