[cowboy]

first off howdy, im new i ride. not as much as i want to and havent in a while but looking to start again. ok. i have a mongoose switchback, its about 7 yo. last time i rode it was about 2 years ago. i got it down checking it over making sure its all good, changed the back tire and all. i took it out to my yard and went to shift but the shifters arent working. there shimano quick fire. the 7 speed will only downshift from 7 to 4 and the 3 sp will only shift up to 2. after that there just loose. any ideas how to fix them, at home preferably. im at the point where there is no money really. any help is greatly appreciative. also i have a cheap walmart bike for a buddy of mine. hes just starting so i was goin to show him the ropes somewhat of what i know just around so we dont have to worry bout it failing on him. the prob is the rear wheel was destroyed so i replaced it but now the rim is to thin for the breaks and they don't touch can i get longer stems for the brakes so they can reach the rim or should i just get a different wheel. it was a used one thats in good condition so exchangin it is possible. thanks in advance.

 

[cowboy]

well i guess scratch that on the shifters i guess they just needed to warm up of sumthin cause now there workin fine. oh, well thanks anyway but any info on the brakes is still needed. thanks again

 

[lovehamr]

If it's been sitting that long your cables could be gummed up as well. I hate to tell you but the walmart bike has very few parts that interchange with standard MTB stuff. It almost seems that they are built as throw-away bikes from the begining. It might seem like a waste, but a used MTB that needs lots of upgrade will still be a better buy than the walmart bike. Try looking here for an inexpensive (but workable) replacement;
http://classifieds.mtbr.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.pl?db=MtbReview&website=MtbReview

 

[capt.crispy]

You can adjust the rear brake where the cable is locked down on the right brake arm.Also new cables on the mongoose would really help and clean the inner guts of the shifters.The grease that is in them gets gummed up after that long even if you are using them and won't let it shift back down.Clean and regrease and you should be fine.

also i single speed is always a cheep and extremely fun way to go.
You can build them up really cheap and they are alot of fun to ride.Great bikes.

 

[Wumpus]

You can adjust the rear brake where the cable is locked down on the right brake arm.

To go along with the captain's advise: http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=21

The pads might not be in too good if it has been sitting for that long so along with the cables you might want to pick up some new pads.