Gear Cutter

Gear Cutter

 

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How do I change the gear shifter on my bike?

I bought a Shimono clicker style gear shifter and I want to replace the rolling style. I have a multi Allen wrench, wire cutters, and a normal wrench and the necessary parts.

Well, the easiest way is if the new shifter already came with the wire part of the cable attached. . .

Clip or pull off the little aluminum cover on the derailleur end of the wire.

Loosen the bolt that holds the wire to the derailleur.

Well, at this point, you're home free, because the wire will now come out of the cable jacket.

But, if your new shifter didn't come with the wire attached, see Shimano.com and there'll be plenty of directions in PDF form on how to get your shifter cable into your new shifter.

Grips are removed with a spray bottle of water.
Run a flat blade screwdriver up under the grip pretty darn far and then fill up the space with water. Pop the screwdriver out and then work the grip off.

Grips are replaced by painting the inside and the handlebar end with really cheap hair spray (no conditioner!!) such as Final Net "The Most" or 84 cent hair spray from the dollar store. Spray into grip, spray onto bar. Sling extra out of grip, and pop it on. The alcohol content will dry up at some point and the old grip will stick right on there like magic.

You need Metric Allen wrenches because U.S. Standard will destroy bike bolts. You also need an ice-pick if you will be installing new cable jacket. After a new cable jacket is cut, it is too flat, so make the inside of the end that is now flat, round again with the icepick.

Lastly, tug the cable into place and re-install into the derailleur just the same way the old one came out. Don't forget the pretty aluminum cap over the end of the cable.
Oh, and I almost forgot. Yeah. Before you clamp down the cable for the rear derailleur, put the adjustment collar all the way in, otherwise it won't have enough room to make up for cable slack.
For the front derailleur, lift it to the middle chainring and then jam a stick, tinker toy, or bit of wooden dowel into the paralell-o-gram to keep it from springing back to the "grandma" gear--so that when you install the cable, and then remove the stick, the cable is tighter and it is almost already in the right place, and adjustment for cable slack is easier.

 

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