Help me understand what to do next, bicycle shifter woes

[Nesse1]

Common problem. The grease has gotten hard and is now causing the internal mechanism to not function properly.

Loosen the "quick brake release" lever at the caliper, to gain extra lever travel, and tie the lever back against the bars. They spray the heck out of the internal STI mechanism with WD-40. Allow it to soak for 20 minutes, and do it again. That should free up the lever and make it shift properly again.

How do I know? This same thing happens to my Shimano 7800 STI levers after the bike sits a year or so.

 

[great white]

Not familiar with the particular one you have, but the lever is usually just that: a lever with a pivot. Hard for that to wear out.

unless its like sone of the twist style ones that actually display a number as you shift…even then, theres still not much in there for mechanism.

If the derailer is gummed up, the cable isn’t going to move even if you move the shifter. The speings that hold the cable taight are in the detailer. If the derailer doesn’t move, well….

I still say take it apart. Not much to loose at this point.

 

[mksj]

There are different versions of the Shimano 2x10 shifters, so it may be that you can look on eBay for a different Shimano NOS set. Most likely might be from another country (I would not buy them form China, as most likely are not authentic. I have a similar situations on my older bikes, all the specifications change every couple of years, so I often will get some back ups as I keep my bikes for 10-15 years.

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[Nesse1]

Not familiar with the particular one you have, but the lever is usually just that: a lever with a pivot. Hard for that to wear out.

unless its like sone of the twist style ones that actually display a number as you shift…even then, theres still not much in there for mechanism.

If the derailer is gummed up, the cable isn’t going to move even if you move the shifter. The speings that hold the cable taight are in the detailer. If the derailer doesn’t move, well….

I still say take it apart. Not much to loose at this point.

Those levers are a combination brake lever and shift lever. Some guys call them "brifers." They are NOT a simple mechanism, and for all intents and purposes, cannot be serviced.

Of course, if the cables are frozen in their housing, that needs to be attended to. But chances are, it's just the grease in the mechanism.

 

[great white]

Go here:

si.shimano.com

si.shimano.com

enter your model number and you can download the service manual. Might help some.

 

[WobblyHand]

Those levers are a combination brake lever and shift lever. Some guys call them "brifers." They are NOT a simple mechanism, and for all intents and purposes, cannot be serviced.

Of course, if the cables are frozen in their housing, that needs to be attended to. But chances are, it's just the grease in the mechanism.

This video shows how complicated they are. Pretty wild.

 

[WobblyHand]

Go here:

si.shimano.com

si.shimano.com

enter your model number and you can download the service manual. Might help some.

Have to remove the brakeshifter from the handle bar to read the model number. But watching the video, at least I know how to get that far. Thanks for the link.

 

[Nesse1]

This video shows how complicated they are. Pretty wild.

Thanks for the link! Maybe I should take mine apart and refresh the grease? I wonder what type of grease? Some hydrocarbon based greases don't get alone well with plastic parts. Time for some research...

 

[ddickey]

Here's a suggestion. Loosen the screw that holds the cable on the rear derailleur. Grip it with a needle nose and pull, keep tension on it and have someone try to shift the lever, up and down.
When was the last time you changed cable and housing?
P.S. you do not want to be taking these apart without specialized tools.

 

[mattthemuppet2]

I seriously doubt it's worn out, I've done >36,000 miles on a similar set and they're just fine. If the shifting is ****ty, there's a good chance that the cable inside the shifter is frayed and binding on the inside of the shifter. Mine usually last around 3000 miles before heading south and as soon as it starts being hard to shift or hanging up on downshifts (clicking the small lever behind the brake lever) I swap out the cable. If you don't then at some point it'll break and that's no fun 25 miles from home.

First, buy a set of Shimano inner and outer gear cables from Amazon or likewise. You can get cheaper, but Shimano cables are really nice.

Then put the bike into the lowest gear at the back. Undo the bolt holding the cable into the rear mech. Does this have internal cable routing - if so stop, let me know and I'll tell you a good way to do that.

Pull the hood on the shifter forwards towards the brake lever. Underneath on the outside of the shifter, you should see a small opening where the cable goes. On the inside you should see a small plate with a screw on the opposite side to that opening. Take it off and don't lose it like I did.

With the cable tension released at the other end, you should be able to push the head of the cable out of the shifter. Note you can only do this with the shifter in the smallest gear at the back. Don't shift the gears until you're finished.

Remove the old cable and install the old cable. Thread it through. Don't add any oil down the outers. I'd recommend replacing them (it makes for lovely shifting) but you probably won't have to.

When you have the cable going through the rear mech, push the mech ever so slightly into the wheel and snug up the bolt that holds the cable.

With the bike on a stand or someone holding it up for you, click the shifter into the next gear, turn the cranks and unscrew the adjuster on the mech until the chain climbs into gear. Shift back down and try again. Then try shifting two gears, unscrew the adjuster until it will shift both gears in one go. It'll take a bit of fiddling but it's pretty straightforward. After a few rides you'll need to repeat this as the cable stretches.

Cut the cable to leave around 2-3" sticking out and cap it with one of those little alu caps.

Should cost you around $25-30


To add to ddickey above DO NOT disassemble the shifter. It's full of very small very fiddly pieces and springs that will disappear in the blink of an eye. Shimano shifters literally last forever, I have some on my mountain bike that are old enough that I can't actually remember when I bought them (15 years ago? 20?) and they're still working just fine.