Fix it yourself
How to adjust bike gears
Most skipping, slow or noisy gear changes are fixed with small turns of the barrel adjuster. You'll need the back wheel off the ground so you can pedal by hand.
15 minMedium
You'll need
Tools
- A bike stand, or a friend to lift the back wheel
- Your hands — most adjustments need no tools
- A small screwdriver for the limit screws (only if needed)
Step by step
How to do it
- Start in the smallest sprocketShift into the smallest rear sprocket while pedalling by hand. The cable should be snug, not slack.
- Shift up one gearClick once. If the chain hesitates or won't climb to the next sprocket, turn the barrel adjuster (on the derailleur or shifter) a quarter turn anticlockwise.
- Fix overshootingIf it jumps too far or rattles against the next sprocket, turn the barrel adjuster a quarter turn clockwise instead.
- Run through every gearKeep making quarter turns until it shifts cleanly both up and down through all the gears.
- Check the hangerLook from behind the bike: the derailleur should hang straight below the sprockets. If it's bent inwards, stop — a bent hanger needs proper tools.
- Leave the limit screws aloneOnly touch the H and L screws if the chain falls off the smallest sprocket or goes towards the spokes on the largest one.
Not going to plan?
Bring it in instead if…
- The derailleur hanger is bent
- The gear cable is frayed or sticky
- It still skips under hard pedalling — often a worn chain
- You have hub gears (Sturmey-Archer, Shimano Nexus)
We can sort it
Gear indexing · £18Drop in Monday–Friday 8:45am–5:45pm or Saturday 9am–4pm at 13 Lansdowne Mews, Hove — or book a collection within 5 miles.
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