Help can I change from the twist grip to lever type

How900

Hi, my son has a 6 speed MTB bike with shimarno tourney rear set, and a twist grip changer, the changer has always been stiff and originally the gears were not setup well, he could only get 6th and 5th due to the amount of strength needed to twist the grip, I took the thing apart and lithium greased the mech, adjusted the stops and got the shifting much better, and much quieter, I removed the cable and greased it and did every thing I could think to reduce effort to change, before attaching to the dérailleur the twist grip is nice and smooth, 9 months on and with the grease and being stronger he can get 4 gears but the strength need to get it into 2nd and 1st when it's attached to the dérailleur is too much for my little man, seems like maybe it's the spring tension in the dérailleur I am not sure but it requires more strength than your average 9 year old has to get 1st and 2nd gear.

We have been living with it, and for uphills we stop and I twist it into first and off we go again, but he wants to enter a triathlon and so I need to make it so he can get all the gear himself.

He's only had the bike a few months and while I am sure we will be moving up to a better machine next and getting better gears and shifters, I don't really want to buy another bike the same size, so would like to know if it's possible to change the twist shifter to lever type.

The rear set is shimarno tourney, ..could not see and model, do we think it's possible or are we out of luck.

Does anyone know of indexing gears that are good for kids, .....if needed I will change the lever and dérailleur if that helps the situation.
its had been at least 20 years since I last bought a bike and a lot has changed
Oh, the twist grip is sram Gripshift MRX

gravitykid

I think that the only option for 6 speed are the Shimano Tourney shifters.

Link Here. You might also be able to find them on ebay.

I believe these shifters are fitted to the Hoy Bonaly bikes.

Steve-XcT

gravitykid wrote:

I think that the only option for 6 speed are the Shimano Tourney shifters.

Link Here. You might also be able to find them on ebay.

I believe these shifters are fitted to the Hoy Bonaly bikes.

All assuming it's a 20" wheel....
They are at least cheap as chips .... and need to be as fragile! My 6yr old old however CAN get into first, even with a 34T

I forget what I paid for a replacement .... less than £15 .... I think less than a tenner.
If you didn't change yet ??? (It being 3 months) .....

HOWEVER: Depending what set-up you WANT (what you are riding) if you're changing it you can go for a 7sp freewheel at the same time ... £10 ish for new shifter and £20 for new shifter and freewheel....

3rd option ... I got a 20" folding bike wheel with tyre, tube and 7sp freewheel on eBay for £15

If it's a 24" wheel I'd consider just going to a cassette as opposed to freewheel.... and 8/9-speed shifter.

its had been at least 20 years since I last bought a bike and a lot has changed

Main thing is cassette vs freewheel..... (google but freewheel screws on whereas cassette just slots over the "freewheel" built into the rear hub. All those 20 years progress have mostly gone into cassettes ... so basically the FREEWHEEL limits you to 6/7 speed and the lowest of the low shifters/ mech)

As soon as you get into cassettes (which need a different hub) then you get MUCH more options....
From my looking the cheapest way is to buy a decent used rear wheel with cassette though you can get a cheap new one for £20 or so..... but then another tenner for the cassette.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Taylor-Wheels ... YHSyD9XA0Q

The other consideration is the size (width) of the chainwheel and chain.... you won't get away with a 10sp as the chains are much thinner but you can get away with 8 and usually 9 speed.... with a 3/32" chain.
It's often a good idea to change your chain ANYWAY, especially when you change the freewheel/cassette as it preserves the life of the other components.