Help a thicky please

Sounds like your cable is way too tight. Loosen it bit by bit until it just drops into first. Should be OK after that.

[quote="Tinky Winky"]I've only just started cycling and don't know anything my problem is the gears were slipping so I adjusted the tension on the cable now they change pretty smoothly however it is now permanantly in the wrong gear (second instead of first third instead of second and so on) please help me to understand what I need to do to rectify this

Here's some basics to try:

First loosen the cable with the barrel adjustor on the rear derailer and then put the chain on the small front chainring and the big rear gear on the cassette. From the rear sight down the chain and see if the pulleys on the rear derailer line up directly under the rear gear. Adjust the derailer's inner travel limit by turning the screw (usually the lower one, often marked "L"😉 until they line up. Then shift the chain to the big front ring, and the small rear gear and do the same thing using the other adjusting screw. You've now set the limits on the rear derailer. tighten or loosen the barrel adjuster on the derailer until the derailer moves crisply and cleanly with one click of your shifter.

Thanks for the help fellas much appreciated I'll have a look tomorrow really good of you both to take the time to reply cheers