DavidPT40

I was doing a ride next to the Ohio River today. At the apex of my journey, I rode down a asphalt path where I normally turn around. It had a bit of river flood sediment on it. Well, before I knew it, I crashed. Knees and legs and hands skinned up, full of nasty river sediment to boot. Regained my composure, and hopped on my bike to ride back to my truck. The rear derailleur had broken. It wouldn't shift. Fortunately I was stuck in 24-13. Made it back, washed all my wounds out.

So what do I do now? The bike is probably only worth $100. Though I love it to death. Should I try to fix it myself and learn about bikes? How much would a bike mechanic charge to replace the rear derailleur? Is this a simple fix?

Of course I always wear my helmet and safety glasses when riding. Definitely need to invest in bike gloves.

DorkDisk

Your cable is loose. Did you try re-attaching the shift cable?

DavidPT40

Yes I did, no luck.

travbikeman

Amazon has a boat load of derailleurs that you could get inexpensively. Not sure if your Suntour was the click shift variety, but replacing these parts aren't necessarily too expensive if you go for something like the Altus/Acera/Alivio. But this depends on you if your willing to learn how to do this.

I've replaced two rear and one front derailleur in my past. Just the cheap ones on old Kmart bikes that I had when I was younger. I don't think they're all that difficult to replace. You just have to make sure you get the correct part that fits your bike.

practical

Insert the cable housing ferule into the derailluer. Try shifting. If it works, great; if not then detach cable from the derailleur. Push the derailleur toward the bike frame to see if it still moves.

DavidPT40

Even when I put the cable housing ferrule back into the derailluer, shifting gears doesn't do anything. The derailluer itself will move if I physically push it.

Wanderer

Go to Utube and ck out a video about adjustment - try that first. Easy job

dynaryder

Check the entire cable run from derailleur to shifter to make sure nothing else is out of wack.

prathmann

You said you reattached the cable to the derailleur but did that include clamping the cable end under the nut you can see in your second picture? You need to loosen that nut, position the cable under the clamp and then tighten the nut.