I need to replace my rear shifters.. The housing has been cracked..I have no idea on how to do this..I need to do this myself to understand more of the bike..

I have Sram x4's and would like some info on replacing them..

Thanks...

Free Spirit

Got a photo or three? 1 of the shifters. One of the cable and housing traveling to the derailleurs. And one with both derailleurs. That would make it easier to walk you through it. How many gears does the bike have? You need, I'm guessing, shifters for your specific setup. Any info you can provide helps.

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Hello Panthers, I do not have my camera with me at the moment, I'll post a picture tomarrow..But the Shifter is setup for 8 speed, I guess that is what I am trying to say..It is an 8 Speed bike..

It's not so much changing out the cable, The part that runs into the housing, the adjuster, has cracke..I can still chande gears but it slips..The little "nipple" that you use to lossen and tighten is just dangling off the side . I am going to the bike shope tomarrow and see what information I can get..I also plan on purchasing a basic bike maintenace book to help me out..

I plan on doing some touring this year so I want all the knowledge and info I can get abd by doing the repairs my self, I feel that would give me some knowledge on repairs out on the road..

I will post a picture tomarrow...

Free Spirit

Sounds like it may possibly be repairable without buying new shifters...

If you look at similar adjusters on MTB brake levers, you can see a little locknut on the adjuster... such a jigger may be all you need to get rolling again.

Could well be that new cables & housing will solve the trouble - but we don't know for sure yet. And if this is the problem, an inline barrel-adjuster will solve any slippage with a little twist on the BA. Most especially good for front-derailleurs. The rear can be taken care of with the built-in adjuster on the rear-derailleur - most modern RD's have these.

Cable's loosen after first being installed. This is normal 'cable-stretch' which responds well to a simple tune-up. The rear should be set for a long time after a minor tune-up in the first 100 miles or so. But the front-derailleur - many of them - is fond of being more problematic. Which is where an inline BA comes in handy. Easy to install.

If you have good cable-cutters, this is. Here's an inline BA installed to the FD cable-line:

Thanks everyone..The housing is cracked right at the BA..It i sactually broke off with the BA attached to it..Went

Went to the bike shop today and ordered a replacement pair,yes, a pair, (who knows)..and talked to the mechanic there for a while..Gave me a lot of new pointers and did a simulated replacement using a nother bike..Dosn't seem haed at all..We shall see..

Anyway, I am sorry I didn't get a picture posted scince the problem is solved now..But I plan on doing a rebuild photos from start to finish..This will be fun.

Thanks, Free Spirit

I still suggest you look into an inline barrel-adjuster if you get problems with trim on the front-derailleur. This makes it's presence known by chain-rubbing sounds in various gears as the chain is pulled to an angle from rear to front that causes noise with the chain and the front-chainrings. One small and easy twist settle these problems with the inline BA.