So, I went on my first overnight bike camp. I learned a lot, but I had a thing happen.
It was at a State Forest that allows dispersed camping. They have a check-in log, and as I went to sign in, the board slipped and fell on to my right shifter lever and broke the lever clean off. So I only camped one night.
Sadly, I can't shift the rear 6 gears at all now, so I struggled biking home only using the 3 front gears.
I can't get an appointment at my local bike shop for 3 weeks. I'm pretty handy with tools but I've always been afraid to screw up my bike, so I've never worked on my bike at all.
Anyway, I looked up shifters on Amazon, do you think this is something I could reasonably replace myself?
My bike is a 39 year old Nishiki (my first and only bike!) that I now use as a commuter vehicle. My normal commute is pretty flat, so I can limp along for a while if necessary.
by sezit
24 Comments
Dang, that’s pretty unfortunate.
Any pics of the broken shifter?
A picture of the shifter would certainly help
What state is the lever in if a falling clipboard can break it right off?!
If this is the top bar lever, it just holds the tension into place, if I am recalling correctly its a non indexed shifte, if there is the tension bolt still holding the wire you could, if you have tools, get it lined up in a moderate gear and reset it where it is broken. You wont be shifting but you will be in a moderate gear to limp home.
Consider sharing to r/bikewrench too, once you have a pic of the shifter. What a great camping spot, looks cozy!
Yes you could easily replace it yourself. If you can’t find a used original, Microshift make very nice six speed thumb shifters.
Did you look for the biggest pile of dried leaves on which to build your fire?
Was it an actual LOG?!? Wow, I am so sorry about that *and* a 3 week wait on an appointment at your bike shop?? Watching some youtube videos and getting some research in on the right pages will certainly help you get it repaired more quickly than 3 weeks. Best of luck!
Is this rage farming? How can somebody make a fire at this place?
Google Sunrace 6 speed thumb shifter. It’s an easy fix. Here’s one on eBay but there are other places you can get it too
https://www.ebay.com/itm/175489241833
Get a copy of the Park Tool Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair. That plus youtube will teach you to fix just about anything.
https://www.parktool.com/en-us/product/big-blue-book-of-bicycle-repair-4th-edition-bbb-4?category=Big+Blue+Book
Good news is that you have an old mtb which means it’s super easy to work on. See if you can loosen the tension on the shifter and put it in the lowest gear. Remove the cable from the derailleur and housing then remove from handlebars. After that you could try to find same shifter on eBay or just get a new 6spd thumby from microshift or get a trigger shifter. Shimano makes good shifters that are super cheap. Then insert cable back into shifter and housing then reconnect to derailleur. Only tools you’ll need are 4 and 5mm, maybe 6mm Allen wrench
I was sure your boo-boo was setting your campsite on fire based on the photo.
It’s reasonably easy to replace yourself. The worst case by attempting the repair at home is that you’ve delayed bringing it to a shop a little.
Man fuck your bike what an absolutely fucked way to make a fire. Dangerous and wrong in every conceivable way holy shit dude look up some camping how-to videos or something on camp safety.
Illegal bike mechanic move: put your shifter cable directly into the adjuster barrel of your derailleur and then manually select a gear before tightening it. Then, if on a ride you can use the adjuster barrel to move 1 gear up or down.
Calvin! You seek [Calvin!](https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLGCTGpvdT04Q5OLMUo0yzTOjLtv7yT47O)
Replacing shifters and cables is easy mechanical work, and is actually something I’d recommend you know how to fix even before taking on bike camping trips. Because even if your shifters don’t break, your cables definitely will at some point. Like tires and brake pads, they’re a component that wears away from use and needs periodic replacement. You can, and probably will, have mechanical failures on your trips. Knowing how your bike works and knowing how to fix it will give you a big sense of confidence and peace-of-mind, especially when your bike starts making weird noises as you’re traveling through the middle of nowhere and the closest bike shops are days away.
Shimano sells good shifters starting at around $30. (if you want them both to match, you may need to buy a matching pair. Or be like me a and have a fixer-upper bike with mismatched shifters.) The cables are pretty cheap and pack easily too. I’ve had shifter cables break on long bike trips more than once.
It’s easy, the only tools you’d need is a screwdriver and a cable cutter. If you’re without a cable cutter [there’s a trick I use](https://imgur.com/a/Pmk37Qh) (as pictured on my old winter bike) as a temporary measure until I can cut the cables with something.
You can watch some Youtube videos that will show you how to do everything. The Park Tool channel probably has a good video on replacing shifters.
Sorry that happened to you. Forgive me if I’m explaining anything to you that you already know, but I’ve included some specific suggestions and resources below.
To replace this broken shifter you will first need to remove the grip where you rest your hands. These are usually rubber or foam and slide onto the end of the handlebars. These rubber or foam grips can sometimes be difficult to remove without cutting them off, which would require you to replace the grip too, but usually you can use isopropyl alcohol and/or compressed air to get the grips off. This [video from Park Tool](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN2Q8tnOLoo) walks you through the removal and installation process for grips.
Once you have the grip removed, you will need to remove the shifter itself and the steel shifter cable that runs inside the black shifter cable housing. The steel shifter cable connects the shifter to the rear derailleur, which shifts the rear 6 gears. You will need to cut the existing shifter cable off near the rear derailleur where the [crimped-on cable end](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJ5Knc9qWRo) is so you can pull the shift cable through the cable housing from the end where the existing shifter is. If the [Sunrace website](https://sunrace.com/product/slm2t-r6/) is correct, the new shifter also comes with a new shifter cable so you should not need to reuse the existing shifter cable, but you will want to reuse the existing black shifter cable housing. From your closeup picture of the broken shifter, it looks like the existing black shifter cable housing is relatively new and good shape so reusing it should not be a problem.
Once you have the existing shifter cable and existing shifter removed you can install the new shifter and run the new shifter cable through the existing black shifter cable housing. This [video from RJ the Bike Guy](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-S0hOkDWw0) on YouTube is probably the best instructional video for what you are trying to do. You can skip the parts in this video about brakes, but it goes over removing the grips and existing shifter, installing the new shifter and shifter cable, and reinstalling the grips. After the introduction and grip removal you can [skip forward to 16:22](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-S0hOkDWw0&t=982s) where RJ goes over the shifter installation.
There are a lot of good DIY instructional resources on YouTube for learning some basic bicycle maintenance like Park Tools (the gold standard), RJ the Bike Guy, and Global Cycling Network (GCN).
Park Tool YouTube – [https://www.youtube.com/@parktool](https://www.youtube.com/@parktool)
Park Tool Website – [https://www.parktool.com/en-us/blog/repair-help](https://www.parktool.com/en-us/blog/repair-help)
RJ The Bike Guy YouTube – [https://www.youtube.com/@RJTheBikeGuy](https://www.youtube.com/@RJTheBikeGuy)
Edit: added links to Park Tool and RJ the Bike Guy
That fire is insane
Uh.. shift lever aside aren’t you about to start a forest fire?
You should throw away your matches. What a dumb place to light a fire
r/derailedbydetails
I can’t gauge your mechanical aptitude for you. Look up a YouTube video for “how to replace shifter” and see if that seems like something you’d be confident trying.
It involves removing everything from the handlebar to slide the new shifter on, as well as setting up all the adjustments on the rear derailleur.
It’s not the most difficult thing on a bike, and it’s worth learning how to adjust your derailleur anyways.