Having a derailleur nightmare...

[B2200]

Hello all. Fairly new to bikes here. I say fairly because essentially I AM new, but I feel like I've watched every video and read every tutorial on how to tune/repair a rear derailleur on the internet. So I feel like I have a general idea of what's going on, but, I digress...

The other night I took a pretty epic spill avoiding a car leaving a nearby bar. After I collected myself, I noticed the shift cable was still attached, but had come off the frame and was hanging almost to the ground.

Got it home, put the shift cables back where they needed to be and I've been having problems ever since. Here's how it was acting when I gave up and decided to write this post:

I'm going to give as much detail as possible here, I know it helps. I have a Diamondback Kalamar LX, which has a Shimano TX-31 rear derailleur.

While in 7th (which is the last) gear, the shifter displays somewhere between 6 and 7.
[attachment=1497]

As long as I'm twisting it, it will display 7....but when I let go, it pulls it back half way to 6 - though the actual derailleur doesn't move.

As I shift up, 6th gear is fine. At 5, it stops clicking and 'locking' into gears, though the derailleur continues to move through the cassette without much problem...although the numbers on the shifter don't correspond with the actual gear. The display says 1, but am actually still in 2nd, and when I'm in 1st, the display is blank (having gone past 1).
[attachment=1498]

I've disconnected the cable, and even without tension it still won't sit properly at 7.

I've sat for hours attempting to fine tune the barrel adjuster. I can never seem to get it to a point where I can go all the way up the gears smoothly, and then back down past 6 where it usually gets stuck unless I give it more slack with the barrel adjuster - somewhere near 9-11 turns...then of course it won't shift back up after giving it that much.


I'm just so incredibly frustrated with it at this point. If you need any more pictures or info let me know. I'll be glad to provide it/them if it will help me fix it!

Thanks in advance!

[X-RAY]

sounds like the cable got stretched or something. i got a 7speed that does that too, but it has a temporarily installed 8speed shifter. its hard to guess at this without seeing it/messing with it in person. where in pa are you?
next time, let the car hit you, call your lawyer, and retire! just kidding.

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maybe the cable got pulled out of adjustment from the pinch bolt or whatever it attaches to in the shifter. can you give a better description of the crash, what got hit and stuff?

[B2200]

I'm from Altoona. How about yourself?

If I can't fix it, I've got about 4 days until the 30-day return policy at Dick's is up. Maybe I can convince them to tune it/repair it for free if I agree to buy the extended warranty...

EDIT: Sorry, didn't see the second part of your post. I've disconnected and reconnected the cable from the derailleur and it hasn't helped, but I haven't looked at anything with the actual shifter.

The wreck...nothing actually hit me. I was riding down an otherwise empty of traffic, barely lit road, gradually drifting left towards the nearest road sign I could lock my bike up on. I was standing on my pedals, pressing the brakes expecting to just ride into the grass and stop next to the sign. (That side of the street lacks a sidewalk) I was about half way across the street when the car approached a stop sign on my left at the cross street about 10 yards in front of me and turned towards me without stopping. When I moved further left to avoid their very sharp, earlier-than-expected turn...I hit a nice big pot hole that sent me practically over the handlebars and off to the right. Tore up my knee and gave me some pain in my wrist, but the hanging shifter cable was the only apparent injury to the bike.

[DaveM]

It's very easy to bend the derailleur hanger in a crash. And if it's a little off, it is very hard to ever get the shifting adjusted right. I'd check that first.

Beyond that, I would worry about what number is visible on the shifter. The little indicator might have gotten bumped out of place. What matters is the "clicks". If you're in the first position on the shifter, you should be on the first cog, etc. Don't try to adjust to suit the visual marks, just adjust to get the shifting smooth.

[X-RAY]

id take it back to the store. its worth a shot. im about 15 miles from the groundhog.

[B2200]

I read through the fine print in the warranty booklet from Dick's and it covers just about nothing. Basically just normal wear and tear...but only if it's not due to an accident or crash. (...or civil war, rebellion, riot or acts of god).

I'm just going to try to make it out to my LBS today and have them take a look. At least then I'll be confident that everything will be done right. I'll be sure to check back with what they say/do.

[B2200]

Just got back from the shop and got it all taken care of. Turns out the shifter was broken. A little plastic piece inside of it had snapped, probably when my foot tore the shift cable from the frame. Anyway, they replaced that, made the necessary adjustments and everything is back to normal now. Thanks for everyone's responses!