What's wrong with my road bike?

Question

I just got a free bike from my friend and whenever I try to change gears I can't feel where they are, so after a few mins of pedalling the chain jumps and it screws up my workout when I try to go up hills and such. What do I need to do to fix this?

Answer 1

Derailleurs need adjustment.

Answer 2

Could explain why you got a free bike.

Derailleur could need adjustment

Derailleur hanger could be bent.

Worn chain plus worn cassette, maybe.

Outside chance, change shifter cables.

Answer 3

More than likely it simply needs the "indexing" of the rear derailluer adjusted because the derailleur cable has stretched over time.

Have someone hold the frame so the rear wheel is up and off the ground.  Now turn the crank and shift the gears back and forth a bit.  If the chain is hopping around some or making noises, it is an indication that the indexing of the derailleur is off a bit.

Shift into your highest gear (smallest rear cog).  If the rear derailleur cable is hanging loose it is your second indication the cable has stretch and the indexing is off.

Your bike should have two barrel adjusters.  One will be at the point the cable enters the rear derailleur.  The other will be somewhere you can easily reach with your hands while riding.  It could be at or near the shift lever.  It might be at the point where the cable is held next to the frame.

Grab one of the adjusters - I like to use the one at the rear derailleur and give it about 1/4 turn counter clockwise.  Does this stop the noise as you crank and shift the gears?  If not give it another 1/4 turn.  The goal is to have the gears shifting quickly and positively both up and down.  You should be able to shift into each gear and the chain shouldn't be jumping off the cogs as you pedal.

Sometimes other issues get in the way, as well, but they are not as common as indexing.

First, if the cables and cable housings are old, worn and crufty you can get lots of internal friction in the cable housings.  This will cause erratic shifting.  For example, you may have to shift a couple times to get the derailleur to move.

Secondly, drive trains wear out.  This will happen over thousands of miles on a road bike, but can happen in just hundreds of miles on a mountain bike used in harsh conditions.  When the chain, cassette and chainrings wear out, engagement will be poor and the chain will jump.

Finally, over many, many thousands of shifts, shifters can wear out, as well.  Symptoms will be erratic shifting or real stiff shifting.

Most likely, you just need to adjust your indexing.

Hope this helps.

Answer 4

Your derailluer is in between two cogs and it needs to be adjusted slightly if you don't know how to do this t is nearly impossible to explain through text so get someone who knows what they are doing to adjust it for you

Answer 5

Feel where they are? Do you mean it doesn't have indexed gears, in which case it's an old bike and you just have to learn instinctively when it's in the right gear. If that isn't what you mean chain slip is caused by a number of things from the chain being stretched and needing replaced or the teeth on the gear sprocket being worn. There are also two small screws on the derailleur that allow for minute adjustment and loosening or tightening these slightly might fix the problem.

Answer 6

I can't see what you mean by not feeling where they are, but if the chain jumps, the chain might be worn out and you might need a new one.