H screw loose

[bayzoo]

Hi,

I’ve been attempting to index my gears since I got my new bike but I’m confused with the H screw - it seems very loose. I’ve tried to tighten it slightly but it then stops the highest gear being selected. Is it best just to leave it loose or does something else seem off? I’m concerned the screw falls out!
Thanks.

 

[Nealh]

It shouldn't be loose, if you have thimble/turn adjustments at the derailleur or trigger try using that adjustment first, if no luck start again with derailleur adjustment.

With a stand or wheel airborne I put my trigger in to top gear and slacken off the H & L screws, check cable for tension and pull up any slack. I then adjust slowly H so that the two highest gears change up and down faultlessly, then I go up one by one by using the L screw for adjustment until I get to gear one/low adjusting finally L so I get no over riding in to the spokes.
Go up and down a few times and make minor H & L adjustments if a gear doesn't select correctly, once they are pretty good thimble/turn adjustments might be needed .

My cable snapped at the trigger end a few days ago, once I had threaded the new Jag wire cable in place indexing from scratch took me about 15mins.

 

[Kwozzymodo]

There should be enough movement in the derailleur parallelogram to reach high and low sprockets. All the High/Low screws do is limit movement so the derailleur doesn’t ship the chain into the wheel or frame. This could be asimple fix, or something a little more complicated. Do you have any pics?

 

[Andy-Mat]

Hi,

I’ve been attempting to index my gears since I got my new bike but I’m confused with the H screw - it seems very loose. I’ve tried to tighten it slightly but it then stops the highest gear being selected. Is it best just to leave it loose or does something else seem off? I’m concerned the screw falls out!
Thanks.

Is it possible that a lock nut is either missing, or needs to be added? Also, treat small screws gently, they do not need to be done up as tightly as many believe!
Also, there is Loctite products that keep a (clean!) screw tight, but it can still be released/adjusted when needed.
Andy

 

[Tarka]

Lots of us here with a screw loose! Welcome to the club.
Serious answer, look at the cable length/adjustment.

 

[Nealh]

Derailleur H & L adjusting screws don't have or need a lock nut.

 

[bayzoo]

Thanks for coming back to me.

I’ve tightened it slightly and it seems ok now - I just need to be careful and not tighten it too much otherwise if doesn’t select the highest gear. I also re-indexed my gears; I figured as it’s a new bike it’ll need tweaking for a while until the cable stops stretching.