Originally Posted by
kakaman
Yeah thanks. I think I'm just going to buy some new ones.
My bike is an 18 speed (6 x 3). If I buy a shifter that's 21 speed (7 x 3), it should also work, right?
WRONG. First, you need to know what type of brakes you have. I'll bet you've got canitlever brakes. If that's correct, new brake levers set up for V-brakes won't work. Setting up a 7 speed to work with a six speed freewheel takes someone who knows what they are doing and probably won't shift smoothly through all the gears. I mix and match 8 speed shifters to 7 speed because the spacing is almost identical, but 7 speed adapted to 6 speed I've not tried. I'd try to get a six speed shifter and brake assembly. Maybe on ebay you can find some used parts or maybe you can find a donor bike as has been said.