MTB thumb shifter

[KC-Steve]

Hi all,

I was lucky enough to get a freebie Raleigh Tangent MTB and this is my first. Does anyone know what the double shifter is for? Sorry for the dumb question. I have only owned road bikes until now.

Thanks,
Steve

[Alex Ramon]

No such thing as a dumb question here!

The bottom lever is for shifting the derailleur up to the largest sprocket (easiest gear), and the lower lever shifts the derailleur down to the smallest sprocket (hardest gear).

[KC-Steve]

Thanks Alex! Do you know much about the Tangent MTB?

Steve

[Alex Ramon]

I don't know much about that model in particular, but it looks like it has basic parts and would be worth fixing up. Looks like the chain and freewheel may need replacing, and you might want to overhaul the headset, bottom bracket and wheel bearings.

[Bill]

Now thats a kind of shifter I want , bike is definitely a worth while project .

[Surly LHT]

Guess I am old school I still like the down tube shifters best of all.
But I must say the shifters you have are nice tho.

[Joe_W]

Well, good luck with downtube shifters on a trail... I have downtube shifters on my old crossified Peugeot road bike and it is no fun to have to shift on rough ground...

[KC-Steve]

(02-23-2010, 03:22 PM)Alex Ramon Wrote:  I don't know much about that model in particular, but it looks like it has basic parts and would be worth fixing up. Looks like the chain and freewheel may need replacing, and you might want to overhaul the headset, bottom bracket and wheel bearings.

Thanks everyone!

Alex, I luckily had an FR-5 laying around so I pulled the sprockets off the rear axle and as it turns out it is a free-hub instead of a freewheel. (it's a Shimano Deore LX system) I'm glad because I think it is easier to find parts for a free-hub. Sprocket interchangeability should be good too. Correct me if I'm wrong.

However, I'm thinking the free-hub might be more complex than a freewheel assembly. For starters, I already will have difficulty reassembling it because of the quick-release axle. I've never done one before. There doesn't seem to be any play in the parts so am hoping that I might not have to disassemble the hub. But then again it probably needs to be cleaned and lubed anyway. And yes, the some of the sprockets are pretty worn, and the chain is rusted.

Are there any videos on hub assembly? If not I guess I can video record my own work to recall reassembly. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks,
Steve

[Alex Ramon]

Hey Steve,

Freehubs/cassette systems are a lot more complex than freewheels, and you're right you will need to overhaul the hub to replace it. Here's some videos for reference:

http://bikeride.com/replace-cassette-cluster/
http://bikeride.com/freehub-body/
http://bikeride.com/overhaul-wheel-bearings/

And just in case:
http://bikeride.com/replace-freewheel/

Let us know how it goes!

[Joe_W]

Only problem you might run into with the cassette replacement is that it might be Uniglide rather than Hyperglide, but at least the freehub bodies are easily transplanted.