Suddenly my mountain bike starts "ghost shifting.” Ghost shifting is when a bike shifts gears spontaneously. Not only is it annoying but that sudden jerk and click has regurgitated some horrible flashbacks of a 9-year-old boy trying to out run the neighborhood dog on his bike.

Casually riding my bike down our street with my friends, I hear a snort and then spot the “BEAST” shoot out from under the front porch of ITS house. I look to my friends but they are already at full sprint - butts in the air, legs pumping furiously. I’m the lone straggler of the herd!

Survival adrenaline shoots through my muscles and I immediately stand up off my banana seat, pull back on my tall silver handlebars and place all my weight on one pedal of my orange bike to accelerate.

But the chain on my bike suddenly skips and clicks as it tries to break free from the metal gear cogs. After a millisecond it catches but not before fear swells in my chest. I feverishly pump my legs to pick up speed but behind me (and to my right) I hear the clickity, click sounds of nails on asphalt and the heavy rhythmic exhales of hot breath as the BEAST closes in on me.

Would this be the day IT tears me from my metal steed? Would my little brother get my bike? Would he finally get the bottom bunk? Pedal faster…must pedal faster…

But that is another story…back to my mountain bike.

To fix the problem, I would have to adjust the rear derailler on my mountain bike and so I started to research the process online. I soon found that all the procedures require you to use a bike stand to hold up the bike, pedal, shift and then adjust. Dang...those puppies are expensive! Anywhere’s from $80 - $120!

So I decide to make it out of one of my favorite materials - PVC. I quickly found dozens of plans online (I love the web) and then settled on one that would mount to my work bench since I wouldn't be using it that much.

Below are pictures of the finished build and it worked. Plus the bonus is that it only cost me $15 bucks! I already had some of the parts and the glue.

Oh...when the instructions state, "Use in a well ventilated area" they mean it. I was getting a bit fuzzy and finally opened the garage door to let some fresh air in since I had stifled a scream when I thought the BEAST was at my feet! I realized it was only a black tool bag.

I was able to adjust the gears and repress those heart-pounding flashbacks.

This started out as a "build project" and I'm experimenting with a new slideshow format but then I started to reminisce about my childhood so I filed this under MUSINGS. And no, that's not a picture of my childhood bike up there - but it's pretty darn close!

Thanks for letting me share.

G-man

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