[Search for users] [Overall Top Noters] [List of all Conferences] [Download this site]

Conference noted::bicycle

Title: Bicycling
Notice:Bicycling for Fun
Moderator:JAMIN::WASSER
Created:Mon Apr 14 1986
Last Modified:Fri Jun 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:3214
Total number of notes:31946

344.0. "Suntour Accushift Experience?" by STAR::TEAGUE (I'm not a doctor,but I play one on TV...) Mon Jun 15 1987 11:13


My girlfriend and I recently ordered a pair of Specialized Stumpjumpers
(identical except mine is a 2" bigger bike).  I picked mine up last Thursday, 
and is it *ever* a great bike.  The Stumpjumper has the new Suntour Accushift 
thumbshifter/brake lever combo unit, with XC 9000 derailleurs.  After 
testriding several bikes, we preferred the Suntour units...the rear shifting 
was about the same, but the front derailleur was much more positive.

Karen and I went to get hers on Saturday, and it turned out to have shifting 
problems that apparently were tricky to fix.  We spent about 2 hours with the 
shop owner tweaking, testriding, tweaking, testriding, etc.  They guy ended up 
replacing the freewheel AND the shifter, and there still wasn't much 
improvement.  We ended up leaving the bike for a couple of days.  VERY 
disappointing: weekends like the previous one are hard to come by.

I read a comparison between Shimano SIS and Suntour Accushift in 
Mountain Bike magazine.  They didn't like the Accushift because it basically
behaved like the bike that we took back for adjustment: the lever would 
either have to be backed up and re-shifted, or else the shift would be 
very slow (for an indexed shifter) : about 1 second.

Does anyone else have experience with Accushift?  Did Karen get a lemon?
Or did I get a peach?

.jim
T.RTitleUserPersonal
Name		DateLines
344.1Pears and LemonsSRFSUP::GOLDSMITHI salute Kernel Mode!Mon Jun 15 1987 15:5723
    
    Congrats! The StumpJumper is a great bike.
    
    I just bought a RockHopper, my decision was made after testing both the
    RockHopper and the StumpJumper. 
    
    The RockHopper comes with the Shimano Deore (SIS) derailleur set, I
    found the rear shifting to be a lot smoother then the XC7000 or XC9000.
    However, the front shifting of the Deores is not really made for a
    triple crankset. I am debating swapping out to a Deore XT for the front
    only. I will agree, the XC9000 does shift better up front. 
    
    One note, while the standard StumpJumper has XC9000s, the StumpJumper
    Comp ($900) and Team ($1400) both have Deore XTs. 
    
    The owner of my local shop swears by the XC9000s, most local ATBers
    swear by the Deores XTs, mostly for the problems you've described.
    My impression is that the Accushifts are more of a maintenance headache
    then the Shimanos.
    
    Good Luck.
    
    							--- Neal
344.2Problems are the exceptionSTAR::TEAGUEI'm not a doctor,but I play one on TV...Tue Jun 16 1987 09:0624
Something I didn't state explicitly in .0 is that *my* Stumpjumper shifts like 
a dream...snick, snick, snick.  

Last night I called 4 mountain bike shops around the country (you're welcome,
Ma Bell) and they all said that they knew of no problems with the Accushift
stuff.  One even stated that they were wary of the Accushift when it first
came out, but that it has proven itself well (or as well as anything can in
its first year).  

These days, practically all mountain bikes run Shimano S.I.S., but that's more 
a function of what was available at the time than which is better.  That is 
not intended to be a slap at Shimano.  Let's face it: Deore is great stuff and
it's proven.  I did notice that the SJ Comp and the SJ Team models came with 
Deore XT -- I suspect that the more conservative approach is to go with proven
stuff on your more serious bikes.  As time marches on it will be interesting 
to see how many bikes end up with Suntour vs. Shimano.  No predictions!

Anyway, I considered the testimonials to Accushift to be good news.  I'll make
an entry once things get fixed.  We're supposed to call the shop today and
find out what the scoop is.

.jim
344.3EpilogSTAR::TEAGUEI'm not a doctor,but I play one on TV...Thu Jul 16 1987 13:4113
Update time.

Well, we will never know what the problem is (was)...

One of the options offered to her was a new bike.  Since the bike
shop owner had had *numerous* chances to fix/adjust the bike and 
couldn't, Karen decided to go with a complete new bike.

Mine is still working like a champ.

.jim
344.4Accushift shifting roughlyOXNARD::KLEEKen LeeMon Apr 13 1992 15:0910
    I'm having some trouble with the Accushift setup on my touring bike.  I
    have bar-end shifters (dropped handlebars) and a XCD6000 derailleur. 
    No matter how hard I try, I can only get the indexing to work smoothly
    on half of the freewheel cogs (big 3 or small 3, depending on the cable
    tension adjustment).  The derailleur and shifters are a few years and
    several thousand miles old, so I assume that one (or both) is worn out.
    Any ideas on which I should replace?  Thanks.
    
    Ken
344.5ChainWMOIS::RIVETTS_DDave Rivetts, WMO, USCD, 241-4627Tue Apr 14 1992 07:323
    It could be the chain.
    
    Dave