Fixed bike shifter

[FLBiker]

OK, admittedly, this was so easy it doesn't remotely count as bad ass.

I was biking home yesterday, and my shifter stopped working.  I've got an 8 year old Gary Fisher Mako.  Basically, one of the levers on the trigger shifter wasn't catching at all.  I figured I needed a new shifter, which would probably also mean replacing the cable.  Doable, but I've never done it before, so I figured I'd spend a couple hours on Saturday learning how to do it, and make do with 1 front gear in the meantime.  Fortunately, I googled it.  Turns out I just needed to clean out the shifter.  I didn't even open it.

1) Spray in WD-40.
2) Click through the gears to work it around.
3) Wipe it off.
4) Spray in lube (I used Triflow).
5) Click through the gears to work it around.
6) Wipe it off.

Took about 5 minutes while my oatmeal was soaking this morning.

[homestead neohio]

I have been operating with 1 shifter for some time.  I had put off trying to fix it because I thought I'd have to tear it open and then who knows if/when I'll get it together correctly.  Thanks for posting this, I'm going to try it!

[FLBiker]

Here's the video I used:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lJ3vCtWYvw

Good luck!

[Erica]

That is kindof difficult to do if you've never done it before. Good you thought of youtube!

I am surprised you did it so fast! 



 I got a flat tire and it got wrapped around in the spokes. That's never happened in over 20 years. Not wanting to walk the whole way back I rode it while it was flat. No Cell Service for a long while. It was 10pm and I was riding alone. Feeling too vulnerable to just walk on the side of the road and ditch the bike somewhere. Hubby decided to check it out His first thought it was a job for the bike shop. But he  got it fixed in just a half hour.

I bought thorn proof tubes with slime inside this time --> http://www.ebay.com/itm/281436213653?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT Been going cheap buying tubes at KMART as needed. Seemed as if there wasn't any difference, hadn't gotten a flat for 4 months. It's back to pre-ordering the quality tubes as i usually do.

[FLBiker]

I got a flat tire and it got wrapped around in the spokes. That's never happened in over 20 years.

Wow, I've never even heard of that before.  Were you on a road bike?  I can't even imagine how that would happen on a mountain bike.

My worst bike failure was a few years ago -- the crankarm broke as I was pedaling.  So I basically hit the bottom of my pedaling stroke and my foot kept going until I hit the sidewalk.  I went flying.  I was fine, but it sure caught me by surprise.

[Erica]

I got a flat tire and it got wrapped around in the spokes. That's never happened in over 20 years.

Wow, I've never even heard of that before.  Were you on a road bike?  I can't even imagine how that would happen on a mountain bike.

My worst bike failure was a few years ago -- the crankarm broke as I was pedaling.  So I basically hit the bottom of my pedaling stroke and my foot kept going until I hit the sidewalk.  I went flying.  I was fine, but it sure caught me by surprise.

Wow I am glad you weren't hurt flying off your bike like that. I am pretty ADD so when things happen like that, I have a ton of time to decide while in the air how to land property. Or as best I can. Time goes in slow motion for me. I've been hit by a car before and had another incident happen where I should've died (sliding down a dam) but didn't. Now I am more careful but it's comforting to be able to know in an emergency, it is different feeling than most people experience. Keep your bike tuned up well and that will avoid accidents

Yes I was riding my Mtn Bike on the road at the time. I have a Felt Road bike but never liked it despite all the hype. It feels more like a Tinkertoy and the hardcore roadies look at me strange when I say that. I've never heard of it either, so I will stay far away from KMART when buying tires. My husband said I ran over a huge nail, he was pretty surprised. There's been alot of construction going on in that area.

[homestead neohio]

I did this last night!  Like OP I did not have to open it up, just squirt it and work it, first with WD-40, then spray lube. 

The kids and I brought bikes inside to work on them for an evening project before dinner.  I fixed my stuck shifter and adjusted my rear derailleur, they put their chains on, and together we adjusted their chain tension and lubed cables and chains.  Ready to hit the road!

[Erica]

I did this last night!  Like OP I did not have to open it up, just squirt it and work it, first with WD-40, then spray lube. 

The kids and I brought bikes inside to work on them for an evening project before dinner.  I fixed my stuck shifter and adjusted my rear derailleur, they put their chains on, and together we adjusted their chain tension and lubed cables and chains.  Ready to hit the road!

That's great you all did that together. The hands on skills you teach while having fun with them should really pay off

[dilinger]

Check out the rest of RJ the Bike Guy's videos, they're great and incredibly useful.  I just upgraded my wife's 1990s Cannondale from downtube shifters to STI shifters (ie "brifters") based on one of his videos.  The best part is, the brifters were dumpster dived - it turns out that they always get gummed up over time, and require being cleaned out with WD-40.  Bike shops just throw them away rather than clean them out, but they're perfectly fine.  They're also pretty expensive new!  He has numerous other videos describing how to fix/clean brifters, I used those to fix them.  My wife's other bike is a Dahon folding bike with brifters that stopped shifting after 5 years - again, same video, just cleaned them out and they're good as new.

[hollis]

This is a common problem with old trigger shifters.  Sometimes all you need to do is spray it down.   Other times you need to take them apart and work stuff in a little more thoroughly.

I work at a bike shop and we charge $15 per shifter for this if it needs done.  Congrats on the fix!