RR The most frustrating ride ever!

[SDstumpy]

I was so eager to ride today because I just installed XT shifters, new cables and housing to my Stumpy FSR last night. The ease of shifting and precision of the shifters was phenomenal. I dialed everything in on the workstand last night and was taking her out for her maiden voyage at Lake Calaveras today after work. The ride was a disaster. The bike was ghost shifting to hell and all I wanted to do was throw my bike off a cliff. I adjusted the cable tension every which way but could not resolve the problem. Finally after a half hour of stopping every 500 ft to adjust the tension I decided to head home to resolve the problem. The bike shifted great on the stand (it always does) but everytime I rode it, the bike still ghost shifted. After an hour of messing with cable tension I finally found the culprit. I had cut the housing too short underneath the BB. Since my bike is full squish everytime I bounced on the saddle the bike would shift to a bigger cog. After installing a new segment of housing I can finally rest. Hopefully I'll be able to experience real XT shifting thursday when I get another chance to ride. Moral of the story is....there is extra cable housing under the BB for a reason. I tried to save myself an inch of housing and almost threw my bike into the lake.

[Blue Rat]

It's great that you were able to troubleshoot your problem instead of turning your stumpy into a boat anchor.

[strobelite]

ive done that one before!

[bajamtnbkr]

Originally Posted by SDstumpy

I was so eager to ride today because I just installed XT shifters, new cables and housing to my Stumpy FSR last night. The ease of shifting and precision of the shifters was phenomenal. I dialed everything in on the workstand last night and was taking her out for her maiden voyage at Lake Calaveras today after work. The ride was a disaster. The bike was ghost shifting to hell and all I wanted to do was throw my bike off a cliff. I adjusted the cable tension every which way but could not resolve the problem. Finally after a half hour of stopping every 500 ft to adjust the tension I decided to head home to resolve the problem. The bike shifted great on the stand (it always does) but everytime I rode it, the bike still ghost shifted. After an hour of messing with cable tension I finally found the culprit. I had cut the housing too short underneath the BB. Since my bike is full squish everytime I bounced on the saddle the bike would shift to a bigger cog. After installing a new segment of housing I can finally rest. Hopefully I'll be able to experience real XT shifting thursday when I get another chance to ride. Moral of the story is....there is extra cable housing under the BB for a reason. I tried to save myself an inch of housing and almost threw my bike into the lake.

You might just solve my year long problem with my front derailleur, I had taken the bike to the shop so many times and told them about the cable housing and they ignored it every time. I'll look into it, thanks.

[jeffj]

Ahem... as I suggested it could be in the 'ghost-shifting' thread.

And for some reason, I have seen it on a lot of Specialized bikes

[station]

Originally Posted by SDstumpy

I was so eager to ride today because I just installed XT shifters, new cables and housing to my Stumpy FSR last night. The ease of shifting and precision of the shifters was phenomenal. I dialed everything in on the workstand last night and was taking her out for her maiden voyage at Lake Calaveras today after work. The ride was a disaster. The bike was ghost shifting to hell and all I wanted to do was throw my bike off a cliff. I adjusted the cable tension every which way but could not resolve the problem. Finally after a half hour of stopping every 500 ft to adjust the tension I decided to head home to resolve the problem. The bike shifted great on the stand (it always does) but everytime I rode it, the bike still ghost shifted. After an hour of messing with cable tension I finally found the culprit. I had cut the housing too short underneath the BB. Since my bike is full squish everytime I bounced on the saddle the bike would shift to a bigger cog. After installing a new segment of housing I can finally rest. Hopefully I'll be able to experience real XT shifting thursday when I get another chance to ride. Moral of the story is....there is extra cable housing under the BB for a reason. I tried to save myself an inch of housing and almost threw my bike into the lake.

lets see some pics?

[OffRoadie]

You wouldn't have this problem on a hardtail.

[RacinJason]

<==== THE DIRT DR. Let me know if you need help.
PM me and I can take care of it for you.

[el_d00der1n0]

Originally Posted by OffRoadie

You wouldn't have this problem on a hardtail.

or a ss

[Blue Rat]

Originally Posted by el_d00der1n0

or a ss

or a moped.

[Onemoreloop]

Before I was half way through your post I said to myself, "I'll bet he cut the housing too short under the bottom bracket". How did I know...I did the exact same thing last week! It was ghost shifting so badly that I ended up braking the chain on a very steep section. It is frustrating to install new cables and expect to have improved shifting only to find out it is working worse than ever. Anyway, I put a longer cable housing under the BB and it works great now.

[Solo]

Originally Posted by Onemoreloop

Before I was half way through your post I said to myself, "I'll bet he cut the housing too short under the bottom bracket".

Funny, about half way through the post I was trying to picture which side of the lake he was on so I could get me another Stumpy!

[SDstumpy]

Yah, glad I didn't throw my bike in the lake. It was very satisfying to resolve the problem on my own. I would like to be self sufficent when it comes to bike maintenance, but there are still a few things that I'm a little shaky on. (Hubs and Cranks). I guess it will just take a few more mistakes to get good at all aspects of bike maintenance.

[kanga]

That's a pretty common mistake... but one most people only ever make once!

Enjoy your new shifting experience!

[bjammin]

Originally Posted by OffRoadie

You wouldn't have this problem on a hardtail.

or a SS.

[el_d00der1n0]

Originally Posted by bjammin

or a SS.

or a moped

[KBL]

Originally Posted by el_d00der1n0

or a ss

I traded in my truck for a covered wagon...no more worries about the price of gasoline! Everyone else should do it, too.