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Ghost shifting with my Hollowpoint Expert

1688 Views 13 Replies 9 Participants Last post by 92SE-R, Dec 7, 2007

anomaly

Discussion Starter · Jul 11, 2007

Well, it seems to be a sad sad day for my Hollowpoint. I picked it up for cheap on CL last year, and I think I've figured out why. After changing the hanger, rear derailleur, cassette, chain and shifter cable I am still at the same problem. It only shifts smoothly going up in gears or down in gears, and when the derailleur is extended you can still see that it is bent inwards. There is nothing else left to be bent besides the frame

I might just turn it in to a single speed but I just don't know, I'm pretty bummed about it.

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KevinB

· #2 · Jul 11, 2007

anomaly said:
Well, it seems to be a sad sad day for my Hollowpoint. I picked it up for cheap on CL last year, and I think I've figured out why. After changing the hanger, rear derailleur, cassette, chain and shifter cable I am still at the same problem. It only shifts smoothly going up in gears or down in gears, and when the derailleur is extended you can still see that it is bent inwards.

What do you mean by "it only shifts smoothly going up in gears or down in gears"? What else is there? You mentioned ghost shifting in the title, so I assume you're getting some of that.

How badly is the derailleur bent inwards? New hangers on good frames are not always in alignment. The Park DAG-1 (derailleur alignment gauge) can be used not only to assess how badly the hanger is out of alignment, but can be used to bend it so that it is in alignment. This is one of the things that I check when my bike is not shifting properly. The other major culprit for bad shifting is dirty cable housing. If you haven't done so already, replace the cable housing too. (You mentioned that you had replaced the cables, but I'm unsure whether you also replaced the housing.)

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wormvine

· #3 · Jul 12, 2007

KevinB said:
What do you mean by "it only shifts smoothly going up in gears or down in gears"? What else is there? You mentioned ghost shifting in the title, so I assume you're getting some of that.

How badly is the derailleur bent inwards? New hangers on good frames are not always in alignment. The Park DAG-1 (derailleur alignment gauge) can be used not only to assess how badly the hanger is out of alignment, but can be used to bend it so that it is in alignment. This is one of the things that I check when my bike is not shifting properly. The other major culprit for bad shifting is dirty cable housing. If you haven't done so already, replace the cable housing too. (You mentioned that you had replaced the cables, but I'm unsure whether you also replaced the housing.)

I totally agree!!! If the derailleur isn't straight in plane with the cassette, you will have shifting problems. The last 3 hangers I replaced I had to align them.

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micky

· #4 · Jul 12, 2007

It could be a few issues

Have you checked if the derailer hanger is bent. This could cause problems.

Also the rear derailer can wear out. We are talking about a 3 year old bike. If it did you will have shifting issues (the pivots where the derailer move). It has happened to me in the past and a new rear derailer was the solution.

I have also found the derailer hanger on the Hollowpoint to be somewhat flimsy. Make sure the skewer on the rear wheel is tight. It seems to make a difference on my bike.

Also, a short housing for the rear derailer from the frame to the rear triangle can cause the derailer to slightly shift during compression/rebound.

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sbermhb

· #5 · Jul 13, 2007

Are you using Shimano or SRAM rear derailleur? I had a ghost shifting issue on my Titus with Shimano RD. The active rear suspension pulled on the cable and caused ghost shifting. SRAM, with the more direct cable line resolved the problem.

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anomaly

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 13, 2007

sbermhb said:
Are you using Shimano or SRAM rear derailleur? I had a ghost shifting issue on my Titus with Shimano RD. The active rear suspension pulled on the cable and caused ghost shifting. SRAM, with the more direct cable line resolved the problem.

Shimano, I am pretty sure something is bent. When you have it shifted into the easiest 3-4 gears you can see the derailleur is off by a pretty good angle.

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wormvine

· #7 · Jul 13, 2007

get the hanger aligned!

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bacolmm

· #8 · Dec 2, 2007

I’m having the same issue and it’s driving me nuts. I have an 04 Hollowpoint that shifted perfectly until I caught the rear-derailleur (Shimano XT) in the spokes. I replaced the rear-derailleur, hanger, cassette, cable and housing, chain and front chain-rings. I’ve had it to my LBS a half a dozen times and they can’t get it fixed. I’ve watched them align the hanger and the bike shifts perfectly in the stand, but goes to Hell when I ride it?

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broncbuster

· #9 · Dec 2, 2007 (Edited)

bacolmm said:
I'm having the same issue and it's driving me nuts. I have an 04 Hollowpoint that shifted perfectly until I caught the rear-derailleur (Shimano XT) in the spokes. I replaced the rear-derailleur, hanger, cassette, cable and housing, chain and front chain-rings. I've had it to my LBS a half a dozen times and they can't get it fixed. I've watched them align the hanger and the bike shifts perfectly in the stand, but goes to Hell when I ride it?

Is it possible you have the wrong chain / As in an 8 speed chain intead of a 9

Also back pedal by hand and check for any stiff links / usually you can spot them at the derailleur cogs

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broncbuster

· #10 · Dec 2, 2007

In a pinch you can align the hanger by using an allen wrench in the bolt that attaches the derailleur to the hanger.Use the wrench for leverage to bend the hanger in line towards the front chain ring (big gear in back small gear in front or vice versa) and also make any vertical adjustment. Be careful not to over correct the hanger will only bend so many times before braking.

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92SE-R

· #11 · Dec 3, 2007

I could never get my Shimano XT rear to shift correctly on my Hollowpoint. It was always ghost shifting and requiring adjustments.

Solution? Switched to SRAM and never looked back. Guaranteed.

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Jan R

· #12 · Dec 4, 2007

never had a problem with my xt just need to make sure the cable between top tube and swingarm is not to long or two short and I also run and old school rolamajig at the derailure and shifting is great and responsive under load and without a load on the drive train. also make sure u have a good chain and another thing to check would be the cassette seems to me that everytime i put a chain on I have to replace the cassete or skip jump skip under a load and that is keeping an eye on the chain for to much were so no i just run the hell out of the chain till its completly shot then replace them both. and make sure the hanger is strait although that really never affected mine to much and then I would get done with the ride and put an allen wrench in the hanger mount and get it strait again but that has only happened on 2 occasions. and last thing is I allways install shimano cables, they are by far the best working cables I have used and very rearly ever need to adjust once set up properly hope this helps
Jan R
Ride On

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bacolmm

· #13 · Dec 4, 2007

92SE-R said:
I could never get my Shimano XT rear to shift correctly on my Hollowpoint. It was always ghost shifting and requiring adjustments.

Solution? Switched to SRAM and never looked back. Guaranteed.

I originally had an XT rear derailleur on this bike and it shifted flawless until it got tangled in the rear spokes. Having said that, I'm getting desperate and if a Sram derailleur can solve my problem, I'm all for it. My understanding is that Sram has derailleurs that will work with Shimano shifters and others that will only work with Sram shifters. Will I need to change my shifters as well, to make this work? Is it possible that my Shimano trigger shifter are worn out and causing my problem (they are one of the only variables left that I didn't change)? Is there a specific Sram derailleur that you would recommend?

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92SE-R

· #14 · Dec 7, 2007

SRAM rear X series der. do not work with Shimano shifters. Those are the ones to get though. Shimano front der. work with SRAM shifters. Get a SRAM rear X.7. They are $35 and get a set of X.7 shifters. For less than 100 bucks, your drivetrain will never shift better. X.9's are a tad better, but the current X.7's are yesteryears X.9's.

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