Gear shifting

[jonsio]

Hi all,

I have recently purchased a Scott Sportster hybrid bike. I have been riding a single speed for about 15 years so this is the first time I have purchased a bike with gears so my knowledge of them is almost non-existent.

The gears appear to change relatively smoothly, there is no sticking or skipping of gears. However I have noticed when shifting down a gear on the rear I sometimes have to push the lever right in as far as it will go and then push it again so the gear changes. I am not sure if this is normal or if it is a tension thing? Any ideas? Essentially I have to do one big push of lever to almost 'engage' the gear change and then press it again so the gear shifts down. It shifts smoothly though.

[MattyK]

Probably needs a fraction more cable tension.
https://youtu.be/UkZxPIZ1ngY

[Thoglette]

Cables stretch, particularly when new.

[Duck!]

As above, the cable has stretched a bit and needs a bit of a tweak to get the tension back up. The shifter and derailleur will both likely have an adjuster (depending on model, the derailleur may not have one, but they're exceptions) where the cable enters. Turn either adjuster anti-clockwise 1/4 turn at a time to increase cable tension until the shift completes within the designed stroke. If you reach a point where it doesn't upshift (paradoxically, drop to the next smaller sprocket), you've tweaked a bit far, so back off a touch.