(08-08-2020, 09:58 PM)CMT Wrote: I’m new here, thanks for reading my issue. I am having difficulty with my daughters 7 speed bike. We bought it for her for Easter, and the shifter worked fine up until about a month ago. The shifter became very hard to turn, even for me. Then it was impossible to turn. I tried several nights making adjustments, but I couldn’t fix it. So we finally just bought a new shifter. Now I can’t get it adjusted properly, it won’t shift to 1st or 7th gears, even when that is what the shifter reads. I’ve screwed/unscrewed all the adjusters multiple times in different combinations, but no luck. Loosened/tightened the cable, nothing works. There is an unknown I’m dealing with. I’m not a bike mechanic by any means, but a simple installation like this I get should take a max of 10-15 minutes. The derailer doesn’t look like it is bent, either. Thanks in advance for any assistance!
Hi CMT,
Welcome to the site. First, since the bike is not that old, it should be covered by a warranty for defective parts and workmanship; if you got this from a "big box" retailer and assembled it yourself, I don't know how that might affect the warranty coverage; but if it was assembled at the store for you then I would expect it to be fully covered. The same applies to having a bike shipped to you and doing the assembly yourself. If it worked properly for a month, then it should work properly for a few months barring any incidental damage which occurred in the interim.
I am not a fan of grip shifters if this is what you have. Due to that fact, I have none on any bike, my best advice since I really don't work on this style (I generally trade them out with a "thumb" shifters) is to mark your cable where it is clamped onto the derailleur and then disconnect the cable. If, when cycling the shifter through its range of movement, the grip moves freely then the problem is most likely related to the derailleur. Grab the derailleur by hand and try to move it; it will have some tension provided by the spring, but should still move freely. If the grip does not move freely than it is most likely the shifter and/or the cable/housing causing the problem. Usually a simple examination of the cable housing will suffice. If you see no extreme bends or kinks in the housing, the cable should be able to move through it without binding. Take note that the cable when reconnected to the derailleur and under load has greater friction involved and will make it move a little harder than when unconnected, but this should still not cause the grip shifter the be difficult to move. If you feel the need to replace the part, I would consult a bike shop on a recommended replacement part that will not have the same problem. There may be an adjustment on the grip assembly for the amount of effort required to shift, but I am not familiar enough with these to tell you where it might be (if indeed there is one), or what would be the best means of adjusting it.
If you do not feel confident doing this work then bring it to a shop and have them check it out. This seems to be a common problem with children's bikes and less costly adult bike since quite often the parts used are not of the highest quality both in function and durability.
I, personally, would have this taken care of as a warranty repair if at all possible. You should not have to pay for this problem to be resolved with a bike that new.
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