Help with Suntour XCD 6000

Hi everyone, I must be getting dumber as I get older. I put higher handlebars on my old Cannondale MTB, and screwed up the rear derailleur cable. Grabbed a new cable and put it on, but I couldn't get the rear to work. It would upshift fine but not downshift, I'd need to do two clicks to get it to downshift, and it was doing all sorts of odd things. Or, I could get it to downshift fine but it wouldn't upshift properly. So, without removing the chain or cables, I removed the derailleur, figured I'd clean and lube it a bit. Yes, I was being lazy. But now, I can't figure out how to get it back on. It's like there's not enough room between the plastic stopper and the hole in the hanger for the derailleur. If anyone has any high-res pics of the combination of derailleur and hanger from a few different angles, that would be handy.

Thanks!
 

black lightning 1987

Moderator
Staff member
Not sure what the problem is. The XCD mounts in a conventional manner. My guess is that you just have to rotate it to the correct position before starting the hanger bolt.

As to your shifting, let's first define upshifting and downshifting. Upshifting is shifting to a higher gear ratio, which on a bike means a smaller cog in the rear or a larger ring in the front. My guess is that you have excess cable friction somewhere which the spring in the rear derailleur can't overcome when upshifting. Two clicks will often let the derailleur move to a smaller cog. You probably need new housing.
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Thanks for the pics, appreciate that. You're right about the upshift / downshift, I should've been more specific. There was a small piece of plastic that was part of the stopper that butts up against the hanger, but unfortunately, that popped off into my garage somewhere. The derailleur seems to work about the same without it 'though. I'll check the cable again. It's a new cable, and I lightly greased it, but I used the existing housing in the rear. Thanks for the advice.
 

black lightning 1987

Moderator
Staff member
The XCD is kind of unique in having that plastic piece on the mount. I haven't taken a close look but I'm guessing that there is less spring force in the mount pivot if the little plastic block is missing.

If you have a 1989 SM800, I'd like to see it.
 
I may need to make a new version of the piece, it disappeared. There is a pic of the bike in the forum photos but, here it is. If you're anywhere near Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, come and take it for a ride. I was surprised at how different it feels with the new bars. Now, if I can just figure out why the rear derailleur is screwed up...
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black lightning 1987

Moderator
Staff member
1988 SM600, very cool. I will try to look for a parts derailleur. There are a couple on eBay that are in the $25-35 range but they may not want to ship to Canada. I know that I have several here, just need to find them.
 
Thanks very much! For now, I'll just work with it as is. Much of my riding is tight, technical stuff or even trials, so shifting under duress is fairly rare. The fourth chainwheel on the front cluster was installed by the original owner (I'm the second), who rode bicycle trials.
 
I've given it a fairly reasonable cleaning and lubing, and it seems to be better. The only trouble spot now is from the largest cog to the second largest. It eventually settles in but it's not perfect. It may get better with use as the lube works through, and how much can I really expect from a 30+ year old derailleur.

Putting the slightly upswept bars on, a necessity brought on by age, has shown how comfortable I was with the straight bars. My back and neck can't handle them anymore but the new bars will take some time to get used to, while I fool with control placement and the position of the bars.
 
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