Oil leaking from right gear shifter? The right gear shifter on my bicycle (which controls the gears on the rear wheel) has some wear holes and appears to be leaking oil over the shifter (see pictures). I'm fairly new to cycling, though, so I have no idea. My dad and I share this bicycle, and I don't think he rode the cycle with oil all over his right palm. I tried cleaning off the oil with soap, but it seems like it's still there.


Is there oil present inside the right gear shifter when the manufacturer built the bike?
Are the holes in the right gear shifter a possible cause for oil appearing on the shifter?
If so, what should I do about it? How should I go about fixing it?
If not, do I still need to worry about the wear holes in the shifter?


My dad bought the (Roadmaster) bike at Walmart about a year ago. It gets used pretty regularly except when it's snowing outside or in really bad rain.
There shouldn't be any amount of liquid oil in the shifter, just some grease. 

Looks like some grease is getting out of the holes in the rubber grip and onto the outside.

Regular detergent is not strong enough to wash away grease. You need a proper degreaser product. The citrus based ones are quite good, and available at regular hardware stores.

Obviously the rubber grip needs to be replaced. It's letting grease out and - maybe more importantly - water in. With a Walmart level bike, replacing the whole shifter isn't very expensive. Figuring out what exact model the shifter is can be  difficult though.

The rubber grip should not be worn after a year's light use. Perhaps it was damaged by something sharp. You may be able to glue the holes shut with a rubber cement.