A Cycling & bikes forum. CycleBanter.com

Go Back   Home » CycleBanter.com forum » rec.bicycles » General
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Ultegra shifter problem



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #11  
Old April 17th 10, 02:54 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
z, fred
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 185
Default Ultegra shifter problem

Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:
"gary" wrote in message
...
i have a problem with my shifter that started at the end of last fall
that i think i know what the problem is but am looking for
confirmation.

bike is about 7 years old with ultegra 6500 shifters.

the issue is with my right shifter (i.e. back cassette) when i shift
into a higher gear (i.e. smaller cog). the shift works ok but when i
eventually want to shift back to a lower gear and swipe the large
lever for the next lowest gear it does not "catch". i have to swipe
the large levere all the way (to the left) before it will catch and i
can feel resistance on the shifter. at that point i can hit the
shifter to shift to the next lowest gear. i'm guessing (hoping) that
it is just cable slack that i can adjust.

does this sound just like the cable has to be tighten (?) by adjusting
the knob near the rear derailleur?

thanks!


Flush it with Powerlube, available at fine auto parts stores everywhere
(well, NAPA anyway!). Amazing stuff; brings back to life far more levers
than WD40 ever did. Sometimes you have to play with it for quite a while
before it starts working again. And some levers just can't be brought
back to life.

In general, the problem seems to come up with bikes that haven't been
used for a while. Very rare to see it on bikes in continuous use.

But it's not a cable adjustment issue.

One other thing to look at is the condition of the cable. If it's
beginning to fray, you will sometimes be able to shift to a larger cog
but not back down to a smaller one. But in that situation, the lever
will still likely "click" when you try to shift to the smaller sprocket.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com



Just bought some Powerlube from NAPA on your recommendation. I don't
know if this is nationwide, but it was about 50% off so I bought two.
Ads
  #12  
Old April 17th 10, 05:30 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
Greg Evans
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 44
Default Ultegra shifter problem

On 4/16/2010 12:59 AM, Kerry Montgomery wrote:


gary, Will try to describe where the screw is that Graham spoke
about. You can see the screw (or where it should be) without
pulling back the rubber hood. With the bike resting on it's tires,
look up under the lever from the rear, in the area where the small
lever pivots. The order of pieces, from the front of the bike, is:
large lever, small lever, small plate (kind of "P" shaped). There
should be a screw that goes through a hole in the small plate into
a threaded hole in the large lever. My early Ultegra lever (the
left side one, that still has a screw) has what looks like an
ordinary round-headed screw. Also have a much later set of Ultegra
levers, they have screws with hexagonal outlines, and there's a
thin metal locking device with tabs bent inward against the sides
of the hexagon, looking to prevent the screws from loosening.


I lost one of those screws on my ~1999 vintage 105 STI's. I found that
the set screw from a Shimano brake shoe (the one that holds the
pad in) fits and works perfectly.

Greg
  #13  
Old April 18th 10, 05:30 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
Chalo
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 5,093
Default Ultegra shifter problem

Bentracer and Bentrider wrote:

gary wrote:

the issue is with my right shifter (i.e. back cassette) when i shift
into a higher gear (i.e. smaller cog). *the shift works ok but when i
eventually want to shift back to a lower gear and swipe the large
lever for the next lowest gear it does not "catch". *


Yeah, they do that.

the problem you are having is gummed up paws, what you need to do
is,get yourself some WD 40 and flush out the lever where the paws are
and keep working the lever until it catches and lube it more with a
slightly heavier lube.


That's "pawls".

And STI shifters respond much better to a hotter solvent than WD40.
At my shop, the thing we have around that works best is White
Lightning Clean Streak dry degreaser. After freeing up the mechanism,
I flood with Boeshield T-9 or some other light spray lube.

It's funny what some folks will tolerate. Downtube, barend, thumb,
and stem shifters cost less, weigh less, and don't fail this way.

Chalo
  #14  
Old April 18th 10, 06:43 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
Jay Beattie
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 4,322
Default Ultegra shifter problem

On Apr 17, 9:30*pm, Chalo wrote:
Bentracer and Bentrider wrote:

gary wrote:


the issue is with my right shifter (i.e. back cassette) when i shift
into a higher gear (i.e. smaller cog). *the shift works ok but when i
eventually want to shift back to a lower gear and swipe the large
lever for the next lowest gear it does not "catch". *


Yeah, they do that.

the problem you are having is gummed up paws, what you need to do
is,get yourself some WD 40 and flush out the lever where the paws are
and keep working the lever until it catches and lube it more with a
slightly heavier lube.


That's "pawls".

And STI shifters respond much better to a hotter solvent than WD40.
At my shop, the thing we have around that works best is White
Lightning Clean Streak dry degreaser. *After freeing up the mechanism,
I flood with Boeshield T-9 or some other light spray lube.

It's funny what some folks will tolerate. *Downtube, barend, thumb,
and stem shifters cost less, weigh less, and don't fail this way.


I liked stem shifters and safety brakes. I don't know why they got
rid of those. My 1968 Schwinn Varsity was all I ever needed, and I
liked that sparkly bar tape that matched the color of the bike.-- Jay
Beattie.
  #15  
Old April 20th 10, 01:58 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
gary
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6
Default Ultegra shifter problem

On Apr 16, 12:59*am, "Kerry Montgomery" wrote:
"gary" wrote in message

...



graham,


can i see this screw normally or do i need to pull back the rubber
shroud (not really sure what the real name is) in order to see it?
hopefully i try to check it out this weekend. *if that is not it i'll
the flushing as was mentioned.


if my initial swipe to get it into a lower gear does not "click" then
by swiping the level as far as it goes and then returning and trying
again usually allows the gear change. *hopefully it is as simple as
you mentioned.


If the advice from others about cleaning and relubing or cable fray does
not
work check that the screw on the underside of the lever at the top where
the
lever leaves the housing is still there and tight. I had similar symptoms
to
yours when that screw on my STI came loose.


Graham.


Graham,
Thank you very much for the advice! My earlyUltegraSTI rightshifter
behaves similarly to what gary described. I've sprayed it heavily with Power
Lube, replaced the cable, and replaced housing, none of which fixed it.
Looking at my lever shows that screw to be _gone_. Off to find a replacement
screw, with high hopes.

gary,
Will try to describe where the screw is that Graham spoke about. You can see
the screw (or where it should be) without pulling back the rubber hood. With
the bike resting on it's tires, look up under the lever from the rear, in
the area where the small lever pivots. The order of pieces, from the front
of the bike, is: large lever, small lever, small plate (kind of "P" shaped).
There should be a screw that goes through a hole in the small plate into a
threaded hole in the large lever. My earlyUltegralever (the left side one,
that still has a screw) has what looks like an ordinary round-headed screw.
Also have a much later set ofUltegralevers, they have screws with
hexagonal outlines, and there's a thin metal locking device with tabs bent
inward against the sides of the hexagon, looking to prevent the screws from
loosening.
Good luck,
Kerry


graham,

you were dead on as far as the screw being missing. flipped the bike
over
and the left STI had the screw in place. however, the right STI (the
one i'm
having problems with) was missing the screw.

using kerry's description of where the screw is located it was pretty
obvious when i compared the left and right sides. the screw appears
to
be about 1/4" with a Phillips head.

you said "that screw on my STI came loose". did you mean that it
actually
fell out like mine or was just loose? i would think that if it was
just loose
but still present the shifter would still work.

the interesting thing is that i went out for a ride a few days ago and
even
without the screw i think i only had an "empty swipe" once. all the
other
times the shifter worked.

any idea what the purpose of the screw is? the only thing i can think
of
is that it prevents the little shifter from moving when swiping the
larger
lever. my theory (which could be way off!!) is that if the little
shifter moves
when swiping the larger one its like trying to shift in both
directions at
once so they cancel out.

a friend i work with called his mechanic and he said that he could
order
a screw from Shimano. he was aware of the location and had to order
one a few years ago. however, the place is 25 miles away so i'm going
to check out a shop on the way home to see if they can order one
(really
two since i'll want a spare!). if not, they might be able to "create
one"
like they did for kerry. going to put some loc-tite on it also.

i also checked out two neighbors bikes, one a Dura-Ace and the other a
105. those shifters were newer models and don't have the same design.
i could not make out a screw at all. so apparently this might be just
prevalent with the early Ultegra 6500 shifters (and maybe Dura-Ace and
105
from the same time period).

one other question to someone who might know. will using the shifter
before a get a replacement screw damage the shifter at all?

thanks to all for their suggestions and diagnoses.
  #16  
Old April 20th 10, 08:36 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
Graham
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 206
Default Ultegra shifter problem


"gary" wrote in message ...
On Apr 16, 12:59am, "Kerry Montgomery" wrote:
"gary" wrote in message

...



graham,




[snip]
you were dead on as far as the screw being missing. flipped the bike
over
and the left STI had the screw in place. however, the right STI (the
one i'm
having problems with) was missing the screw.

[snip]

you said "that screw on my STI came loose". did you mean that it
actually
fell out like mine or was just loose? i would think that if it was
just loose
but still present the shifter would still work.

[snip]

if not, they might be able to "create
one" like they did for kerry. going to put some loc-tite on it also.

[snip]

Mine initially came loose - very loose when I first had the problem. After tightening it the problem went away but returned. This time the screw had gone. I then did what you are thinking of doing and having made a replacement screw from one of the same thread but longer I used loc-tite and so far so good.

I think because Shimano moved to a hexagon head screw with locking tabs this is a known design fault.

Another poster did mention the screw that secures shimano brake pads into their shoes works.

Graham.

  #17  
Old April 20th 10, 10:44 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech,rec.bicycles.misc
Greg Evans
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 44
Default Ultegra shifter problem

On 4/20/2010 3:36 AM, Graham wrote:

[snip]

you said "that screw on my STI came loose". did you mean that it
actually fell out like mine or was just loose? i would think that
if it was just loose but still present the shifter would still
work.

[snip]

if not, they might be able to "create one" like they did for kerry.
going to put some loc-tite on it also.

[snip]

Mine initially came loose - very loose when I first had the
problem. After tightening it the problem went away but returned.
This time the screw had gone. I then did what you are thinking of
doing and having made a replacement screw from one of the same
thread but longer I used loc-tite and so far so good.

I think because Shimano moved to a hexagon head screw with locking
tabs this is a known design fault.

Another poster did mention the screw that secures shimano brake
pads into their shoes works.



Indeed I did, and it does. The only real difference is that the
screw from the brake shoe takes a hex key rather than a phillips
head.

I've just remembered something else: There's a small washer between
the two levers. If you're lucky it might still be there, even without
the screw, held in place by grease (mine was). If not, it shouldn't
be too hard to find a suitable replacement.

Greg
--
My Blog:
http://www.gsevans.com/blog/

My Photos:
http://www.gsevans.com/photography/e
  #18  
Old March 21st 18, 04:45 PM posted to rec.bicycles.misc
[email protected]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1
Default Ultegra shifter problem

On Sunday, April 11, 2010 at 2:10:00 PM UTC-7, gary wrote:
i have a problem with my shifter that started at the end of last fall
that i think i know what the problem is but am looking for
confirmation.

bike is about 7 years old with ultegra 6500 shifters.

the issue is with my right shifter (i.e. back cassette) when i shift
into a higher gear (i.e. smaller cog). the shift works ok but when i
eventually want to shift back to a lower gear and swipe the large
lever for the next lowest gear it does not "catch". i have to swipe
the large levere all the way (to the left) before it will catch and i
can feel resistance on the shifter. at that point i can hit the
shifter to shift to the next lowest gear. i'm guessing (hoping) that
it is just cable slack that i can adjust.

does this sound just like the cable has to be tighten (?) by adjusting
the knob near the rear derailleur?

thanks!


It happened to me with a bike I bought on CL. The shifter combo cost four times what I payed for the bike so the lube trick was the best option. it worked our really good.
 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Problem with Ultegra chain ring shifter ed Techniques 0 March 22nd 08 06:03 PM
STI shifter problem Doug B. Techniques 17 December 5th 06 02:48 PM
Bar end shifter problem Ted Bennett Techniques 4 September 6th 05 03:48 AM
WTB: RH Ultegra Shifter Andy Birko Marketplace 0 March 29th 05 10:26 PM
WTB: Ultegra STI Shifter Mark Shefrin Marketplace 1 September 30th 03 02:43 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 12:16 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 CycleBanter.com.
The comments are property of their posters.