My gears don't shift!

[Guest]

Hi I have a question regarding my bike. I have an old - about 10 - 15 years old - Huffy Blades bike. It's a Mountain bike. I started riding the bike again and I wasn't too familiar with shifting the gears. I recently replaced the tube inside the rear wheel and I've been reading up more on biking. I just realized the importance of the gears and how to shift the gears. However, my gears don't seem to shift. If I try shifting the gears - whether stationary or pedaling - the chain doesn't move. This is the case with both the front and rear gears. I have no idea how to approach fixing this. I'm not sure if it has something to do with the derailleurs or with the shift cables. I was thinking that the shifters aren't working and the cables aren't responding when I shift the gears. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks so much.
Rakesh

[Alex Ramon]

Hi Rakesh,
Sounds like a strange problem. Always shift while you're pedaling as shifting while stationary will stretch the cables. Are your cables maybe really loose? If you shift to the smallest gear in the rear, and the smallest in the front, is there any slack in the cable?