Tuning your Mountain Bike Gear Shifting System

Properly adjusted gear should shift quietly, smoothly, and precisely. Improper adjustment of the gear will result to over or under shifting. Another effect could be that the gear would either up-shift or down-shift while pedalling without touching your shifters.

Here are steps that would guide you in adjusting the shifting system of your Mountain Bike.

Shift to the smallest cog while pedalling with your hand by using the shifter. If the chain goes beyond the smallest cog carefully put the chain back into the last cog and adjust the small screw labeled "H". Slightly turn clockwise until
you see the top derailleur pulley aligned with the smallest cog. On the other hand, if the chain does not rich the smallest cog then loosen the screw labeled "H". Again, align the top derailleur pulley with the smallest cog.

After setting your chain on the smallest cog, check the tension of the cables. If the cable is loose, loosen the bolt that holds the cable and pull the end of the cable with a pair of pliers. Tighten the bolt when the tension of the cable feels firm.

Now to set the low gear of the rear derailleur. Shift to the biggest cog. If the chain goes over the biggest cog and goes in between the cog and the spokes, carefully put the chain back to the biggest cog and adjust with the screw labeled "L" by turning clockwise. Again, align the top derailleur pulley with the biggest cog. Refrain from over tightening the screw.

If the derailleur does not rich the biggest cog then adjust "L" crew by turning counter-clockwise.

The same steps are the same for the front derailleur for the chainrings but their some things you will need to keep in mind.

Shift to the smallest chainring using the left shifter. If it doesn't rich the smallest chainring, turn the "L" screw counterclockwise until chain drops to the small chainring. Directly look over the front derailleur. Be sure that the right side of the cage is parallel to the chainring.

Then, check the tension of the cable. If it is loose, undo the bolt holding the cable and pull end of the cable with a pair of pliers in order to tighten tension. Tighten bolt when correct tension is achieved.

After adjusting the low gear, shift the chain to the biggest chainring. If it doesn't reach, turn the "H" screw counter-clockwise till it shifts-up, but do not over turn so the chain would not over shoot to the crank.

After doing all the adjustments, shift through the gear and see if it works smoothly. If not, adjust appropriately with small adjustments in the screw and tensioners found in the shifters and derailleurs.

These are some of the ways in tuning your Mountain Bike Gear Shifting System. To adjust your gear settings, having a bike stand really helps a lot. You can use it for almost any kind of bike repair or maintenance.