Disabling twist shifters

brooksby

My six year old daughter has inherited a Raleigh mountain bike with suspension and twist shifters. This is the first bike she's had with gears, and is finding it very difficult. She hangs onto the handlebars and keeps shifting gear without meaning to, and can't get it back into the gear she is happy with. Is there a way of disabling the shifter so that it won't change gear at all?

My intention is that I can just leave it in a gear she is happy with, so she can get used to the bike - which is lot more serious and grown up than her pink Moxie girls kiddie bike!

Many thanks,

nicklouse

not really.

depending on the suspension. I would expect it to be a URT. just pic a suitable gear and loch the rear mech up without the cables being atached and the chain shortened to suit.

monkimark

Assuming it's 2 rings up front - you can either remover the cable to keep in the small ring or tension it right up so it's in the big ring even with the shifter in the lower position.
on the back, similar thing but you may be able to use the limit adjuster screws to give you the option of on up from bottom/one down from top.

baudman

No need to remove the cable, or even to touch the cable at all.

As monkimark suggests, all derailleurs have two 'limit screws'. These allow you to adjust where the very top, and the very bottom of the movement of the derailleur is*.

All you need to do is adjust these in so that they don't allow the derailleur to move.
http://bennosblogandmore.blogspot.com.a ... limit.html

You may even find it useful to open the spacing in time, to allow small changes, so she gets used to it.

*I've had to do that on some longer rides when I've broken a cable. Just screwed it in until I was in a gear that was appropriate for the terrain.