Gear Shifter Issues

[Rama Owhl]

I have a Nitro Next Aluminum mountain bike that I got to fix up. Its a 21 speed. The Shifter grips will not turn. However, when i use my hand to force the wire closest to the rear sprocket the chain shifts. I do not believe it is the wire. Is the grip shift jammed? Is it just dirty? I dont know how to pull the handle apart completely. Its basically the wire and the two shifting pieces. Do i pry them apart?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

~eager to learn bike repair

[Joe_W]

Best guess: frayed / worn / broken / gummed up cable. Try to remove and replace that one first. See Alex' tutorials on how to do that. How old is the bike? Did you leave it in the rain often? Do you live near the coast? All those things need to be taken into account when thinking about how often to replace those. I replace mine when they are broken, but I check them regularly.

[Rama Owhl]

(06-07-2011, 03:36 PM)Joe_W Wrote:  Best guess: frayed / worn / broken / gummed up cable. Try to remove and replace that one first. See Alex' tutorials on how to do that. How old is the bike? Did you leave it in the rain often? Do you live near the coast? All those things need to be taken into account when thinking about how often to replace those. I replace mine when they are broken, but I check them regularly.

I pulled the wires apart and they were very gummed/rusted. Figure thats the issue. They couldn't move inside the outer rubber part. I have no idea where the bike came from but it appears it was left out to weather.

Ill look up the tutorials. Thanks.