Control Levers

[JJDT]

Hi Guys

 

I'm new on this forum and I'm just a recreational cyclist only riding a few races during a year. I'm not that technical on cycling equipment so excuse if I use the wrong terminology.

 

I bought a second hand bike for my son who said that he wants to cycle with me, the reason buying a second hand bike is to see if he likes it and only then will I buy a new bike.

 

I bought a Raleigh RC2000 2002 model and the problem I now have is that the left hand lever does not engage the front deraileur to change into the higher chainring, it moves but as soon as you let you it moves back. The second problem is the left lever is stuck I can not change gears at all. The only thing I did to the bike is replacing the rear tyre with a new one and since then the problems started. To replace these levers will cost me in the region of R1200 which I do not have the funds now and my son can not ride his bike.

 

Any suggestions???

 

[Gasping]

Take it for a service to a good LBS (Local Bike Shop) in your area. Should set you back another +- R400 excluding parts that need to be replaced.

 

Tell them to quote you on parts that need replacing first.

 

Welcome to the Hub!

[JJDT]

Gasping, thanks for the reply. I did took the bike to Cajees @ Princess crossing because the left side was loose and they simply told me to replace it, hence searching the web for forums because this is where you get a better response on problems at hand.

[techguy]

Try sparying WD-40/Q-20 or some lube similar into the levers, more often than not its just dirt/old grease thats dried up causing the jams...

[Gasping]

Fair enough. Perhaps if you PM Johan Bornman - he owns an LBS and is knowledgeable on all technical matters relating to our steeds.

 

If he says replace, then don't even argue.

 

Good Luck

[AndreZA]

if it moves but not stay there then it sounds like limiter screws that are too tight. You should have two clicks before the chain jumps to the big ring.

[JJDT]

Forgot to add it is the Shimano Sora components.

 

[David Marshall]

I would give it a good clean before repacing anything.  First disconnect the cable from the front derailer and see if the levers operate with the cable loose.  Then flush the levers with spray lube as suggested.  If you apply the brake you should find enough gaps to squirt it in.  If they still do not move then you will have to take them apart.  If they do operate after removing the cable check that the front derailer operates by pushing it over by hand.  It should move towards the frame when you disconnect the cable and you should be able to push into position over the large chainring by hand.  I would lube the pivot points as well.  To reset the derailer just surf for the details eg sheldon brown or shimano tech docs. 

 

Bike shops generally won't repair these as they take too much time to assemble and disassemble.

 

Hope you come right

 

[JJDT]

Last night I disconnected the brake cable to get a larger opening for cleaning inside. There was a piece of flat rather hard plastic running inside. Could this be my problem that it somehow shifted into a wrong position. What is the purpose of this peice of plastic?

[David Marshall]

It is difficult to say without seeing it.  The models are all "exactly the same but different".  The cover on the front of the break lever can be removed with an allen key from the front.  Underneath this is a plastic seal ring and a spring which returns the lever to the normal position.  If this is the plastic that you can see it may be that it and the spring are not correctly positioned. 

 

To replace this cover you need to take the cable out completely and position the spring and seal in the correct positions.  With the spring in the correct holes the cover will be at about 45 degrees off its normal position.  While keeping it "all together" you need to turn the cover to the normal position and tighten the allen bolt - this will tension the spring.

 

The break lever itself can be removed by taking out a small screw situated between the lever and the trigger that shifts to the smaller rings. ie the trigger must be pushed to the right and the screw is visable at the back of the break lever.

 

Removing the lever lets you see the workings inside.  You should see if anything has slipped or is damaged and you can clean and lube.  Unfortunatly you can't do much more than that, I doubt if any parts are available and I believe rebuilding the workings is a stressful 5 hour job!

 

 

 

[JJDT]

Decided that I will take the bike to Westdene Cycles for repairs. Here it is what unfolded:

Last week Saturday morning(30/1) took the bike bike in, I decided that I will only ask them to look at the right hand side (did not know if they could repair it) to see if they could repair it then at least my son could use the bike although not 100% but it will do. Last week Monday at around noon I contacted the shop to find out the status(although they indicated that they would call me), the guy informed me that it is fixed and that the repair fee was R70(mistake 1 did not asked to whom I spoke to), seeing that the repair was so cheap I asked them if they could look at the left side also, the reply was that he will ask the mechanic to look at it. The left side had 2 issues 1 was that it was somewhat loose and 2 it will not lock it place when attempting to change up into the higher gear. Called back @3pm and was told that the bike was fixed(mistake 2 did not ask to whom did I speak to) and that the total cost was R140. My wife fetched the bike on Tuesday. Took the bike out just for a quick ride just to verify that everything was working. I noticed that the left lever was still loose but left it like that. Saturday morning my son and I decided that we will go for a ride(his very first time out on the bike), the ride started bad, a mere 400m from home my son fell, the left lever came loose completely and went into the spokes sending my flying off into the tar road. He fell do bad that he had to get 3 stiches on his hip.

 

Now this is s short background story; furious I took the bike back back to Westdene Cycles and demanded an expalnation on what happened. This is what unfolded. They said that they only looked at the invoice that said repair right hand side, I ask them if I ask for something else do they record it on the invoice there answer is yes. I told them that I contacted them and asked for the left side also to be looked it(they asked to whom I have spoken to and I replied I could not remember). They searched for the  invoice and them went to speak to the mechanic. Their reply was that there was nothing wrong(strange why would I ask for something to be looked at if I knew it was not working) and that they tested it on the stand and it was working fine.

 

I'm not leaving this matter and hence I need some technical info. I'm do not have the technical knowledge on cycles, but I do have two questions for all the tech guys. 1. Even if a bike is on the stand and you use the lever you will still notice that it is loose or not or notice that everything is not 100%. 2. To effectively test the front derailleur you either crank it by hand and operate the lever to test it or get onto the bike and go for a ride to see the workings, in either way at one stage one would operate the lever as well to brake the rear wheel and surely you should also notice that something is not fine with the lever.

 

What I want is a new seat(I bought an new one), not the top of the range seat but a nice seat to replace the new one that is teared because of the fall and to repair the bike now free of charge.

 

Sorry for the long post.

 

[SURFER]

Good luck