Derailer advice on my Kona Stinky

[NotMatt]

So I have this great Kona Stinky Deluxe that I want to ride, but everytime I ride it, I have problems with the chain, shifter, derailure setup.

It has a shimano XT derailer in the rear, single front sprocket with bash guard.

When riding, it shifts very cantankerously... it seems to upshift a little better than down, i stab the downshift lever and it won't shift, then once I stab it again, it skips two or three gears and makes horrible noises. Many times, when riding, it seems to shift by itself or the chain simply skips around while I'm really pedalling hard in a tall gear, causing me to nut myself and/or look like a jackass. Also, the chain occasionally falls off when I drop off anything taller than a curb.

I'm used to single speed dirt jumpers and bmx bikes, those are simple to maintain and trouble free... this whole gear shifting stuff opens up so much more options in terms of terrain (since my legs aren't made of iron yet), but adds more complexity to the whole thing.

It seems like the tensioner is just not keeping enough tension on the chain, but I'm not sure how to adjust that or if it can be adjusted. My first reaction is to buy a new rear casette, new chain, and new derailer (it already has an almost brand new front sprocket)... but this is a lot of dough to shell out at once. I've already put a new shifter cable and housing on it, which seemed to make the problem worse.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Also the rear brake squeaks... it has OG Hayes juice brakes, and the rear rotor was bent, so it was replaced... pads have lots of life left on them, but I just can't get them to be QUIET, the squeak while I'm riding and quit as soon as I apply some pressure on the lever.

I know we've got some guys and gals on here who know a lot about this stuff, so give me your wisdom yall!

 

[Spanaway Mudder]

So I have this great Kona Stinky Deluxe that I want to ride, but everytime I ride it, I have problems with the chain, shifter, derailure setup.

It has a shimano XT derailer in the rear, single front sprocket with bash guard.

When riding, it shifts very cantankerously... it seems to upshift a little better than down, i stab the downshift lever and it won't shift, then once I stab it again, it skips two or three gears and makes horrible noises. Many times, when riding, it seems to shift by itself or the chain simply skips around while I'm really pedalling hard in a tall gear, causing me to nut myself and/or look like a jackass. Also, the chain occasionally falls off when I drop off anything taller than a curb.

I'm used to single speed dirt jumpers and bmx bikes, those are simple to maintain and trouble free... this whole gear shifting stuff opens up so much more options in terms of terrain (since my legs aren't made of iron yet), but adds more complexity to the whole thing.

It seems like the tensioner is just not keeping enough tension on the chain, but I'm not sure how to adjust that or if it can be adjusted. My first reaction is to buy a new rear casette, new chain, and new derailer (it already has an almost brand new front sprocket)... but this is a lot of dough to shell out at once. I've already put a new shifter cable and housing on it, which seemed to make the problem worse.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Also the rear brake squeaks... it has OG Hayes juice brakes, and the rear rotor was bent, so it was replaced... pads have lots of life left on them, but I just can't get them to be QUIET, the squeak while I'm riding and quit as soon as I apply some pressure on the lever.

I would take it to a shop and have them tune it...:awesomework: After the mnt bike wreck that I had from that same issue, I will never try tuning it myself again..:booo: that wreck hurt..I think I still have gravel in my knee...:redneck:

 

[NotMatt]

I would take it to a shop and have them tune it...:awesomework: After the mnt bike wreck that I had from that same issue, I will never try tuning it myself again..:booo: that wreck hurt..I think I still have gravel in my knee...:redneck:

Did that, they told me the chain was fine and that it would never shift like a competition road bike... I just want it to be rideable and not skip gears on me when shifting, or shift randomly while I'm riding, and it would be nice if the chain didn't fall off when I use it like it was mean to be used.

I will probably end up taking it back and telling them the problem is not fixed... but I'd like to get some opinions here first.

 

[Not Jobless]

Not being able to see it, I'd say your rear derailure is toast given the symptoms and what has already been applied/swapped. Is your chain too long?

As for your brakes, you probably got some oil or other lubricant on the pads, it doesn't take hardly any to FUBAR a set of pads.

 

[Spanaway Mudder]

Doesnt Mauler have a bike shop? or is that motor bike's?

I would take it somewhere else if they are to ignorant to fix it...

 

[Boonie Buster]

Doesnt Mauler have a bike shop? or is that motor bike's?

I would take it somewhere else if they are to ignorant to fix it...

it is no more....:booo:

 

[64FJ40]

I would take it to a shop and have them tune it...:awesomework: After the mnt bike wreck that I had from that same issue, I will never try tuning it myself again..:booo: that wreck hurt..I think I still have gravel in my knee...:redneck:

You can turn a wrench on a vehicle that you'll drive on the road, but you'd pay a bike shop to tune a mountain bike??




It's tough to say what will help without seeing it, but if you haven't replaced the chain since you've owned it, just do it. Make sure you get the chain that matches your cassette or the shift ramps will never do their job 100%.

Pull the derailleur off and clean the bejeezus out of the linkage points and re-apply whatever good dry lube you like.

Shift to 1st. Grab the lower arm of the derailleur and see how much more movement you have to the front before it's uncomfortably hard to move. If you're planning to huck it, you probably need to shorten the chain to where it's almost maxed out the travel of the arm in first gear to keep as much tension on the chain as possible.

It's possible that the tension spring is just old and weak. IIRC, you used to be able to buy those separately, but it's been many years since I built bikes.

Unless your cassette is visibly trashed, I would go there last. 8-speed? I might have one sitting in a box, but I'd have to do some digging...

 

[Spanaway Mudder]

You can turn a wrench on a vehicle that you'll drive on the road, but you'd pay a bike shop to tune a mountain bike??

Big difference there... I know how to turn wrenches on my rigs, Bikes are a different thing tho.. Tuning a derailer's are bitches to work with... Maybe cause I dont know how to..That and honestly, if you wrecked like I did, you probably would do the same:haha::fawkdancesmiley:

 

[NotMatt]

Thanks guys for all the advice. I'm going to mess around with it after I get back from California next week.

 

[86sasRunner]

is your hanger bent? it sounds like it was bent at one point any marks on the derailer? is the cage on the derailer still in good shape. Get some pics from behind and post them up and we can help more:beer:

 

[Clark]

Talk to the guys down at Elliot Bay Bicycles down by the pike place market in seattle. They will take excellent care of you, they are some of the best in the business.:awesomework:

http://www.elliottbaybicycles.com/

2116 Western Ave.
Seattle, WA 98121

 

[NotMatt]

I ****ed around with it some more today... it's not any better after, and almost worse... I'm going to take it back to the shop (Das Rad Haus in Leavenworth) that I first took it to, and have Patrick (the mechanic) take it for a longer ride so he can really see what it's doing.

It's a 9 speed cassette with a Shimano XT "Deore" derailer.

The derailer seems to be in good physical shape, nothing bent... but I am not an expert in how the two pieces are supposed to move... all I know is it's not working as it should... skips gears when shifting or gets "stuck between" gears, and when you get on it really hard it "skips" as though the chain is slipping off the cogs on the cassette... maybe the cassette itself is trashed inside, not sure.

 

[Boonie Buster]

if you're tweaking with those adjustment screws do very little turns....:awesomework:

EDIT: when it's skipping gears when you are pushing hard for hills, what gears are you in f/r? You might be crossing up the chain (bad terminology:redface. I know on my bike it'll do that, plus when shifting it'll sometimes get stuck between gears but i aleviate that with a little mousing of the trigger and dealing with it....except it needs a tune-up bad! :redneck::haha::haha:

 

[jeepmauler]

Check and see what cassette is actually on the rear wheel.

Shimano,in it's quest to make EVERYTHING lighter(great on road bikes/shitty for freeride bikes),made the cogs(riveted to the aluminum carrier) SO thin and full of speed holes that the cogs bend very easily and stay bent.......even if only slightly "tweaked" off center....it's enough to totally fubar up the shifting..

I would switch out all my HOMIES to LX 9spd cassettes AWAY from the XT cassettes to get rid of the Aluminum spider with the steel rings riveted to it.The LX cassettes(at least a couple years ago) were ALOT burlier and able to handle junk getting into them like ferns,little sticks,hikers body parts and not bend like the XT

No matter how much you screw with the derailure,cable tension,lube the cable etc......if the COGS are deformed laterally....it'll ride and shift like ASS.

 

[NotMatt]

if you're tweaking with those adjustment screws do very little turns....:awesomework:

EDIT: when it's skipping gears when you are pushing hard for hills, what gears are you in f/r? You might be crossing up the chain (bad terminology:redface. I know on my bike it'll do that, plus when shifting it'll sometimes get stuck between gears but i aleviate that with a little mousing of the trigger and dealing with it....except it needs a tune-up bad! :redneck::haha::haha:

Well, I just have a single fixed cog on the front, so it's only the rear to deal with. When I got the bike, this problem wasn't so bad... I could deal with it by doing exactly like you said, just hitting the shifter again and dealing with it... but it's gotten steadily worse.

Check and see what cassette is actually on the rear wheel.

Shimano,in it's quest to make EVERYTHING lighter(great on road bikes/shitty for freeride bikes),made the cogs(riveted to the aluminum carrier) SO thin and full of speed holes that the cogs bend very easily and stay bent.......even if only slightly "tweaked" off center....it's enough to totally fubar up the shifting..

I would switch out all my HOMIES to LX 9spd cassettes AWAY from the XT cassettes to get rid of the Aluminum spider with the steel rings riveted to it.The LX cassettes(at least a couple years ago) were ALOT burlier and able to handle junk getting into them like ferns,little sticks,hikers body parts and not bend like the XT

No matter how much you screw with the derailure,cable tension,lube the cable etc......if the COGS are deformed laterally....it'll ride and shift like ASS.

The cassette on the back is actually an SRAM. Not sure if that makes any difference mixing and matching the derailer and the cassette (shouldn't as long as the chain is the right one?).

Anyway, just talked to Patrick at Das Rad Haus, going to take it in Thursday and have him take a longer ride on it and see if he can get it in better shape.