Notes from our Bike Maintenance clinic at Contender!

Hard time going up the cassette cable tension is too loose

Hard time going down the cassette it’s too tight

Turn bars 90 degrees so the front end is facing non-drive side

Turn barrel towards direction it’s having a hard time with 1/2 turn at a time.

Jumping while shifting its cable tension

Jumping while sitting there, it’s the chain wear

Shift into easiest gear. Then when shifting down the cassette, if it's struggling on the way down, it could be corroded wire and housing. It can also be that a wire or housing has a weird bend that is causing excess friction.

On both a front and rear derailleur, there are two screws (often marked with an "L" for low, and "H" for high) that limit how far in each direction the derailleur swings. The L (low) screw should be screwed in just enough to not let the derailleur move the chain past the low end of the cog range, and the H (high) screw should prevent the chain from shifting past the highest gear available. This way, your chain doesn't shift into the wheel, or get stuck between your cassette and the frame.