sunburst

I'm replacing the cables and housings and can't get the new cable routed. I can remove the old one and obviously know where the hole is but the cable seems to wrap around inside without ever exiting. Wonder if anyone has seen these and can advise what position the shifter should be in as I feed the cable. Also, can this be disassembled without removing the grips (which I would probably have to cut), so I can see how/where to route?

This is a very old Specialized Hardrock, 7-speed, iirc, with so many things wrong with it I've lost count (I've got to stop working on old bikes!!!!)

You can see the cable in the 1st pic.
The 2nd pic is just to help identify the shifter.
The 3rd pic shows the cable exit groove.

Mad Honk 

That shifter has a three or four pronged piece of plastic that needs to be compressed to get the shifter apart to re-route the shift cable. You will need to use a 2-3mm hex head to remove the shifter lever from the bars, and then you can see the way it comes apart. HTH, Smiles, MH

andrewclaus

It's fairly difficult to replace that cable. Consider a new shifter with new cable included.

Cable replacement can be done, if you're careful and patient. There's a small metal leaf spring in there that's not attached to anything and will easily fall out. Shift into 7 before disassembly, make note of how the cable routes as you disassemble, and reassemble with the 7 in the same spot. Do this without kinking the cable or losing the spring and you might get it to work.

thumpism 

Those aren't ancient. These are ancient.


Check YouTube for videos on replacing the cables. You will need to remove the grips (no need to cut them off) to pull the outer rotating drum of the shifter, and the cable has a loop and twist in it. You'll see. Good luck!

LesterOfPuppets

if you have room, scoot the brake lever and shifter inboard on the bar a bit to give room for the cable change.

Follow this video for the cable change routine. My first attempt in the '90s took me a couple hours, now I can do 'em in 15 minutes.

sunburst

thx for all the input guys. I really learned a lot:

...never ever buy an old mtn bike with ancient grip shifters!
...never ever buy an old bike that's been stored outside in the elements!
...never ever buy a bike that you cannot test drive!
...never ever buy a POS!

I could go on (and on and on), but lesson learned...I hope. I believed the guy's BS about them (I bought three from him in a package deal) needing a little tuneup. I was completely distracted by the name brands and the decent paint (b/c previously I've bought lots of bikes dinged to hell and back). So this weekend when buying three more old bikes to flip, I went over and over them and got a $20 discount from each seller based on visible problems.

Oh, and I replaced the shifters with Shimano thumb shifters, the cheap kind that seen to work fine. I gave the whole front end (bar/stem/brake levers/shifters) to a guy who paid me full asking price for the wheelset from one of the aforementioned duds.

edit: I have successfully changed the cables in gear shifters three times, one was a bear, but the other two not bad. Depends on the design.

John Valuk

I got inside a set of Gripshifters for the first time a while back when I replaced cables on my '95 Trek 730 Multitrack. That video from RJ The Bike Guy really helped me.

My SRT-400 shifters are a little bit different than what he is working on in the video, as there is no screw holding on a cover. Once I knew there was a cover there, though, I figured out how to unsnap it to remove it.

I found some SRAM documentation with recommendations about where to apply Jonnisnot grease, too.

All in all, not a bad job.

squirtdad

forget the grip shift and throw thumb cheap thumb friction shifters on for the win