Shimano Alivio Index Shifters - no 3rd gear?

Question

My mountain bike will not shift into 3rd gear (front gear system). shifter will shift from 1st to 2nd (smallest to middle) fine, but the shifter has a lot of slack when i go to shift between 2nd and 3rd (ie. when i go to shift there is about 70 degrees of slack before it catches vs. 5-10 degrees of slack from 1st to 2nd) The shifter never shifts the chain far enough to go into 3rd gear - using Shimano Alivio Index shifters. i'm not a bike expert and could all your help thanks!

Answer 1

Shift the bike into "1" on the front. Make sure the chain is on the small gear in front.

Check the cable slack. If there is a lot of slack there are 2 things you should do:

1) Loosen the cable fixing bolt on the derailleur, pull the cable through, and retighten... just a bit beyond snug is fine- no need to overtighten, THEN

2) Using the barrel adjuster on the shifter, turn it one way or the other until there is not slack remaining in the cable and ALSO there is no tension on it either.

3) Test shifting. If it STILL won't shift up there, turn the "H" limit s***w on the derailleur 1/4 turn counterclockwise. Shift down to "1" and back to "3" again. Repeat, turning s***w 1/4 turn at a time until it goes into gear.

Answer 2

Probably just need to retention and adjust travel limit.

Here is a link that takes you through derailleur adjustments step by step. (scroll down for front derailleur)

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adj...