6 speed mountain bike shifter
03-17-08, 07:00 PM
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6 speed mountain bike shifter
I have an old 6 speed mtn. bike whose right (rear) shifter crapped out. Was wondering if I could use a 7speed shifter from the parts bin and just not shift into 7th gear. Are 6sp and 7sp spaced the same?
Thanks!
Thanks!
03-17-08, 07:10 PM
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If it's all Shimano it'll work. If you have a mix of Suntour and Shimano it might not index very well but you should be able to switch it to non-index mode.
03-17-08, 07:25 PM
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I trust Retro Grouch knows what he's talking about. I've never tried it myself. But to answer your question directly, 6-speed and 7-speed Shimano are not spaced the same (5.3mm vs 5.0mm). However, "ultra" 6-speed is the same 5.0mm as 7-speed. You can pick up a 7-speed freewheel pretty cheaply though and everything else will work with it. Might only apply to freewheels though; I think 6-speed cassette freehubs are shorter than 7-speed(?).
Freewheel/cassette spacing: https://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html#spacing
Freewheel/cassette spacing: https://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html#spacing
03-18-08, 07:20 AM
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Are you sure it is crapped out? A lot of times they are just "gunked up" (technical term) and spraying the internals with WD-40 frees things up. I've gotten this trick to work numerous times.
03-18-08, 09:07 AM
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As for the 7 speed working with a 6 speed, it will not work in indexed mode. Tried it last fall and could never get acceptable shifting.
03-18-08, 10:17 AM
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You can also scald it out under reeeealy hot tap water. The factory grease turns into old cheese after a few years and the hot water will melt it out; may take a while... Then squirt some white lithium grease in the shifter and work it around. It'll probably work like new if nothing is broken............
