Bicycle Tutor

I just bought a new schwinn ditch 3.0. and its an amazing bike but one thing i noticed that even when the shift lever says its on 1st gear, its actually on 2nd gear. and same thing if i shift to the next gear.. it says 2nd but im in 3rd. Its not even shifting to the 1st gear. Can someone please answer my question. thank you

Depending on where you got this bike, whoever assembled it may not have actually took the time to look over it. Was it ok when you first bought it or has this been something that has happened recently? Personally there have been a few adjustments I made for friends of mine that bought Department store bicycles from Pacific Cycle company in the past. Schwinn is owned by Pacific. What kind of shifter is it? Also could you post a picture? Sorry I am full of questions just trying to figure out what kind of shifter it is and possibilities of cause.

Go through the tutorial http://bicycletutor.com/adjust-rear-derailleur/ take your time, maybe redo a second or third time. When setting up the derailleur for the first time, it can take a while to get it right.

haha yeaa ill put up a pic asap.. umm i got it at costco and it seemed fine. btw it has shimano acera shifters.. they're rapid fire shifters.

and thanks joe. i looked at the vid before but i wasn't sure if thats the way i have to fix my problem.