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hey, in from a couple boards over, hope this is the right place for basic questions that don't deserve their own thread.
I recently bought a disposable bike to ride from one class to another on college campus. I got it at a yard sale, pretty trashed from general neglect but functions on a basic level.
I'm trying to get the front derailleur working properly. It is properly aligned with the chainrings, and will shift up through the 3 ranges properly, but won't shift back down once it's on the highest range. When I try to shift down, the shifter cable goes slack. The cage(proper term?) pushes leftward on the chain, clicking, but doesn't seem to push hard enough to make the chain jump off and down to the next smaller chainring. It's as if the spring inside no longer has enough tension to pull it down.
I've checked the adjustment on the cable and the stop screws, if I apply some leftward pressure on the cage while turning the crank, I can get it to shift down, and it will ride fine in that gear, no clicking, no cable slack, the handlebar gear selector pointing at the appropriate gear, but if I shift back up into the high gear it will get stuck there again.
It's a generic 21 speed mountain bike, a Wal*Mart brand from a few years ago, completely stock.
So what's up? It is just a shitty derailleur and it's worn out? Can I adjust the spring tension somehow? Does it need lubrication (and what kind)?
I can live with the bike as a 7-speed for what I'm doing... but it would be nice to have everything working.
Image extremely related.
