Shifting problem and ... indexed steering?

I've heard of indexed steering resulting from worn headset bearings.
Especially if the headset is on the older side, I'd look at overhauling
or replacing the headset. Park tool probably has instructions on their
site. Sheldon Brown probably has something on it as well.

Ethan

Owen Pope said:

I've been appointed Head Mechanic in charge of my
girlfriend's
Cannondale, and it has one glitch that I can't quite figure
out.
This is posing a nasty challenge to my facade of
mechanical omniscience.

The problem is one of shifting. If while downshifting
from big- to little chainring, the chain is on one of the 4
smaller cogs of hte cassette, the chain will hang between the
two chainrings. It will shift, but the chain slides freely,
allowing the pedals to spin for a moment before it engages the
smaller chainring.
I've tried adjusting the tension, fiddling with the
limits, and replacing the chain. Nothing seems to work,
though I'll admit that my wrenching skills are rusty, and I
may need to repeat some of of my efforts.
Does anybody have any suggestions?
The components are shimano 600, 8-speed. Several years
old and well-used, but very functional.

Also, when holding the bike off the ground, and swinging the
front wheel, there is a ...notch... when the handlebars are
straight ahead. This notch seems to affect the steering a
bit, by requiring a noticeable effort (not hard, but just
enough to remind one that it is there) to move the bars.
It's a quill stem, for what that's worth.
This sounds a bit like "indexed steering", but i'm not really
sure since i've never seen it before.

Her father told her that this is a "feature", but I
(obviously) disagree. I decided that before I outright
declared him full of it, I'd consult the wisdom of the group.

Thanks a bunch!

Owen Pope said:

I've been appointed Head Mechanic in charge of my
girlfriend's
Cannondale, and it has one glitch that I can't quite figure
out.
This is posing a nasty challenge to my facade of
mechanical omniscience.

The problem is one of shifting. If while downshifting
from big- to little chainring, the chain is on one of the 4
smaller cogs of hte cassette, the chain will hang between the
two chainrings. It will shift, but the chain slides freely,
allowing the pedals to spin for a moment before it engages the
smaller chainring.
I've tried adjusting the tension, fiddling with the
limits, and replacing the chain. Nothing seems to work,
though I'll admit that my wrenching skills are rusty, and I
may need to repeat some of of my efforts.
Does anybody have any suggestions?
The components are shimano 600, 8-speed. Several years
old and well-used, but very functional.

I don't have a good answer for you on that.

Quoted message said:

Also, when holding the bike off the ground, and swinging the
front wheel, there is a ...notch... when the handlebars are
straight ahead. This notch seems to affect the steering a
bit, by requiring a noticeable effort (not hard, but just
enough to remind one that it is there) to move the bars.
It's a quill stem, for what that's worth.
This sounds a bit like "indexed steering", but i'm not really
sure since i've never seen it before.

Her father told her that this is a "feature", but I
(obviously) disagree. I decided that before I outright
declared him full of it, I'd consult the wisdom of the group.

This, I know about. It is indeed the famous indexed headset. I've always been
impressed by how perfectly straight the fork is at the detent. It does make
riding with no hands much more difficult. It's an anti-feature.

You'll have to go in there and at the least replace the balls. Not a
particularly bad job.

You'll see lot's of posts here on the subject from guys who know more than me.

ROn

RonSonic said:

This, I know about. It is indeed the famous indexed headset. I've always been
impressed by how perfectly straight the fork is at the detent. It does make
riding with no hands much more difficult. It's an anti-feature.

You'll have to go in there and at the least replace the balls. Not a
particularly bad job.

You'll see lot's of posts here on the subject from guys who know more than me.

I don't claim to know more than you, but I do have experience with an
indexed headset. I've heard of guys that just pulled the cups and
rotated them a bit to move the pit in the cup to another more discrete
position. In my limited experience, which was a severely indexed
headset, it was still impossible to dial in after doing this.

Sounds like it's time for a new headset. No biggie, they're pretty
cheap. If the fit's not too tight, you can install the cups with a wood
block and a mallet, or in my case a few whacks from a Swedish clog. If
it's tight, you might want to have a shop use a proper press to seat
the cups. The brand that's best can depend on stack height, but for $20
you can source a plenty decent Tange Levin or Shimano STX.

Well worth doing, as the handling with a fresh and properly adjusted
headset is quite palpable.

Owen Pope said:

I've been appointed Head Mechanic in charge of my
girlfriend's
Cannondale, and it has one glitch that I can't quite figure
out.
This is posing a nasty challenge to my facade of
mechanical omniscience.

The problem is one of shifting. If while downshifting
from big- to little chainring, the chain is on one of the 4
smaller cogs of hte cassette, the chain will hang between the
two chainrings. It will shift, but the chain slides freely,
allowing the pedals to spin for a moment before it engages the
smaller chainring.
I've tried adjusting the tension, fiddling with the
limits, and replacing the chain. Nothing seems to work,
though I'll admit that my wrenching skills are rusty, and I
may need to repeat some of of my efforts.
Does anybody have any suggestions?
The components are shimano 600, 8-speed. Several years
old and well-used, but very functional.

The very nose the FD pushes the chain off the bg ring, onto the
small...Either angle the nose in by rotating the entire FD or bend the
outside nose part of the FD in a wee bit...assuming the limit screws
and the height of the FD is proper.

Quoted message said:

Also, when holding the bike off the ground, and swinging the
front wheel, there is a ...notch... when the handlebars are
straight ahead. This notch seems to affect the steering a
bit, by requiring a noticeable effort (not hard, but just
enough to remind one that it is there) to move the bars.
It's a quill stem, for what that's worth.
This sounds a bit like "indexed steering", but i'm not really
sure since i've never seen it before.

Her father told her that this is a "feature", but I
(obviously) disagree. I decided that before I outright
declared him full of it, I'd consult the wisdom of the group.

Thanks a bunch!

Advice to male riders from an old, cynical fart who learned the hard
way: Dont let your wife or girlfriend make you her "Chief Mechanic",
whether it be her bike or her car that she wants to have repaired.
Reasons:

1. They don't appreciate it. There is nothing in it for you. It is a
no-win situation.

2. When a woman thinks she can get you to repair whatever she breaks,
she has absolutely no incentive to do any maintenance, or to use the
machine carefully. Indeed, her only incentives in such a situation are
to use the machine carelessly, drive it into the ground and then demand
that you fix it.

3. Women are always saying they are just as competent as men, and that
they want equality with men. Fine. So they should fix their own cars
and bikes. When they figure out how hard it is to learn to fix these
machines, they will stop trivializing everything you do and respect
your abilities much more.

4. Refuse to fix it for their own good. Make them learn how to fix
it, so they won't feel so helpless. If she refuses to learn, then this
is your warning that she is looking for a daddy figure, not a boyfriend
or a husband, to take care of every problem.

5. Women insist on pursuing their own agendas, so you have the right
to do the same. When she insists that you fix her bike or car, she is
pursuing her own agenda but trying to prevent you from pursuing yours.

6. Fixing her bike will just make her find something else to complain
about, and to demand that you fix. Also, there is a good chance that
she will complain that you didn't fix it right.

Just a few words to the wise. Ignore the foregoing at your peril!

..

Quoted message said:

Advice to male riders from an old, cynical fart who learned the hard
way: Dont let your wife or girlfriend make you her "Chief Mechanic",
whether it be her bike or her car that she wants to have repaired.
Reasons:

1. They don't appreciate it. There is nothing in it for you. It is a
no-win situation.

2. When a woman thinks she can get you to repair whatever she breaks,
she has absolutely no incentive to do any maintenance, or to use the
machine carefully. Indeed, her only incentives in such a situation are
to use the machine carelessly, drive it into the ground and then demand
that you fix it.

3. Women are always saying they are just as competent as men, and that
they want equality with men. Fine. So they should fix their own cars
and bikes. When they figure out how hard it is to learn to fix these
machines, they will stop trivializing everything you do and respect
your abilities much more.

4. Refuse to fix it for their own good. Make them learn how to fix
it, so they won't feel so helpless. If she refuses to learn, then this
is your warning that she is looking for a daddy figure, not a boyfriend
or a husband, to take care of every problem.

5. Women insist on pursuing their own agendas, so you have the right
to do the same. When she insists that you fix her bike or car, she is
pursuing her own agenda but trying to prevent you from pursuing yours.

6. Fixing her bike will just make her find something else to complain
about, and to demand that you fix. Also, there is a good chance that
she will complain that you didn't fix it right.

Just a few words to the wise. Ignore the foregoing at your peril!

As long as she does the laundry and clean the house, fixing her bike
isn't that bad is it? ;-)
Did you never mess up the laundry on purpose?

Lou
--
Posted by news://news.nb.nu

As long as she does the laundry and clean the house, fixing her bike
isn't that bad is it? ;-)

I would never have a woman do my laundry or clean my house. I take
pride in doing these things myself. I'm not looking for a mommy to
take care of me. Besides, women seem to specialize in making it much
more trouble than it is worth to get them to do anything to help you,
so overall it is much easier to do it yourself.

Did you never mess up the laundry on purpose?

No, never did. Why would you do that? To get your wife or girlfriend
to do it herself in the future? Wow, you must REALLY not want to do
your own laundry, Lou! Why? It's not that hard.

[email hidden] a écrit :

Quoted message said:

As long as she does the laundry and clean the house, fixing her bike
isn't that bad is it? ;-)

I would never have a woman do my laundry or clean my house. I take
pride in doing these things myself. I'm not looking for a mommy to
take care of me. Besides, women seem to specialize in making it much
more trouble than it is worth to get them to do anything to help you,
so overall it is much easier to do it yourself.

Did you never mess up the laundry on purpose?

No, never did. Why would you do that? To get your wife or girlfriend
to do it herself in the future? Wow, you must REALLY not want to do
your own laundry, Lou! Why? It's not that hard.

My guess : two ex-wives, one ex-live-in girlfriend (longish term) and
scattered subsequent depressing ambitions.

My guess : two ex-wives, one ex-live-in girlfriend (longish term) and
scattered subsequent depressing ambitions.

My, Sandy, you're quite accomplished at taking cheap shots, but I
notice that you had no SUBSTANTIVE reply to the issues I've raised.
Are you a woman? MY guess: You've got your husband or boyfriend
fixing everything that you break, and you refuse to learn how to fix
anything, but you like to go around claiming that women can do anything
men can do. Talk is cheap, sweetie! You're obviously in deep denial.

Quoted message said:

My guess : two ex-wives, one ex-live-in girlfriend (longish term) and
scattered subsequent depressing ambitions.

My, Sandy, you're quite accomplished at taking cheap shots, but I
notice that you had no SUBSTANTIVE reply to the issues I've raised.
Are you a woman? MY guess: You've got your husband or boyfriend
fixing everything that you break, and you refuse to learn how to fix
anything, but you like to go around claiming that women can do anything
men can do. Talk is cheap, sweetie! You're obviously in deep denial.

Dude, lighten up. Or was there no humor in any of this for you.

Ron

Quoted message said:

My guess : two ex-wives, one ex-live-in girlfriend (longish term) and
scattered subsequent depressing ambitions.

My, Sandy, you're quite accomplished at taking cheap shots, but I
notice that you had no SUBSTANTIVE reply to the issues I've raised.
Are you a woman? MY guess: You've got your husband or boyfriend
fixing everything that you break, and you refuse to learn how to fix
anything, but you like to go around claiming that women can do
anything men can do. Talk is cheap, sweetie! You're obviously in
deep denial.

LOL POTM LOL

(Sandy has a hubby? Rats, thought I had a shot.)

Bill Sornson a écrit :

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My guess : two ex-wives, one ex-live-in girlfriend (longish term) and
scattered subsequent depressing ambitions.

My, Sandy, you're quite accomplished at taking cheap shots, but I
notice that you had no SUBSTANTIVE reply to the issues I've raised.
Are you a woman? MY guess: You've got your husband or boyfriend
fixing everything that you break, and you refuse to learn how to fix
anything, but you like to go around claiming that women can do
anything men can do. Talk is cheap, sweetie! You're obviously in
deep denial.

LOL POTM LOL

(Sandy has a hubby? Rats, thought I had a shot.)

Sandy is X+Y

Sandy said:

Bill Sornson a écrit :

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

My guess : two ex-wives, one ex-live-in girlfriend (longish term)
and scattered subsequent depressing ambitions.

My, Sandy, you're quite accomplished at taking cheap shots, but I
notice that you had no SUBSTANTIVE reply to the issues I've raised.
Are you a woman? MY guess: You've got your husband or boyfriend
fixing everything that you break, and you refuse to learn how to fix
anything, but you like to go around claiming that women can do
anything men can do. Talk is cheap, sweetie! You're obviously in
deep denial.

LOL POTM LOL

(Sandy has a hubby? Rats, thought I had a shot.)

Sandy is X+Y

I know. I was going for...humor. (That's why I called folson's the Post Of
The Month.)

Bill "relax, Sandy, no intentions on this end" S.

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

Advice to male riders from an old, cynical fart who learned the hard
way: Dont let your wife or girlfriend make you her "Chief Mechanic",
whether it be her bike or her car that she wants to have repaired.
Reasons:

1. They don't appreciate it. There is nothing in it for you. It is a
no-win situation.

2. When a woman thinks she can get you to repair whatever she breaks,
she has absolutely no incentive to do any maintenance, or to use the
machine carefully. Indeed, her only incentives in such a situation are
to use the machine carelessly, drive it into the ground and then demand
that you fix it.

3. Women are always saying they are just as competent as men, and that
they want equality with men. Fine. So they should fix their own cars
and bikes. When they figure out how hard it is to learn to fix these
machines, they will stop trivializing everything you do and respect
your abilities much more.

4. Refuse to fix it for their own good. Make them learn how to fix
it, so they won't feel so helpless. If she refuses to learn, then this
is your warning that she is looking for a daddy figure, not a boyfriend
or a husband, to take care of every problem.

5. Women insist on pursuing their own agendas, so you have the right
to do the same. When she insists that you fix her bike or car, she is
pursuing her own agenda but trying to prevent you from pursuing yours.

6. Fixing her bike will just make her find something else to complain
about, and to demand that you fix. Also, there is a good chance that
she will complain that you didn't fix it right.

Just a few words to the wise. Ignore the foregoing at your peril!

I fix everything around here. The other day I told SHMBO
that over the years I had replaced the water pump on the
washer, the drier gas control, the washer control
mechanism, the washer solenoid-valve mechanism, and the
drier door gasket; this after replacing the dishwasher
pump. She was surprised to find out that I had done all
this behind her back.

I did buy her a cordless drill/screwdriver, toolbox, and
kit that she uses to install brackets and the like around
the house.

I am not in peril.

--
Michael Press

Michael Press said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,

Quoted message said:

Advice to male riders from an old, cynical fart who learned the hard
way: Dont let your wife or girlfriend make you her "Chief Mechanic",
whether it be her bike or her car that she wants to have repaired.
Reasons:

1. They don't appreciate it. There is nothing in it for you. It is a
no-win situation.

2. When a woman thinks she can get you to repair whatever she breaks,
she has absolutely no incentive to do any maintenance, or to use the
machine carefully. Indeed, her only incentives in such a situation are
to use the machine carelessly, drive it into the ground and then demand
that you fix it.

3. Women are always saying they are just as competent as men, and that
they want equality with men. Fine. So they should fix their own cars
and bikes. When they figure out how hard it is to learn to fix these
machines, they will stop trivializing everything you do and respect
your abilities much more.

4. Refuse to fix it for their own good. Make them learn how to fix
it, so they won't feel so helpless. If she refuses to learn, then this
is your warning that she is looking for a daddy figure, not a boyfriend
or a husband, to take care of every problem.

5. Women insist on pursuing their own agendas, so you have the right
to do the same. When she insists that you fix her bike or car, she is
pursuing her own agenda but trying to prevent you from pursuing yours.

6. Fixing her bike will just make her find something else to complain
about, and to demand that you fix. Also, there is a good chance that
she will complain that you didn't fix it right.

Just a few words to the wise. Ignore the foregoing at your peril!

I fix everything around here. The other day I told SHMBO

Isn't that SWMBO?

Quoted message said:

that over the years I had replaced the water pump on the
washer, the drier gas control, the washer control
mechanism, the washer solenoid-valve mechanism, and the
drier door gasket; this after replacing the dishwasher
pump. She was surprised to find out that I had done all
this behind her back.

I did buy her a cordless drill/screwdriver, toolbox, and
kit that she uses to install brackets and the like around
the house.

I am not in peril.

I'm with you, I'm not in peril either. By making myself indispensible,
I become HWMBF (thats Fed!).

Mark "Ride to eat, eat to ride!" J.

In article
<[email hidden]>,
Mark <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Michael Press said:

In article
<[email hidden]>,
[email hidden] wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Just a few words to the wise. Ignore the foregoing at your peril!

I fix everything around here. The other day I told SHMBO

Isn't that SWMBO?

Yes. Please keep this between us.

--
Michael Press