How to Repair a Murray Explorer Mountain Bike

The Murray Explorer is a capable and affordable mountain bike. Featuring a rigid yet comfortable steel frame and Suntour components, the bike can last many years. Many are still in like-new condition and can be found for sale at various bicycle resellers. If you own a Murray Explorer, and cannot ride it due to it needing repair or adjustments, don't go out and buy a new mountain bike. Learn how to repair your Murray Explorer and get it back out on the trails.

Things You'll Need

  • 9mm wrench
  • 10mm wrench
  • Needle nose pliers
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Instructions

    • 1

      Examine the bicycle and make sure that each of the parts are in good condition. Check the brakes, brake levers, derailleurs, shift levers, tires, wheels, spokes, cables, handlebars, stem, fork, frame, and hubs for structural damage. If any of these parts are broken or otherwise in unsafe condition, they will need to be replaced before the bicycle can be repaired successfully.

    • 2

      Begin your repair by examining the brakes. Squeeze the right and left brake levers a few times and observe the movement of the front and rear brakes. The brake pads should contact the rim when the lever is pulled slightly, and stop the wheel completely and abruptly when the lever is squeezed with force. If the wheel slips, or the brake pads do not contact the rim at all, your brakes should be adjusted.

    • 3

      Loosen the cable-stop bolt of the rear brake caliper. The cable-stop bolt is the bolt that secures to cable from the right brake lever to the rear brake caliper. Squeeze the brake caliper by hand until the brake pads are about 5 mm away from the rim of the wheel. Pull the brake cable taught underneath the cable-stop bolt with a pair of needle-nose pliers, then tighten the bolt using a 9 mm wrench. Repeat this procedure for the front brake if it, too, is in need of repair.

    • 4

      Take your bike for a short test ride now that you brakes have been adjusted to work properly. Shift through each of the gears and observe the way the derailleurs and chain behave. If the right shifter is slow to shift down into lower gears, it will need to be tightened. If it is slow to shift to harder gears,the cable will need to be loosened. The left shifter works exactly the opposite, requiring the cable to be tightened if it is slow to shift up, and loosened if it is slow to shift down.

    • 5

      Locate the cable-stop bolt of the rear derailleur, where the cable from the right shifter is attached to the rear derailleur. Loosen the cable-stop bolt to loosen the cable. Pull the cable tighter, or allow it to slip and become looser, according to the way the shifter behaved on your test ride. Re-tighten the cable stop bolt and take the bike for another test ride to observe the effects of your adjustment. You may need to repeat this process a few times to find the ideal tension of the cable.

    • 6

      Loosen the front derailleur cable-stop bolt to release the left shifter cable. Adjust this cable opposite the right shifter cable, according to the its behavior on your test ride. Re-tighten the cable stop bolt and take the bike for another ride. Repeat this process as necessary until the two shifter levers shift the bike into gear flawlessly every time.

    • 7

      Examine the bicycle as a whole, checking for loose bolts and other problems. Be sure that the seat post bolt, seat adjuster bolt, stem bolt, and handlebar bolts are all tight in addition to any bolts loosened while adjusting the brakes and derailleurs.