About to beat my head against the wall

[dragnusa]

I got a Girls 24 inch roadmaster mountain bike in a couple weeks ago.The chain was rusted stiff so I measured and swapped it out with one from a 26 inch mtn bike and Shifters wouldnt move so I took the cables loose and hit them with pb well the front ones working and heres what it did when I shifted it to the middle crank gear. the rear derailer still wont move more then a quarter an inch. Im sure Im over thinking this thing but does anyone have any ideas?

 

[Wildcat]

I fixed a bunch of those for a charity. They are junk, but will work. Remove the cable and move it away from the wheel so the chain won't bind it and move the derailler by hand. They may have adjusted the stops so it won't move, but probably it just needs worked back and forth to free it up.

 

[dragnusa]

Yeah I know their junk but had an older guy come by wanting to trade a couple old single speeds for a girls mtn bike and he seen this one. So Im fixing it up to trade. Ive tried adjusting it like I would any other mtn bike and nothing seems to work. My other option would be digging thru my old derailers and see if I have something that will work

 

[Wildcat]

In the photo, it doesn't look that rusted up. Unless there's something jammed in it, it should work free, maybe a little tap with a big hammer.

 

[CRASH]

Like was stated, remove the cable then pull off that derailleur and check it for anything broken, bent, binding or any foriegn object inside. I'd hit the internals with some sort of lube. PB Blaster will work. Back the high and low set screws all the way out. Install it again, and again as stated crank the bike and work the derailleur by hand. Can you push the chain to the lowest (biggest) cog? If so, then install the cable and adjust as required. (You said you've worked rear derailleurs, so I'll leave out the step by step)

 

[outskirtscustoms]

Normally with department store bikes like that I go over them before I buy it, if it has a frozen cable or is not in near perfect condition other than maybe a flat tire I pass on it or plan to strip it for parts.

 

[scrumblero]

I'd slap a new derailleur and cable on it and call it done... :|

 

[dragnusa]

Normally with department store bikes like that I go over them before I buy it, if it has a frozen cable or is not in near perfect condition other than maybe a flat tire I pass on it or plan to strip it for parts.

This was a drop off and I had planned to strip it but the guy stopped by while it was sitting out so hey If I can get a few single speeds for it why not. Tried shifting it by and but that didnt work. I did find a nice looking shimano derailer but its got shorter gear arms. Im going to try tomorrow hoping that works

 

[jackdaw]

If the front is on the middle chainring and the chain is running free, from the angle of the derailer cage I'd say the chain you measured off of was too short. The way it is it looks like you wouldn't have enough chain to get it on big front, big rear.??

Also, will the rear derailer move if you hold the chain free of the cogs? Or if you take the wheel out?

 

[dragnusa]

So I get the bike out to do the adjustments on it since I switched the derailer on it and stop to adjust a set of bars for a neighbor kid and the guy rolls up and tells me his wife wants a 26 inch instead of the 24 inch he first said he wanted. since both bikes was drop offs and all the 26 inch needed was a tube and seat I told him Id do the trade. Being a little irritated the 24 inch caught the wrath lol its been stripped down to the basic frame, rims, bars and seat and ready to be painted and sit out in front for yard art.