I have a bike with downtube friction shifters and a 5 speed freewheel. When I bought the bike a while ago the shifters weren't connected so I did it myself. At this point it all worked fine. I took it to the local bike shop to check out what I had done, as I had never done it before. He did some adjustments (I don't know exactly what) and ever since I have had trouble with getting the lowest gear (biggest cog) and the derailleur shifts automatically back down to the smallest cog.
I have checked:
- the cable - it is tight
- the limit screws - they are fine
- the shifter - even when tightened I have the same problem
Today I notice three things:
- the cable binder bolt on the rear derailleur is loose, so it spins on its attachment to the derailleur. I assume this is a problem.
- the cable is frayed after only a couple of months use
- in order to move gears I have to put a huge amount of pressure on the shifter and it only uses about one third of the possible span of movement. When I set it up in the first place the lowest gear and highest gear were almost 180 degrees apart on the lever (if that makes sense).
I now need to replace the cable but how can I fix the derailleur issue? Does it just need replacing? I put a photo showing the position of the derailleur in 1st gear to check if the chain is the correct length.
I don't really want to go to the bike shop again as he isn't the friendliest person....
Many thanks for your help. Gill
! This is the shifter position when it is on the big cog.