Help?? Bicycle Gears.?

Whenever i change gear on my bike it always slips and clanks and doesn't always stay in that gear, especially when pedaling hard. How can i fix this problem? The gears just slip from one to another and clank literally all the time?

Thanks in advance

A very quick answer to help you out!

Where the gear cable enters the rear derailleur there is usually a star shaped plastic nut, turn this half a turn clockwise if that doesn't help try half a turn anti-clockwise and see if it makes any difference! (if it helps, then further adjustments will cure your problem)

If none of the above helps, your gears and/or chain are worn and need replacing!

No lengthy answers
No silly long winded websites.

Simple innit?

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Could be a number of things, need for adjustment, lubrication ?

Sounds like when your pedaling hard is because your climbing a hill and exerting. It does need adjustment. Either you spend the time with lots of trial and error or ask a friend who has knowledge. Take it to a bike shop and a little money on hand maybe they will teach you to adjust. It really isn't that hard.

It could be as simple as a derailleur adjustment or your chain and/or cassette gears are worn.

If you're not comfortable doing the work yourself, take it in to your local bike shop and they can help you out. If it is worn gears, you should replace the entire drivetrain (shain, gears and chainrings).

If you need to ask, then you are probably better off taking in to your local bike shop. If you don't know how to adjust your derailleurs (which, FYI, is you r problem), then any attempt that you make will just make your problem even worse. Your best bet is to go to your LBS and have them do a tune up. It could be anything from a simple adjustment to a chipped cog to a dirty chain.

Regardless, a tune up will fix your problem.

OnlyMeMrG is right on track here. Over time your derailleur cables will stretch and shifting performance will suffer. Thus bicycle makers put at least one barrel adjuster and perhaps two on your bicycle.

One barrel adjuster will be where the cable enters the rear derailleur. If you bike has a second adjuster it will be somewhere handy to twiddle while riding. It may be on the cable near your shifter, or perhaps affixed to your bike at a cable guide. If you have two barrel adjusters, you can use either one to tighten the cable. If I need to make an adjustment while off the bike, I use the one at the derailleur. While riding, I use the other.

In any case, it is almost certain that your cable has stretched over time. The easiest way to check for stretch is to shift into your highest gear (the smallest rear cog.) If your cable is loose, then it has stretched.

To take up the stretch, screw the barrel adjuster out a half turn (should be counter-clockwise.) This should help a bit, but perhaps not entirely fix the problem. If it helps, give it another half turn and check again. If you turn the barrel adjuster and the cable gets slacker, you are turning it the wrong way.

When your derailleur is properly adjusted (indexed in cycling parlance) your chain will not only stop hopping around, it will run nice and smoothly, and your shifts will be crisp and precise.

If you get your derailleurs properly indexed, but the chain doesn't seem to want to engage real nicely, you may have a worn out chain, cassette and chainrings. This will necessitate a trip to the bicycle shop for a bunch of parts. More than likely, though, all you need is a bit of adjusting.

Hope this helps you out.

In all liklihood the you will just need to do an adjustment but
if you have a lot of miles on it the chain the rear cluster may be excessively worn. If this is the case and they do need to replaced. You will also need to replace the chain as well.

Sounds like your bike is either totally outa whack adjustment wise, or your cassette/chain is shot. Have a shop put a chain gauge on it and go from there.

Sounds like the gear block and chain are worn out.
You will need new replacements.