got a mountain bike grrr problems already

well i dont have any tranpostation i dont have a car or anything and i got sick of walking. so i got a used 1999 gt rebound moutain bike.i will save money on cabs i guess not that i ever take cabs lol but my dr is like 5 miles away maybe more it to me a while to walk there. i went for a long ride but dum me didnt bring water man im feeling so sickkkkkkk i fianl;y drove by a small store n got some gateraide but i didnt keep it down im home now but feel baddd lol im dum some days is a gt rebound a decent montain bike?edit problems. well it dont shift good so im getng it tuned up i may try it my self. but the odd problem is the seat swivels side to side . so i tighted up seat post. no good the seat post dont swivel it has like another post insde main seat post and it swivels. i dont see where to tighten it

Re: got a mountain bike

For the longer rides not in the neighborhood I like my offbrand Camelback, it is an 3 Liter Jansport Cirrus that I got at Sam's Club for almost half price. I got it initially for a day hike but now use it for riding because I found it too much of a nuisance to stop and open up a 20 oz. bottle. I also needed more water than that.

Re: got a mountain bike

hect the bad thing is the bike has 2 water holder brackets.and a water bottle which had the origanl recipt for the bike in it lol.

Re: got a mountain bike

GT Rebound is a good/great bike. If your using it for commuting on paved roads, change out the tires for some smoother (low rolling resistance) tires. Makes riding a bike that much easier, but definately stay hydrated.... Some find a hydration pack "not there style", in that case make use of those bottle holders...

Re: got a mountain bike

yeah them tires arew agrrsive that are on it.i think there even directinal

Re: got a mountain bike

So... you're going to be in the market for a bike light now....

Re: got a mountain bike

it has a led blinker for the rear. and a crappy halgen for front

Re: got a mountain bike

edit problems. well it dont shift good so im getng it tuned up i may try it my self. but the odd problem is the seat swivels side to side . so i tighted up seat post. no good the seat post dont swivel it has like another post insde main seat post and it swivels. i dont see where to tighten it

Re: got a mountain bike

For the shifting problem, you may have to adjust the cable that connects to the shifter (probably it got loose). That happened to my bike before, the shifting was pretty sluggish, but it was fine after I tightened the cable.

Re: got a mountain bike

About those hydration packs, I tried one out, but can't see how you're supposed to get the water out when it empties half way. The water outlet is up top, but the water pools in the bottom of the bladder. Are you supposed to clench your cheeks or something to pressurize the water out of it?
It'd take some talented individuals to develop enough suction to draw out the water otherwise.
If the outlet were on the bottom it'd work, but the only place for the tube is up top. What gives?

Re: got a mountain bike

The tube on my Camelbak is at the bottom, all you have to do is suck on the tube and you will pretty much get the last drop out of it.

Re: got a mountain bike

Raggie,
Kudos to you for getting a mountain bike, great way to get around and it keeps your body in shape.

The problems with shifting can involve a few things: cables, cable housings, corrosion in the cables/housings, bent derailleur hangers, bent derailluers, derailluer height adjustment incorrect and high/low screws out of adjustment on the derailluers, worn chain and worn rear gears (called a "cassette")
The #1 cause of bad shifting is cable stretch. The cables will stretch over time and the extra slack throws the indexing (click shifting) out of whack. There is an adjustment barrel on the end of the cable were it enters the derailluer. Just UNSCREW it a little to tighten the cable and bring it back into adjustment.

Yep, time for a fascinating read about cables from a bike guru

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cables.html

It is always amusing when a frustrated biker throws his ride at me and cusses out the shifting. Always something about !!@#$%^!! Shitmano or Crap Shift etc. I take a look and twist the barrel. They test it out and it works! The problem is they realize how it took me a few seconds to fix it and really get mad! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/rant.gif

The problem with your seat post can be several things also. Your discription leads me to this conclusion: your seat post has an adapter collar around it so it will fit in your frame. The reason for this is simple, mountain bikes use many different inner diameters of tubing for the frame so they "sleeve" in frame with that adapter so "normal" sizes of seat posts fit.

The use of the sleeve adapters is called "half-assing" the design and it causes problems by allowing another joint causing the seatpost to slip. To fix this is simple... tighten the seatpost clamp (it might be a quick release lever) until it stops slipping. Crank down the allen screw (or bolt) until it snaps in half then back it off a quarter turn (just kidding) If you get it really tight and the seat still pivots, you might need another adapter sleeve as it is the wrong size.

If it uses a quick release, spin the handle and attempt to rotate the lever to the opposite side. It is at the right tension if the lever is hard to push when you reach half-way. Force it over and you should be fine.

I would assume your front shifting on the crank really sucks. This is part of the vast right-wing conspiracy. Crank shifting is a royal pain in the booty if it uses Shimano push button type shifters, not so bad if Grip Shift. Keep screwing with the adjustments until it works or do what I do, I use friction shifters for the front derailluer (old school in that the front derailluer moves what ever distance the cable pulls it)

If I lived in Florida, I would come over and strip your bike down, grease/adjust the bearings, throw new cables/housings on the beast and send you on your way. Alas, I sit here in Texas keeping my families herd of bicycles, mountain bikes, recumbents and BMX bikes rolling.

Keep me posted on your progress so I can continue to post long, boring and annoying bike posts. Good luck!

Re: got a mountain bike

[ QUOTE ]
Wingerr said:
About those hydration packs, I tried one out, but can't see how you're supposed to get the water out when it empties half way. The water outlet is up top, but the water pools in the bottom of the bladder. Are you supposed to clench your cheeks or something to pressurize the water out of it?
It'd take some talented individuals to develop enough suction to draw out the water otherwise.
If the outlet were on the bottom it'd work, but the only place for the tube is up top. What gives?

[/ QUOTE ]

I have never heard of one with the tubing at the top. I have 2 suggestions you might want to try:

1) Is to do is to suck all the air out, then you will get most of it out.
2) You could also flip it upside down.

Hope it helps!

Now for my problem. When shifting by rear gears won't reach the highest level unless I leave it there and then ride over a bumpy area. Then when down shifting from the highest on both the front and rear gear units it won't go unless I go down 2 gear levels and then bring it back up. Anyone have an idea of what is going on and how to fix it?

Re: got a mountain bike

here is pic btw

Re: got a mountain bike

JO,
I am not sure if the highest level means the largest rear gears or the highest gears (smaller ones)

Soooo, here I go again! The reason your bike will shift if you hit bumps is the chain will swing a little bit side to side and then get caught by the ramps on the sides of the gears. This is evident by you shifting down 2 gear levels then slapping the shifter up quickly to the gear you want.

This can be caused by two things, cable stretch and the hi/low screws not allowing the derailluer to swing out to the extremes of the gears. Those two screws on the derailluer set the maximum amount the derailluer can move. If they are out, your shifting will either be poor when shifting into the large rear gear or smallest one.

Most likely, the highest level gears are the largest ones on the back. The large gear that sits next to the spokes. This will be the first symptom of shifting problems as the derailluer is at it's limit of spring tension so the cable is at maximum tension. If the cable stretches, it will not swing as far over as it needs to go.

If the highest level is the small gear on the back (the one next to the frame) that can easily be adjusted with one of those two screws to let the derailluer move over farther. If you screw around with those adjustments, be very careful! If the adjustment that allows the rear derailluer to move past the largest rear gear, it can force the derailluer into the spokes. This can cause broken spokes, destroyed derailluer or worse, ripping the rear derailluer off the frame and taking part of the frame with it.

The front derailluer also has those screws, generally speaking, the front derailluer suffers from cable stretch and it will not shift up to the largest front chainring. Since the spring loaded front derailluer naturally will shift down into the smallest chainring, the problem lies with the largest chainring shift problems. Alas, it is cable stretch that causes that problem.

Some front derailluers have that adjustment barrel that you screw out to take up the slack and tighten the cable. If it does, adjust the barrel. If not, you will have to manually loosen the screw that clamps the cable and pull it out a touch with pliers. That is the pain in the butt part, indexing front shifters make it worse.

If you tell me what type of shifters you use (Shimano trigger shifters, SRAM Grip Shift or thumb shifters) I can get a better idea of how to adjust them. I used to have a link that showed how to perform all bike maintenance to include adjustments for all types of shifters. I should look for it as it has pictures which makes it easier to understand.

Re: got a mountain bike

Raggie,
Thanks for the pic, it shows you have a quick release seat post clamp. This is how to tighten it. See that lever right next to the bottom of the seat post? Pull the lever down (or to the opposite side) This will loosen the clamp and your seat post will be really loose.

On the opposite side of the lever (other side of bike) you will see a round thing that is threaded on a post. Turn the round thing clock wise a complete turn or two to tighten it. Then push the lever back into the original position and that will tighten the clamp.

If the seat still swivels, pull the lever back to loosen and tighten the other side of the clamp, generally a round thing but it could have black plastic "wings" on it. Turn it clockwise again to tighten it another turn or two. The lever should give you a lot of pressure when it gets to half-way of it's swing. If it gets hard to push before you get half-way, it can be too tight. You should feel a lot of pressure when the lever gets to half-way of it's arc.

Your wheels have the quick release levers on them also, they are adjusted the same way.

Re: got a mountain bike

got that lever tight i mean very tight still no luck the part it grips when ya tighten it dont move it swvels insdie there

Re: got a mountain bike

it swivels where i made black aroow. sorry for bad pic

Re: got a mountain bike

Camelbak hydration packs I've seen are set up so the bag goes into the pack with the tube connection at the bottom of the pack and the filler cap at the top. The drink tube is long enough to reach from the bottom of the bag, to the top, and over the straps to where you can reach it to get a drink. Any other setup doesn't make sense and I'd pass on any other type of system that didn't work like that.

-(a different) Craig

Re: got a mountain bike

Even after you get the shifters nice and smooth, something else to remember is that you really shouldn't use all 21 or 24 gears. When the chain is on the middle front chainring, it is safe to access all 7 or 8 of the rear gears. If you're on the front outside chainring, you really shouldn't access the rear inside 3-4 gears and vice versa, if you're on the front inside chainring, then don't access the 3-4 outside rear gears. If you look down on the drivetrain, you'll see why. The chain is crossing over at an angle to both gears and will cause premature wear on the drivetrain. But your shifter should be set up so that you can smoothly access ALL gears.