My chain keeps jumping when I am in the third and fourth cog on my cassette. And there is a clunky clicking sound going on back there. I have adjusted my barrel adjusters on my shifters with no luck. I obviously know nothing about bike repair and would appreciate any tips or suggestions as i am however, ready to apply myself and heed the advice of others!


Joe

Did you crash? Might have a bent hanger.

two things

1) bent hanger as mentioned
2) tension

watch this it should help

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A mountain biker who doesn't ride road has no legs
A road biker who doesn't ride mountain has no soul

Thanks guys. My hanger seems to be in line..... I'll watch the video on my lunch today. Thanks again!

How old is your cable? It could be stretched out and not pulling right. I usually replace mine a couple times a year. I also use the black teflon coated ones, they are not too expensive and work awesome.

I would reset the cable on the derailleur....(i.e. start from scratch). Make sure your barrel adjuster is a couple turns out (no more than 2) before you set the cable. Double check your limit screws, make sure they are set properly, then start shifting...if you skip a gear or get stuck in a gear, then turn your barrel adjuster accordingly, more tension will make it get unstuck, less tension will keep it from jumping (i think...).
From my experience, if everything is right (no bent hanger, no bad chain, etc) then you should shift pretty close to perfect if not perfect right away (once you reset the cable), perhaps with some minor adjustment necessary, but not much... if you are having a ton of trouble beyond that, then you might look into replacing the chain, hanger, bike, etc...

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'the notorious North County Sancho'

Any of the teeth bent on the cogs?

It is hard to tell if the hanger is bent by simply looking at it.. It could be twisted a little and that will cause it ( the chain) to jump. I have a park derailleur alighment tool you can use.

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"Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and
feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize
fishing is stupid and boring."
--Desmond Tutu

No bent teeth as far as I can see on the cassette.
Thanks Mongoose, I might take you up on borrowing that tool. I'll pm you once I figure out what's wrong.

In addition to points already mentioned, check your derailleur's pulleys for wear. If the teeth come to a point, they're worn and need to be replaced. When they wear down, the side plates of the chain will ride on the pulleys making a subtle clicking noise. Plus, when the upper (jockey) pulley is worn it can let the chain wander sideways a little instead of guiding it in line with the desired cog, which can sometimes cause ghost shifting.

Also, you may spend most of your time in the middle cogs, so they may just be worn more than the rest. How many miles are on your cassette, vs. how many times have you changed the chain? Did this problem start or get worse when you got a new chain? Putting a new chain on a worn drivetrain (either cogs or chainrings) can cause skipping.

Make sure your cassette teeth are not "shark fin shaped". This means the cassette is worn out. I also had to learn the hard way that a new cassette = new chain as well, and usually vice versa

and chain ring/s...



then a new frame. all slippery slope.

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Department of Good Times