Stupid is as stupid does

[Bristolian]

Following my debacle on Monday, reported elsewhere, Tuesday dawned and I set about replacing the rear gear cable. Maybe I should have stayed in bed

First off, maybe the reason I didn't have a rear gear cable in my saddle bag was because I didn't have one so off to the LBS to get a new inner cable. Back in the garage I cut a new outer cable sheath and then feed the new inner cable through the brifter. This is where the stupidity comes in because I hadn't realised that despite the mechanism wasn't fully in the correct gear so the cable nipple went where it shouldn't have gone ... and despite partially disassembling the mechanism to gain access I couldn't get it back out. Having wasted a couple of hours trying and failing I unwrapped the bar tape, removed the brifter and toddled back off to the LBS to see if they could help.

Thankfully, the young mechanic at the shop wasn't busy and within about ten minutes the cable was back out again ... phew He also found a length of broken cable inside the mechanism, which he thought was probably why the mechanism wasn't in the right place before, and he thought one of the return springs felt a bit weak. He also jokingly pointed out I should have looked more carefully - can't argue with that Back to the garage again, brifter back on the bars and ready for round two. This time everything goes smoothly and in no time I've got gears again; nicely indexed and all tickety-boo ... well nearly. A quick ride up the road working through the gears and I'm in bottom gear (largest sprocket) and all is well until I push the lever to start going back towards a higher gear there's no resistance, no reassuring click, nothing, nada So, I pull into the kerb and see part of the return mechanism is sticking out to the side of the brifter so I push it back in and hey presto normal service is returned.

For now I can make the shifter work by pressing the arm back in with my finger but it's only going to be temporary. The decision I have to make is try to get this shifter repaired or buy a new/used one? The LBS are going to look into a repair but they don't know if the parts are available any more.

Happy days

 

[raleighnut]

Following my debacle on Monday, reported elsewhere, Tuesday dawned and I set about replacing the rear gear cable. Maybe I should have stayed in bed

First off, maybe the reason I didn't have a rear gear cable in my saddle bag was because I didn't have one so off to the LBS to get a new inner cable. Back in the garage I cut a new outer cable sheath and then feed the new inner cable through the brifter. This is where the stupidity comes in because I hadn't realised that despite the mechanism wasn't fully in the correct gear so the cable nipple went where it shouldn't have gone ... and despite partially disassembling the mechanism to gain access I couldn't get it back out. Having wasted a couple of hours trying and failing I unwrapped the bar tape, removed the brifter and toddled back off to the LBS to see if they could help.

Thankfully, the young mechanic at the shop wasn't busy and within about ten minutes the cable was back out again ... phew He also found a length of broken cable inside the mechanism, which he thought was probably why the mechanism wasn't in the right place before, and he thought one of the return springs felt a bit weak. He also jokingly pointed out I should have looked more carefully - can't argue with that Back to the garage again, brifter back on the bars and ready for round two. This time everything goes smoothly and in no time I've got gears again; nicely indexed and all tickety-boo ... well nearly. A quick ride up the road working through the gears and I'm in bottom gear (largest sprocket) and all is well until I push the lever to start going back towards a higher gear there's no resistance, no reassuring click, nothing, nada So, I pull into the kerb and see part of the return mechanism is sticking out to the side of the brifter so I push it back in and hey presto normal service is returned.

For now I can make the shifter work by pressing the arm back in with my finger but it's only going to be temporary. The decision I have to make is try to get this shifter repaired or buy a new/used one? The LBS are going to look into a repair but they don't know if the parts are available any more.

Happy days

And people wonder why we like downtube shifters

 

[fossyant]

And people wonder why we like downtube shifters

Aye. I concur. Although MTB STI seems super reliable !

 

[fossyant]

Road STI - got my first ones a couple of years ago. Work great, but it has to be Shimano SP41 cables for 10 speed or more. Similar with SRAM MTB 10 speed - needs to be the high level Jagwire cables. Normal PTFE coated outers and stainless inners work so well for a while, not as long as SP41 though. Any sign of dodgy shifting, you need to change cables.

 

[Punkawallah]

I’m sure there is a set of bar-end shifters at the shop if you are thinking of up-grading? ;-)

Seriously, they deal solely in second-hand bikes, and if you give me the model of brifter I can have a look for you.

 

[PaulSB]

Following my debacle on Monday, reported elsewhere, Tuesday dawned and I set about replacing the rear gear cable. Maybe I should have stayed in bed

First off, maybe the reason I didn't have a rear gear cable in my saddle bag was because I didn't have one so off to the LBS to get a new inner cable. Back in the garage I cut a new outer cable sheath and then feed the new inner cable through the brifter. This is where the stupidity comes in because I hadn't realised that despite the mechanism wasn't fully in the correct gear so the cable nipple went where it shouldn't have gone ... and despite partially disassembling the mechanism to gain access I couldn't get it back out. Having wasted a couple of hours trying and failing I unwrapped the bar tape, removed the brifter and toddled back off to the LBS to see if they could help.

Thankfully, the young mechanic at the shop wasn't busy and within about ten minutes the cable was back out again ... phew He also found a length of broken cable inside the mechanism, which he thought was probably why the mechanism wasn't in the right place before, and he thought one of the return springs felt a bit weak. He also jokingly pointed out I should have looked more carefully - can't argue with that Back to the garage again, brifter back on the bars and ready for round two. This time everything goes smoothly and in no time I've got gears again; nicely indexed and all tickety-boo ... well nearly. A quick ride up the road working through the gears and I'm in bottom gear (largest sprocket) and all is well until I push the lever to start going back towards a higher gear there's no resistance, no reassuring click, nothing, nada So, I pull into the kerb and see part of the return mechanism is sticking out to the side of the brifter so I push it back in and hey presto normal service is returned.

For now I can make the shifter work by pressing the arm back in with my finger but it's only going to be temporary. The decision I have to make is try to get this shifter repaired or buy a new/used one? The LBS are going to look into a repair but they don't know if the parts are available any more.

Happy days

This is why I pay my LBS to do all servicing on my bikes.

 

[Alex321]

A quick ride up the road working through the gears and I'm in bottom gear (largest sprocket) and all is well until I push the lever to start going back towards a higher gear there's no resistance, no reassuring click, nothing, nada So, I pull into the kerb and see part of the return mechanism is sticking out to the side of the brifter so I push it back in and hey presto normal service is returned.

For now I can make the shifter work by pressing the arm back in with my finger but it's only going to be temporary. The decision I have to make is try to get this shifter repaired or buy a new/used one? The LBS are going to look into a repair but they don't know if the parts are available any more.

My right hand brifter (105) has been doing that for over a year. Usually happens the first time I try to change to a higher gear on any ride, and occasionally after that.

As you say, just push the sticking out bit in with your thumb, and it works.

It would be more of an issue if it caused problems when downshifting.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I had the same problem with a SRAM Apex Brifter ages ago. They have a separate paddle (the actual brake lever doesn't move). The return spring on the paddle failed. Then a few weeks later the whole thing failed catastrophically and the paddle ended up sticking out at 90 degrees.

I replaced the lot with 105

 

[TheDoctor]

Every time I fight with derailleurs I start eyeing up Sturmey-Archer three speed hubs...

 

[Drago]

This is why I pay my LBS to do all servicing on my bikes.

Thats why I do all my own servicing.

 

[silva]

I ended up with a fixed gear after all the complexities, time spendings, havoc and reliance on specialists & corresponding costs.
Never regretted it, rather the contrary, just the thought of a return is scary.

For ex, my avatar bike, has hydraulic brakes (Magura). Upon acquiring the bike, I hated already the idea alone, but I was given no choice since the fixed gear is achieved by a brake disc mounted cog so no disc brakes (which I also didn't want); rim brakes (which I wanted) the V style not available for 62 mm wide tyre distances, cantilever brake no mounting point on the frame, leaving only hydraulic pistons as solution.
They were advertised as very low maintenance, durable, reliable.

After 8 years I can say that they are plain rubbish - oil leaks at cilinders/handles, a handle break (for no apparent reason - just thinly made die casted brittle alu black painted, that cracks despite unlike cable brakes the braking force being independent of the handle force), cilinders that jam, stop moving, and so on, accumulating cost to the unacceptable.

For ex, last jam end last year, a part of the cilinder assembly was replaced, it worked upon leaving the shop, but it jammed again, its now 6 months like that, only having the front break, and I'm not intended to spend again big bucks on this Magura cost-saving-everywhere crap, ex the clamping bolt of the cilinder mount turned out to be selfthreaded in alu - instead of a normal drill hole then thread tapping, upon disassembly attempt the stainless bolt broke before the threaded connection loosened, and they don't sell parts alone, you have to buy a whole mount set to get just that part.
Which was confirmed in the bike shop, they had a whole box of all other parts they didn't need, customers didn't need, with that specific part not present, accumulated over the years. Bucks for nothing.

I think of those 8 years, just 2 were with both working brakes and 3 were with no brakes at all, due to me refusing to continue spending bucks on the cheapskate rubbish designed to NOT last and tagged high price.

I was able to, because of... fixed gear - I can brake by resisting pedals, and of course, slowing down in anticipation, and no risk taking (that is, take a chance as a sure). You lose some time, and that's it.

 

[Bristolian]

I had the same problem with a SRAM Apex Brifter ages ago. They have a separate paddle (the actual brake lever doesn't move). The return spring on the paddle failed. Then a few weeks later the whole thing failed catastrophically and the paddle ended up sticking out at 90 degrees.

I replaced the lot with 105

When I bought my Allez they were equipped with the shifter where the gear cable comes out of the side. Down-changes were done by tilting the brake lever but for up-shifts there was a little thumb operated lever. I think that's similar to the SRAM ones you described. I just couldn't get on with them - using the thumb lever when on the drops was almost impossible - so I bought the later Shimano Sora brifters that are fitted now.

 

[Dogtrousers]

When I bought my Allez they were equipped with the shifter where the gear cable comes out of the side. Down-changes were done by tilting the brake lever but for up-shifts there was a little thumb operated lever. I think that's similar to the SRAM ones you described. I just couldn't get on with them - using the thumb lever when on the drops was almost impossible - so I bought the later Shimano Sora brifters that are fitted now.

Not quite the same. The SRAM "double tap" uses a single paddle behind the brake lever for both up and down shifts. The brake lever is fixed. It's broadly the same as Shimano except the moving part is the paddle not the brake lever.

I think the paddle may be a weak spot as, from what I've read, I wasn't the only person to have the paddle mechanism fail.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Aye. I concur. Although MTB STI seems super reliable !

Are there many combined gear and brake levers on mtn bikes? They were mostly trigger shift when I had a mtn bike.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Every time I fight with derailleurs I start eyeing up Sturmey-Archer three speed hubs...

Pervert