The Lotus Rides Again

I think I Fixed It.

Finally got my hands dirty and fixed the shifting problem that the Lotus was having. The reason that I tinkered with it in the first place you might recall, was because the gears would shift by themselves. Funny if your watching a Disney kids movie, not funny if you are climbing a hill and your bike decides you should be riding in the hardest gear. My first attempt at fixing it, solved the auto shift problem, but left me with only 2 working gears out of 27. Not good.

You know that I want to get in a 20 mile ride on the Lotus to properly send it off, back to it's owner. Also, I'd like to return it in a little better shape than I got it. So I headed to the garage last night determined to fix it.

I started with the rear derailleur, because that's what I messed around with the most last time. There was a bolt that could be loosened, which would allow the gear cable to be pulled tighter or given more slack. I thought this was how to solve my problems last time, but since it didn't really work, I put the cable back the way it was before I messed with it and moved on. Next, I found that where the cable entered the rear derailleur, there was a thing I could turn that would loosen or tighten the cable. I messed around with that a bit, but I was noticing that no matter what I did, whether tighter or looser, the shift lever itself, didn't have enough tension on it to keep the thing in the gear that was selected. Eureka! So I tighten that screw, which I may or may not have fumbled with when I "fixed" it last time, and it all came together.

Not only did the rear derailleur move when you moved the shifter, now the shifter was staying in place and keeping the bike in gear. Before I got too excited, I took it to the streets and tested it out in my neighborhood. The thing was shifting like a dream. Well, a thirty year old dream, but you know what I mean. Bottom line, I think it's really fixed this time. The weather is supposed to be great today, so the goal is to get home as early as possible and get in a farewell 20 miles on the old Lotus. It just feels right.

Project: Lotus Re-Birth

Planning a Farewell Ride

So I'm psyched about the new bike and with a couple rides under my belt, I'm feeling pretty good. The only downer is that it'll soon be time to return the loaner to it's rightful owner, my father-in-law Larry. As you know, the Lotus served me well by getting me into cycling with a healthy appreciation for the sport, it's history and it's technological advances. Mostly the technological advances thing. But all good things must come to an end.

To properly close this chapter I feel like I need to give it a good, long, send-off ride. I'd love to break the 20 mile mark on the Lotus...it just feels like the right thing to do. Yes, you know by now that I'm a little bit of a glutton for punishment, I did sign up for a 100 mile road race without owning a bike after all, but I'm not crazy. Riding 20 miles on the Lotus would be a nightmare unless I fix the shifting. I have to admit, after riding a bike that allows you to shift to any gear, at any time, I've found that it's better. Way better.

So on to the fixing. Yup, I'm taking another crack at this shifting mystery. I'm heading to the garage to fix it. I hear you, I know that my bike mechanic skills left me a little high and dry last time, but I was in a rush, trying to squeeze in a ride so I'm thinking with a little bit of time and with the pressure off, I should be able to figure this out. The Lotus deserves that much at least. I'll keep you posted.