# Rough shifting



## josh.jennings (Sep 1, 2013)

Hello people of RoadBikeReview!

Not only is this is my first post here, it's also about my very first road bike. Forewarning: a.) I'm still learning a lot of the terminology, but I think I have the basics, and b.) I have a GMC Denali. I know, I know... Piece of crap. But a college student's got to do what a college student's got to do.

On to my question. I'm trying to calibrate the rear derailleur. When I got it I couldn't even shift to 7th gear. After setting the tension to a relatively good spot I have a new problem, and Google didn't seem to know the answer. I can now shift up properly. Shifts from 1 all the way up to 7 are all smooth (as smooth as one can expect from a Denali anyway). However, shifts going down aren't smooth. When I shift from 7 to 6 I get a lot of clicking and it doesn't want to move on down to 6. Once I twist the gear-changer down to 5, the gears then shift to 6, again with a lot of clicking and clacking. This progresses all the way down to 1st gear at which point I'm actually sitting on 2nd gear with a lot of noise. 

Here's the frustrating part. I can reset the tension to make the down shifts smooth, but then the up shifts have the same problem and become rough. Certainly I shouldn't have to choose which one I want to be smooth; there must be something that I just don't know about.

Can someone shed some light on what I'm missing? Thanks in advance for any help.


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## tihsepa (Nov 27, 2008)

Two things,
First, you will get a bunch more help in the "Wrenching" forum.
Second, your bike most likely needs a cable.


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## josh.jennings (Sep 1, 2013)

Thanks for the pointer, tihsepa! I'll copy it over there. As for your suggestion about the cable... Help me understand why replacing the cable would help. There shouldn't be any deformation; what would that do for me?

Thanks again!


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