Should all of the cables on my bike be super tight? The process is simply to undo the hex bolt and pull the cable tighter, right?
The guy at the shop changed and tightened the gear changing cable (biansuxian) yesterday and though at first it was very smooth - now the gears are skipping again.
New cables do get looser for the first few weeks or so. It’s not actually the steel wire stretching, but the whole system relaxing as the cable wears into the cable sheath a bit. Repeated retensioning is needed. However, don’t just pull everything tight as possible… the gear cables need to be Goldilocks-right: not too tight, not too loose. You can adjust using a barrel adjuster located around the wire as it enters the rear derailleur mechanism. Twisting anticlockwise moves it out, thus tightening the cable by lengthening the housing. This is what you use for small adjustments, not loosening the pinch bolt and pulling the cable through more.
Thanks I’m learning - its a skillful touch that will do it then.