Is this normal for a mountain bike?

G

Global Geezer

New member
I bought a brand new Firefox Ranger 6 weeks ago, and so far I have ridden about 50 miles on it. Changing gear though is still a bit tricky. The chain tends to grind and doesn't instantly 'clunk' into place as it did with my old bike. The gear shifter (micro shifter) is also still quite stiff to change,

Is this normal with a new mountain bike? The blokes in the cycle shop where I bought it said that I would need to ride for about 100 miles, maybe even some more, before the gears are fully 'run in.' Everything else though is working fine.

I tend to ride the bike to work along urban streets and cycle paths, with the occasional steep hill. The terrain though is pretty smooth.
 
Maybe you should give the guys in the shop the benefit of the doubt - give it another 50 miles and see how it goes.
 
You do not have to break in a bike. It should operate and shift smoothly from the start. There will need to be adjustments made after a short while after the cables stretch. I would take it back and tell them to make it right or you want your money back. You would be better off with a shop quality bike.
 
The blokes in the shop are correct. The shifting is probably as good as it ever will be based on the low quality shifters. Microshift makes copies of Shimano entry level products, only cheaper. You won't get the crisp shifting you describe until you reach the level of Shimano Acera or SRAM X-5 shifters and derailleurs.
 
Bob A could be mostly right - new cables stretch a lot when they are new and need adjusting after a few weeks, so they might need adjusting in a week of so.

Also when you rude a few times shift through the gears to loosen them up.

Grinding chain could be that the derailleur isn't aligned quite right - points to the cable stretching slightly

Riding the bike as such won't help the gears wear in - it's gear shifts that make them wear in so keep shifting the gears

As for the price of the a bike, the action for new components should still be smooth, its their durability and action when they are used for a while and covered in muck that counts more.

It is hard though without listening to all the noises to say what the solution is.


Oh, another thought, make sure it is the chain and gears that are grinding - there could be other problems such as the back wheel shifting slightly as you pedal and rubbing against the frame for example - so check the noises are from the drive chain.
 
Bob A could be mostly right - new cables stretch a lot when they are new and need adjusting after a few weeks, so they might need adjusting in a week of so.

Also when you rude a few times shift through the gears to loosen them up.

Grinding chain could be that the derailleur isn't aligned quite right - points to the cable stretching slightly

Riding the bike as such won't help the gears wear in - it's gear shifts that make them wear in so keep shifting the gears

As for the price of the a bike, the action for new components should still be smooth, its their durability and action when they are used for a while and covered in muck that counts more.

It is hard though without listening to all the noises to say what the solution is.


Oh, another thought, make sure it is the chain and gears that are grinding - there could be other problems such as the back wheel shifting slightly as you pedal and rubbing against the frame for example - so check the noises are from the drive chain.
 
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