How hard/easy is it to change/replace gear shifters?

messinkiapina

I have an old bike that has a 7 speed cassette but is fitted with a 9 speed shifter. This makes great changes very unsmooth.

It's an old bike so don't want to spend too much on it. I assume it would be easier and cheaper to replace the gear shifter with a 7 speed rather than upgrade the cassette and derailleur to a 9 speed? Would it be an easy job to DIY?

magicbastarder

road bike or straight bar bike? more faff with a drop bar bike as you'll have to unwrap and re-wrap the bars.

messinkiapina

magicbastarder wrote: »

road bike or straight bar bike? more faff with a drop bar bike as you'll have to unwrap and re-wrap the bars.

It's a hybrid so it looks like easy access to the shifter as far as I can see.

Youtube is your friend here, should be a few videos showing how to do it. Then you can judge for yourself if it's doable.

Should be pretty straight forward. Last time I changed a break leavers the only issue I had was getting the grip off the right side. Left pulled straight off with a bit of a wiggle but the other side took a bit of swearing and muscle for some reason.

railer201

messinkiapina wrote: »

I have an old bike that has a 7 speed cassette but is fitted with a 9 speed shifter. This makes great changes very unsmooth.

It's an old bike so don't want to spend too much on it. I assume it would be easier and cheaper to replace the gear shifter with a 7 speed rather than upgrade the cassette and derailleur to a 9 speed? Would it be an easy job to DIY?

It maybe just a matter of adjustment. You should try tuning the gears first. You may be able to use the 9 speed shifter. I would turn the bike upside down and check how the gears change presently when turning the pedals by hand.

Set the derailleur stops (small screwdriver) so the derailleur arm can't go any further than first and seventh gear. Change gears one by one and check all is true i.e. the chain is running central on each of the 7 gear sprockets. If not this can be achieved by either the derailleur screw adjuster, or altering the gear cable length slightly - where the cable is fastened to the derailleur.

I have a hybrid with a six-speed freewheel (cassette) with the last two gears tuned out, so in effect with the six speed shifter I use only four speeds or clicks ! Why you might ask ? - got fed up with chains coming off - it never happens now.

cdaly_

I don't think this will work with a 9-speed shifter and 7-speed cassette but you could try Sheldon Brown's alternative cable routing with your existing shifter and cassette. This adjusts the derailleur travel between sprockets which needs to be greater for 7-speed than for 9-speed.

messinkiapina

I got it indexed to work with the 7 speed cassette but the gear changes aren't very smooth. It'also a pain when you're going up hill and need a quick gear change but click a blank.

I think I'll order a cheap shifter from Amazon and give it a go. Do I need to get new housing too, or can I just slip the new cable into the existing housing?

railer201

messinkiapina wrote: »

I got it indexed to work with the 7 speed cassette but the gear changes aren't very smooth. It'also a pain when you're going up hill and need a quick gear change but click a blank.

I think I'll order a cheap shifter from Amazon and give it a go. Do I need to get new housing too, or can I just slip the new cable into the existing housing?

Probably best ok - I've fitted quite a few new gear cables and never had any problem with re-using the outer cables, provided they're in good nick. It's a fairly simple job, although it might appear daunting at the outset.

If you can index, you can certainly manage the rest. Just one tip, the inner cables have the tip soldered to prevent fraying when threading through the outer cable. Whatever you do don't be tempted to cut the cable to size until the job is finished.

messinkiapina

railer201 wrote: »

Just one tip, the inner cables have the tip soldered to prevent fraying when threading through the outer cable. Whatever you do don't be tempted to cut the cable to size until the job is finished.

You probably just saved me ballsing up a cable. Many thanks! :pac:

Type 17

You've a 7-speed block/cassette, and a 9-speed shifter, but what model is the rear derailleur?

Some (mostly newish) derailleurs only suit 5-8 speed, 9-speed, or 10-speed setups - if you have a 9-speed-only rear derailleur, things won't improve with a 7-speed shifter.

Additionally, some older derailleur models were 8-speed, but the modern versions are 9-speed, so don't just look at the name on the front (eg: Acera, Sora, etc) check the model number stamped into the rear of the "parallelogram" part of the derailleur - the bit you're looking for reads RD-M375 or similar.

Let us know, and we'll confirm what the cheapest solution is.

messinkiapina

Type 17 wrote: »

You've a 7-speed block/cassette, and a 9-speed shifter, but what model is the rear derailleur?

Some (mostly newish) derailleurs only suit 5-8 speed, 9-speed, or 10-speed setups - if you have a 9-speed-only rear derailleur, things won't improve with a 7-speed shifter.

Additionally, some older derailleur models were 8-speed, but the modern versions are 9-speed, so don't just look at the name on the front (eg: Acera, Sora, etc) check the model number stamped into the rear of the "parallelogram" part of the derailleur - the bit you're looking for reads RD-M375 or similar.

Let us know, and we'll confirm what the cheapest solution is.

Hmmm, I didn't even consider the derailleur. I assumed it was a 7 speed, like the cassette, but it's actually an 8-speed Shimano Alivio 'RDMC-20'

Does that mean changing the shifters (so 7 speed cassette and shifters, combined with 8 speed derailleur) will leave me with the same problem?

07Lapierre

Another option is to get friction gear levers for the down tube. With friction levers, indexing doesn't matter.

Type 17

No, you’re fine. 7 & 8 (& 6) speed stuff is all compatible.
If you had a late-model 9-speed derailleur, it might have been troublesome, but buy a 7-speed shifter and it should be fine.

railer201

messinkiapina wrote: »

Hmmm, I didn't even consider the derailleur. I assumed it was a 7 speed, like the cassette, but it's actually an 8-speed Shimano Alivio 'RDMC-20'

Does that mean changing the shifters (so 7 speed cassette and shifters, combined with 8 speed derailleur) will leave me with the same problem?

Derailleurs specified as 8 speed may also be 7/8 speed eg I use a Shimano Tourney which is 6/7 speed. Just my opinion but I would take a punt and obtain just a 7 speed gear shifter to match.