i have a huffy fuel mountain bike. i went to take off riding yesterday and the gear shifter just broke loose and is sticking straight up. i was wondering what i need to remove the chain and if there is any way that i can shorten the chain and make it a really fast and off road single speed bike. it has a good chain on it and it has good brakes as well as a good frame so besides the gear shifter it is a great bike still. any help is appreciated.

 

Do you mean the shifter on the handlebar broke, or the rear derailleur?

If you want to turn it into a singlespeed on the cheap, you can remove the broken rear derailleur and shorten the chain using a chain-breaker. This is a cheap tool that pushes chain pins in and out.

Pick a chaing ring in front and a gear in back that you think will work best for you, and shorten the chain to be as snug as you can fit on that combo. You won't be able to use the front shifter, as the chain will be too tight to shift to the large ring, and will be too loose to stay on the small one. Leave the front derailleur in place though, so it will help keep the chain on.

Even so, the chain may be a bit loose and come off in the bumps. Real singlespeeds either have a chain tensioner or a rear wheel that can slide back in the dropout to put good tension on the chain (just like an old BMX bike).

Good luck!

 

the rear derailur is tore up on my bike. the shifter for the front derailur is also tore up as well. i will check the walmart website later and probably get me a chain breaker pretty soon. do you think that if i put the chain on the middle gear on the front and the 3 gear on the back that i will have plenty of torque and still be able to take off quick and still go quick? thanks for the help and i will let you know how it all turns out when i get the chain breaker.

 

Middle front and 3 rear is probably a good starting point. Keep the extra chain links so you can put some back in if you decide you want higher gearing. If you don't find a chain breaker at Walllyworld, any bike shop will have them.

By the way, you can basically position your front derailleur so that it doesn't move, without needing a front shifter and cable tension to hold it in position. There are two screws, usually labelled H and L, that adjust the limit of travel of the derailleur inward and outward. Sometimes these have enough of a range of adjustability that you can "freeze" your derailleur in one position (ie over the middle ring). Because the deraiileur is spring loaded, you really only need to adjust the L screw (it doesn't matter so much where the H is).

 

i didn't find one on the walmart website but i will check the store and if i do not find one i will check the bike shop and probably get one. thanks for the help and i will let you know how it goes.

 

i have good news, i took the bike apart and wire brushed it. i then cleaned it off and primered, applied a coat of white, then a dark grey, and to top it all off metallic gold. i cleaned my rusting rims and my dirty tires and put them on the bike and then i tightened the bolts. i finally put in the seat just right and i got the shorter chain on. i now have a probelm though, my chain took me up and down the street fine but then i when i turned around in my driveway the new link come out. my mom is going to pick me up a new chain today and i will put it on this afternoon. i will let you know how it goes but everyting else is fine on my bike.

 

great news everyone, my bike is officailly a custom bike. i have a new paint job and i have a new bell chainand boy is it thick and shiny. thanks for all of the help.