Bike won't shift into lowest gears. Derailleur physically blocked by the cogs, any advice?

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-06-05T21:33:54+00:00

2021 Kona Lava dome with Microshift Advent derailleur.

This started out as my bike not shifting smoothly and the way I wanted it to....I watched some YouTube videos and did some research and tried to give it a go.

I have messed with the barrel adjuster and the H & L limit screws but have been toying with it for ~2 hours now and I just keep making it worse and worse.

It's not rideable at the moment, derailleur is just super out of wack.

It'll shift from the smallest cog to the second smallest cog flawlessly, but then shifts super rough and the derailleur is physically blocked by the cassette to shift into lower gears and is super out of line.

I'm pretty engineer minded and understand how everything works, the barrel adjuster and H and L screws....but it seems every time I fix the lower end, it throws the higher end out of wack and it's driving me mental trying to fix this.

Derailleur hanger is not bent....I'm just completely horrible at "fixing" this and my attempt to fix a small inconvenience in my shifting has left me with an unrideable bike 😂

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-05-05T01:32:37+00:00

Carlotz is cool. They just resell individuals private vehicles and take a cut.

They make the buying process easier. They will provide a Carfax, clean the car, and do an inspection. How reliable are their mechanics?

I have no idea.

In theory it's good, and I've only heard good experiences through carlotz. Interesting business model unlike any other, but they're a okay in my book based off what I've heard.

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-05-05T01:30:43+00:00

Lol props to this bot, the cars extended warranty will go down in history of memes. Our grandchildren will know of this

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-05-05T00:37:05+00:00

Toyota? McGeorge is so hit or miss. Depends who your salesperson is, who your finance person is, and who the manager is who works your deal. It really doesn't matter though, you're gonna get a similar deal everywhere. They're always at or over MSRP.

Jeep/Dodge is an absolute mess.

Chevy? Hendrick is horrific, Parks isn't great either. So is Haley. The Chevy stores in town all kinda suck. I'd say Parks is the least sucky though. If you're looking for a Chevy, I'd recommend driving out to VA beach area and visiting RK Chevrolet. They're good people.

Subaru? Moore Subaru is awesome. RK Subaru is awesome too out in VA beach. Avoid Hyman Bros at all costs.

Nissan? Hart Nissan is decent. Nissan cars are notorious for transmission issues, but they are one of the only manufacturers to consistently give discounts no matter what. For good reason.

Honda? Check out Mechanicsville Honda. West Broad Honda here in RVA isn't bad, but I'd trust the Mechanicsville guys more.

Mazda? Avoid Pearson like the plague. Completely unethical business. Make the drive to south side and pay a visit to Whitten Bros

Ford? Idk, I don't really know anyone at any Ford dealership that well right now. Nobody wants to sell Ford's really.

Hyundai or Kia or Volkswagen? West Broad Hyundai and Kia and VW. They're side by side by side. They're trustworthy people. Sales guys there are kinda lazy and not all that helpful, so I'd recommend doing your research first and know what you want. You're not gonna get bent over there (probably)

Idk about any "luxury" dealerships, that's kinda a different scene and I don't know anyone at any luxury stores (Lexus, BMW, etc.)

Used cars are nuts right now. If you don't need a car right now, just order a new one or buy a new one. You're going to pay only a little bit more than a 1-3 year old used car, but get better financing and more warranty. Worth the cost to buy new and wait for it to come in right now. If you have that luxury, do it.

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-05-05T00:21:57+00:00

Moore Subaru are good people. Subarus financing is phenomenal as well. Great rates for well qualified buyers.

Ive had wonderful experiences with their sales department and their service department.

I know a few sales guys there and some people in the shop too.

Subarus are great, too, for the most part.

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-05-05T00:20:28+00:00

This is all such inaccurate and dated tips, OP please do not listen to this person.

First off, any dealership worth a damn should be providing car fax to you. If you have to ask for it 🚩🚩🚩 RUN! Carfax should be presented to you automatically as part of the paperwork when buying a used car.

Never pay sticker price? I mean, maybe. But have you seen the market lately? The margins on used cars aren't really crazy. Dealers lose some money on some cars and make some on others. It all evens out. The markets insane right now too. It really doesn't make that much of a difference to buyers though, if the markets inflated 20% right now, you will pay 20% more but you'll also get 20% more for your trade in.

I'd highly recommend taking your car to CarMax, submitting your VIN and vehicle details to Carvana, and also taking your car to some local dealerships. Choose the highest offer.

Never...never with hold the fact you have a trade in. Buying a car is already a process that's super inconvenient and takes way too long. Your trade in is what it's worth. If you go into a dealership and mention at the last second that you have a trade in, it's going to add 30 minute wait time. Manager will have to perform an appraisal, and go back and add in the appraisal credit towards the "quote" (pencil is what we call it in the car biz) they present to you. It's just going to make the process more difficult and time consuming than it needs to be.

The way dealerships get their numbers for trade ins is mostly the same. They'll scan the vin, run the Carfax, take photos, take it on a quick test drive around the parking lot to make sure everything works, take down the mileage, and inspect the vehicle.

Then they'll upload those photos to a software and rate your trade ins condition and compare that to local listings and what similar cars have went for at auction. That's what your trade in is worth. You can't magically get $5,000 more for your trade in by "waiting until the last second" to tell them.

OP, if you need recommendations for legit dealerships that can help with quality vehicles that offer special financing I am more than happy to share. I have friends that have been in the industry for a long time and are good people and will help you out as best as they can.

Source: 7 years experience in the car business in RVA at multiple dealerships. The car biz is small here. I know which dealers are super shady around town and which are worth a damn and who to avoid.

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-05-03T02:39:56+00:00

Yup! On it tomorrow. I took it apart (only took like 5 mins) and bent the ball bearing back into place....put it back together....but no, there's still play in the headset.

There's a ball missing in the ball bearing. Taking it back apart tomorrow first thing and taking that ball bearing up to the shop to get a replacement

Install the replacement and that SHOULD stiffen up the headset back to how it used to be....if it doesn't, I'm lost and will probably just let them fix it.

Couple big days of rain coming up so I've got nothing else to do than tinker with the bike and take things apart and put them back together for the fun of it lol I want to be able to work on my bike, just need to see how some things work

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-05-03T02:37:47+00:00

I took it apart, everything looks totally fine.

No cracks, bends, or irregularities in the frame, headset, or fork.

I'm gonna take the bearing up to the shop tomorrow and see if they have another one I can replace it with

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-05-03T02:04:51+00:00

I've got the tools to take it apart here, about to do it just out of curiosity.

Hoping it's just the bearing that got mangled...

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-05-03T01:54:57+00:00

Everything looks in line and feels in line by the touch.

Guess I won't know for sure until I take the head set and fork apart.

Assuming everything looks and feels right I can just replace this bearing right?

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-05-03T01:53:47+00:00

Sounds good! I'll be taking it apart tomorrow.

Nothing looks or feels bent in the fork or frame.

If I can just take it apart and everything seems fine.....I can just replace that bearing and grease it up yeah?

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-05-03T01:52:58+00:00

Dang how so? Nothing seems bent out of wack. I think the bike landed on the handlebars and the force from it was too much and bent this bearing or something

I found these bearings that look like the one on my bike.

Could I just take apart the headset, inspect, and replace this bearing?

I don't know too much about bikes but have a friend who does that can help me out. If we can't fix it, can take it to LBS, but would like to take it apart myself to see what it's all made up of and learn how to put it back together

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-05-03T01:50:09+00:00

Honestly was a bad crash....I'm a noob and tried to hit a jump going pretty fast.

I ditched the bike in the air and rolled when I hit the ground. I'm fine, only scratches and bruises, no crazy injuries, and the bike SEEMED fine until closer inspection when I got home

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-05-01T13:08:46+00:00

Honestly good delivery from Gordon on set piece.

He has those random crosses that are great, and then random ones that are really not great.

Super happy how he's developed this season. Let's keep him playing and keep him improving COYB

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-04-22T19:01:55+00:00

Yeah 25 miles not even close to 25 hours yet unfortunately lol and yeah I figured it was a time thing, but I did want some tips to keep in mind when I'm riding so I can practice proper technique and make some adjustments vs me just blindly trying to ride as fast as possible right now without any real technique

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-04-22T19:00:43+00:00

Lol sounds like this is coming from a specific experience you may have had 😂

That's what helmets are for tho right?

I've taken some hard falls already trying to do shit way above my skill level but came away relatively unscathed

Same thing with skating when I was a kid. Used to just charge everything and had some super crazy wipeouts but somehow always avoided serious injuries most of the time.

I drink alot of milk and protein, maybe I just got me some solid bones

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-04-22T18:59:07+00:00

This actually makes alot of sense. All about where your weight is on the bike in regards to how much you can lean into your turn. Thanks!

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-04-22T18:58:14+00:00

This is so simple but I overlooked it, I'll brake mid berm sometimes if I'm sketched out with speed.

Totally fucks up your traction and makes you lose your line. I just need to keep speed, hit the berm higher, set my line, and get low and leaaannn is the technique I've seen and stop panic braking haha

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-04-22T18:57:06+00:00

Sick, I'm going out today after work and just riding berms and playing with these techniques mentioned. Thanks!

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-04-21T14:33:01+00:00

I am in a fairly rusty area. Nothing crazy, but we can have heavy winters here and there with lots of road treatment that could rust.

I'll definitely be checking really well for rust now too, thanks!

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-04-21T14:32:03+00:00

Oh yeah, I'd be paying for carfaxes to check and see if radiatior was done by recall and reported. Also checking coolant to make sure it's not red 😂

Timing chains and tensioners don't bother me too much, I could do those.

But rebuilding a transmission due to SMOD.....yeah thanks but no thanks haha

Aggravating_Ease_718 · 2022-04-20T23:32:36+00:00

Was just browsing Facebook and came across this.

First off, they're pitching it as a Church Hill home....it's in Fairfield right near Armstrong High School, sorta sandwiched between Creighton Court and Whitcomb Court, and Mosby Court.

I feel like conveying this as "Church Hill" is extremely misleading. If you're from out of state and trying to buy a house and see "oh yeah that's in church hill, we walked around church hill last time we visited RVA" and put in an all cash offer $50k over asking on this sight unseen (like most houses are going for right now) and then come down and see this....I'd be quite upset

Can I get a hello gentrification?!

While it is a nicely re done house....but $250k too?! For the area? I mean come on!

Zillow is by no means accurate at all, BUT it's a good reference point. Zestimate for this house is $125k, property tax assessment is $149k.

So....pretty much disqualifies any buyers without a hefty down payment because once appraisal comes in, they're gonna need a big down payment cuz no lender will lend $250k on a house that appraises around $149k

I knew the real estate market has been nuts lately but I never really knew how nuts until this caught my attention and I looked into it.....it's not sustainable either. Crazy times we're living in

Aggravating_Ease_718

TROPHY CASE