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Checking and adjusting derailleur gears
The derailleur gears (a) of your FELT bike were carefully adjusted by your FELT
dealer before delivery. However, Bowden cables may stretch a little during the first
kilometres of use, making gear-changing imprecise. This will result in the chain not
wanting to climb onto the next larger sprocket.
Rear gear changer (rear derailleur)
Increase the tension of the Bowden cable by turning the adjusting bolt through
which it passes at the entry to the shift lever or gear changer (b). To do so, shift to
the smallest sprocket and turn the adjustment bolt anticlockwise in half turns until
the cable is tensioned.
After tensioning the Bowden cable check whether the chain immediately climbs
onto the next larger sprocket. To find out, you either have to turn the cranks by
hand or ride the bike and change gears.
If the chain easily climbs onto the next larger sprocket, check whether it just as
easily shifts to the small sprockets when you change to a higher gear. You may
need several tries to get the derailleur system properly adjusted.
Adjusting the limit stops
The rear derailleur is equipped with limit screws which limit the movement range
of the derailleur, thus preventing the derailleur and chain from colliding with the
spokes or the chain from dropping off the smallest sprocket towards the seat stay.
The limit screws have been adjusted by your FELT dealer. They do not alter their
position during normal use. After an accident or replacement of the rear wheel, the
correct position must, however, be checked.
If your bike tips over or the rear derailleur gets a blow, the rear derailleur
or its mount can get bent. It is advisable to check its range of movement
and readjust the limit screws if necessary after such an incident or after
mounting new wheels on your FELT bike.
Shift the right gear lever to the highest gear (smallest sprocket). Now the inner cable
is totally relaxed and the chain is automatically running on the smallest sprocket
(c). Look from the rear of the bike at the cassette and check whether the teeth of
the smallest sprocket, the chain passing through the rear derailleur and the teeth of
the pulleys in the derailleur are all in a perfectly vertical line.
The limit screws on gear changers are often marked “H” for high gear and “L”
for low gear. If necessary, correct the resting position of the derailleur to make
everything vertically aligned by means of the “H” limit screw (d). In this case high
gear stands for high transmission ratio, i.e. with the chain running on the smallest
sprocket.
!!
a b c d
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