Why do my Mountain bike gears skip??

Question

I have been riding my Mt.bike and i had no problems with it whatsoever and all of a sudden my gears skip when i ride. I went to a bike shop and they said that its because my suspension was moving my bike around in the middle and it was changing the angle of the front and rear cassette and that's what was causing the skipping. I tightened the suspension and it keeps skipping. Then i went there again and they said my chain was old. I got a new chain and it still keeps skipping. I was thinking of changing the cassette or the derailleur. What should i change?
-Thanks

Answer 1

Try adjusting the derailleur fist and then replace the cassette if that doesn't solve the problem.



http://bicycletutor.com/adjust-rear-derailleur/

Answer 2

Actually, it may be very simple--what gears do you use when riding?



You should never have the chain in the extremes--IE in the large chainring and the large cog at the same time, or the small chainring and small cog.



Furthermore, the chain will be more likely to skip under increased load--IE if you try and climb in 7th in back and the big one in front



Also, the old chain could have stretched out--often times, a chain will actually stretch the teeth in the gears themselves. So, the new chain, even if sized properly, will still skip, until it can stretch out a little, and also stretch the gear teeth properly.



However, the new chain break in period should not take very long; if it does, it is something else.

Answer 3

you're able to alter the swing of the front mech (or derailleur). it is finished by using turning screws on the derailleur unit to aline the unit so as that the chain adjustments gears easily. you do not say how old the bike is, yet whilst its lengthy previous that far i might think of its getting on a for some years, so which you should to get a sparkling mech, or possibly even something so straight forward as a sparkling cable, which if packed with gunk in simple terms won't pass interior its casing, and ought to be the reason the gears are caught. a keep will coach you a thank you to with this (yet please do not visit Halfords - down with grasping firms). As for the fork, the important adjuster you're in all hazard to have (on the best of one or the two legs) is a preload adjuster. This adjusts the sag (the quantity the fork drops once you sit down on the bike) and could be set to around 20% or so of the great holiday. As for the bouncing around - this could be a damping subject, and you will possibly do nicely to get the fork serviced if its a good one, or replaced with a sparkling one if its not nicely well worth the value.

Answer 4

my first guess would have been an old chain. If you should have changed your chain 5 years ago the the lack of a well lubed and clean chain will cause wear on your other components. Likely you need a new drive train. It is hard to say which one is the problem because in all likely hood they all are problems at this point. After you replace your entire drive train, remember in the future to clean and lube before you ride.

Answer 5

Normally you replace the cassette when this problem occurs. You replace the chain when its stretched - this usually does not produce the 'skipping' you are seeing.