If it Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
Bicycle Maintenance by Rayna Weiss (Arena)
There is some validity to the claim, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” Unfortunately, I learned this the hard way. Imagine a three walled room, the forth “wall” made from fiber of bamboo, lit only by a headlamp, the constant sounds of the jungle, and a frustrated person leaning over an upside down bike with their head so close to the chain that there was risk of a severed ear. This description explained me two weeks ago.
I noticed when I was working on my brakes that my chain did not want to move smoothly into the lowest gear. Yes, it did go there, but not as smoothly as moving down the rest of the cassette into higher gears. Because of this, I assumed that the lowest limit on the rear derailleur was a little off. “Ah, just a simple adjustment,” I thought, “should only take ten or fifteen minutes to fix.” In the wise words of Kether, “FALSE.” Six hours later, my bike was in way worse condition than it was before I decided to begin working on it.
So my new plan became to bike to the nearest large city and take my bike to a bike “professional” and not deal with it myself. Great idea, right? Once again, FALSE. After riding 10 kilometers out of the city, it became clear that the $12 dollars spent on the bike mechanic probably paid for a new hairstyle instead of bike maintenance. So, yet again, I rode to the next town with a clicking derailleur that was rather angry and dysfunctional.
Once arriving in El Carmen, I asked the first person I found on a bike for a “mecanico” and they pointed me towards the rather large flee market. There I encountered a very small man in his 70’s on the street corner with several tubes, tires and random bike parts surrounding him. Numerous people were desperately seeking his attention, asking him how to fix this or change that. I decided to get in on the action. Once my turn came, I showed him my derailleur and the clicking that it was experiencing. He tightened a screw and said “todo bien.” Well of course I didn’t believe him. So I proceeded to get on my bike and ride it around, determined to find a problem. Much to my dismay, the problem seemed to be mended.
After that, I asked him to show me what he had done and teach me a little about the derailleur. This was a challenge in itself. He spoke two languages Spanish and bicycle. Yes, I speak Spanish. Yes, I speak bicycle. No I do not speak bicycle in Spanish. Yet. Combine the double language barrier with the fact that I was not familiar with his dialect and I found myself in a very nonsensical situation. Through extensive cherades, I learned a lot more about my rear derailleur.
Since then, my bike has had to be adjusted just about everyday. Through some research (asking my friend J.R. who works at Orange Peel as a mechanic) and the previous experience I have begun to improve in bike mechanics. Here is what I have learned about the derailleur. For those of you who don't speak bike, I've added a few diagrams to help:
First of all, as quoted by a Mr. J.R. Thompson of Spindle 1 Bike Tours, do not mess with the limit screws unless you have to. Once the limit screws are set, the only adjustment you make is to ensure proper cable tension.
There is a high limit screw, which corresponds with your high gear, and a low limit screw, which corresponds with your low gear. The purpose of the limit screw is to stop the derailleur from going into your spokes (low limit screw) and frame (high limit screw).
Example: If you were to screw the low limit screw in too far, you would not be able to shift into your lowest gear because your derailleur would be set out too far away from the frame. If you back that same limit screw out too far, you would be able to shift your chain into the spokes. When you set your low limit screw, you should physically push the derailleur towards the frame to make sure your chain will not fall into the spokes. If the derailleur pushes past the top ring of the cassette, then your chain will fall into your spokes.
Once you have adjusted those screws, you must change the tension on the cable. The cable pulls on the derailleur, which has a spring in it. As you change the tension on the cable, you can pedal your bike and change gears noticing if your chain is climbing and descending well, shifting smoothly and stepping though each ring of the cassette. Until you find that balance, you must continue to adjust the cable tension.
