Bicycle Mechanics - Dura-Ace shifters - junk?!

Bought a new pair of Dura-Ace 9 spd shifters a year ago Nov for my winter bike. I have put maybe 500 miles on the shifter and the have packed it in this weekend on a Sunday ride. They were installed by an authorized dealer, maintained by an authorized dealer and now they apparently are junk. The bike has never been dropped, crashed or abused. They have been on maybe 10-15 rides.
I bought these because my last Dura-Ace 9 spds wore out. Spent the extra $ to get the best Dura-Ace makes for the durability and reliability. My options are to change the entire set-up to Campy (that will be cheap), or buy new Dura-Ace again (would you?).
Warranty claims won't be an option as they are over a year old. I am stunned that having spent the kind of money I did to buy the best Dura-Ace makes and that these levers should be so unreliable.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to possible solutions without having to do a complete component change over. The cassette replacement is app. $200.00 but I really hesitate to spend the $ on something which might just a well do the same thing again in short order.
Thanks in advance for your suggstions.

What part of the shifter broke?

If you want DURABILITY, buy Ultegra - NOT Dura-Ace. The Dura-Ace components are lightened to the max for weight weenies and suffer in the durability department because of this (this isn't my opinion - I'm quoting sydney).

The warranty on Dura Ace is three years.

Though there are dozens of parts in the interior of the shifter, apparently they are not servicable, you can however buy a new cassette to replace the lever and shifter module. In short somewhere in the bowels of the shifter.
Cheers!

Shimano STI serviceability, or lack there of, is the main downside to the parts. For that reason, Dura Ace is nice because of the three year warranty.

I had a RH STI shifter that broke just a few months short of the three year mark, shimano replaced it with a new one.

Here's a link to Shimano's warranty (3 years on Dura-Ace):

http://bike.shimano.com/publish/content/cycle/sac/us/en/support/warranty/warranty_details.html

Are you claiming that both shifters crapped out at the same time?
("The[y] have packed it in this weekend....and now they apparently are junk....these levers should be so unreliable").

What are the odds of that happening after "10-15" rides?

Something's not making sense here.

Bob

Bizarre... something's going on here that's out of the ordinary for sure. I've got DA shifters that's over 15-years old with 10-years of racing, over 400 races and 100K-miles on them.

Danno

Unfortunatly, the high end componentes were manufactured 15 years ago is not the same as the same family componentes are manufacture today. 15 years ago were the last years bicycles were build to last at least a life time. Now-a-days, to compete according UCI rules cyclists need to replace components by heavier ones. 15 years ago a really light state of the art bicycle would weight between 8 and 9 kg and today bicycles weight go between 6 and 7 Kg, so...

Thank you for your input everyone - I think perhaps Shimano has lost a customer and Campy has gained one. The fact that such a unit costing a considerable sum is not "fixable" other than replacement is unacceptable in my opinion. Cheers!

QBP (through your local shop) can rebuild that shifter for you. Its not that Shimano's are not servicable/rebuildable, its just that no one knows how to do it. I wouldn't be so rash to dump Shimano because of one incident... every company makes a bad part here and there... I had a Campy bike I sold because the shifting was such a nightmare that no one could figure out. I have a used Shimano Tiagra shifter with 1,000's upon 1,000's of miles, and quite a few crashes that still works flawlessly. Not saying Shimano is better, just that it works both ways.

Danno

Unfortunatly, the high end componentes were manufactured 15 years ago is not the same as the same family componentes are manufacture today. 15 years ago were the last years bicycles were build to last at least a life time. Now-a-days, to compete according UCI rules cyclists need to replace components by heavier ones. 15 years ago a really light state of the art bicycle would weight between 8 and 9 kg and today bicycles weight go between 6 and 7 Kg, so...Hmm, the old stuff may be a bit more durable, but I don't think they could've shaved so much weight such that DA shifters would wear out within 1-year and 500 miles of hobbyist riding. That would mean TDF riders would wear out 4 sets of shifters! :eek:

FWIW, my old DA bike weighs 7.3kg with training wheels and 6.5kg with race wheels. I don't think you have to sacrifice too much durability for light weight... :)

Like the other responders, I have DuraAce levers that have 7500 miles on them without a problem. It's very unusual for these levers to fail so quickly. Keep in mind, you pay a premium for Campy's serviceability. I don't buy into the "Campy is better" argument. I think they are of the same quality.

Campy's warranty is no longer than Shimano's:

http://www.campagnolo.com/policy.php

Bob

Thank you for your input everyone - I think perhaps Shimano has lost a customer and Campy has gained one. The fact that such a unit costing a considerable sum is not "fixable" other than replacement is unacceptable in my opinion. Cheers!

You're not paying attention to the information/questions provided. Two people said the warranty is THREE years. You haven't responded to that. Go tell your LBS and see what they say.

Also the question got asked about one or both shifters. Again, you didn't reply.

Then the description of your problem also is lacking - "somewhere in the bowels of the shifter"! What happened that caused you to take the bike in to begin with?

Could you clarify re QBP's rebuild. Their web site does not seem to provide much detail other than history or dealer info. Have you or perhaps someone on know had experience with rebuilds from these folks? You are quite correct about the dealers I spoke to. They have all indicated that they do not know how nor do they wish to "explore" rebuilds themselves. Suggestions?
Thanks in advance for any input you might have. Cheers!

The warranty covers Shimano either repairing or replacing the part. In the case of shifter, they will just send you ones.

Shimano shifter's can be rebuilt but it's a lot of work and takes a long time.

All you need to do is pack up the defective parts, send a copy of your original bill of sale from your supplier, and send them in. Shimano will send replacements.

Would the WD-40 in the shifter trick work with these too?

You'd rather pay QBP to rebuild your shifter than have Shimano send you a new one free of charge? Suggestion: send it back, IT'S STILL UNDER WARRANTY!

Yeah..

This guy has made a total of 6 posts on this board all bashing shimano d/a shifters that are still under warranty and now wants to send them in for a rebuild.

Something is wrong with this picture.

-j

Like the other responders, I have DuraAce levers that have 7500 miles on them without a problem. It's very unusual for these levers to fail so quickly. Keep in mind, you pay a premium for Campy's serviceability. I don't buy into the "Campy is better" argument. I think they are of the same quality.
Quality wise Campy may not be better than Shimano. But it is much easier getting the replacement parts for Campy over Shimano. Why doesn't Shimano offer the same servicability as Campy? You can even change Campy Ergos from 9 to 10 speed, as well as being able to fix them. Shimano's disposable mentality.

Thank you for your input everyone - I think perhaps Shimano has lost a customer and Campy has gained one. The fact that such a unit costing a considerable sum is not "fixable" other than replacement is unacceptable in my opinion. Cheers!

Whats the problem if there is a 3 year warr on your one year old DA?

Apparently Canuckada doesn't know what the word "warranty" means.

Apparently Canuckada doesn't know what the word "warranty" means.

If you read Canukada's original post, he stated the shifters were "installed" by an authorized dealer. He didn't say he bought them from an authorized dealer. Maybe he bought them off ebay and got bad stuff with no warranty?

I don't think this guy knows what he is talking about, and that inability to understand and communicate about the problem may be hindering him with the LBS.

With 9sp Dura-Ace its usually the RH shifter that either wears and misses shifts or gets dirt in it by riding with others in front of you in the rain. Shimano will supply a replacement main lever assembly is its at fault. Go back to your local Shimano dealer and they will sort it.Go now and don't witter on about Shimano being crap. There are too many negative vibes on this website.

Another guy with thousands of miles on D/A. Again three year warranty.

If it is cold where the bike is stored the grease can get hard enough to not let the ratchets return. This usually happens on older shifters. Flushing out the shifter can help this.

The rebuildability of Campy is nice. It is only cheap if you do it yourself tho. Also some of the parts that tend to break are nbot replaceable by themselves. The shiftlever(the one behind the brake lever) has a spring i've seen break several times. You have to get the whole shiftlever to replace the spring, it is about a third the cost of a complete shifter(For Record.) You an fit a Chorus one, which will half the price. That is a good feature of of Campy, they have a alot of interchangeablility

That is a good feature of of Campy, they have a alot of interchangeablilityPlus the carbon levers look waaay better than Shimano! :)

Yeah..

This guy has made a total of 6 posts on this board all bashing shimano d/a shifters that are still under warranty and now wants to send them in for a rebuild.

Something is wrong with this picture.

-j


Smells like a marketing ploy. I'd bet money this guy is somehow connected to a competitor of Shimano.

Quality wise Campy may not be better than Shimano. But it is much easier getting the replacement parts for Campy over Shimano. Why doesn't Shimano offer the same servicability as Campy? You can even change Campy Ergos from 9 to 10 speed, as well as being able to fix them. Shimano's disposable mentality.

You're right. Shimano's parts tend to be disposable. I guess it's a different business philosophy. Turns out, they are about the same price too. That surprised me since Campy is usually more money.

You're right. Shimano's parts tend to be disposable. I guess it's a different business philosophy. Turns out, they are about the same price too. That surprised me since Campy is usually more money.


Campy shifters are not too expensive relative to Shimano, it's everything else that gets you.

This is a long thread at this point so I haven't read all the responses. One thing that we run into with Shimano shifters in Minnesota is that they are easily effected by cold. The original grease is thick and gets stiffer when cold. I have revived many shifters by flushing them with White Lightning Clean Streak and relubing with a light oil.

Maybe I'm dense...what's the problem with his shifters? I read through this whole thread twice and haven't seen him actually explaining what the problem is, just that they're "junk".

--Doctor, I'm sick, please write me the appropriate prescription...

The guy is a troll. Plain and simple. I suggest the mods delete the thread.
I've had multiple crashes on my ultegra shifters, shift HUNDREDS of times daily for a year, they still work like new.

Maybe he's looking for his warr.

I was looking through a box on my bench for some graphite-grease to lube up a pilot-bearing for a clutch-job I was doing over the weekend. Found a tube of valve-grinding compound. He must've been accidently lubing up his shifters with sand! :eek:

What about DA barcons? People that complain about brifters may have a point, as they seem to have a lot of issues? two of my bikes have 9sp DuraAce barcons, and have never seen any problems there.....oh, it's a brifter thing. You racer types are funny folk.....if the OP is a manufacturers' troll, maybe SRAM is getting ready to release a roadbike shifter system soon......

What about DA barcons? People that complain about brifters may have a point, as they seem to have a lot of issues? two of my bikes have 9sp DuraAce barcons, and have never seen any problems there.....oh, it's a brifter thing. You racer types are funny folk.....if the OP is a manufacturers' troll, maybe SRAM is getting ready to release a roadbike shifter system soon......

Funny you should mention it ;).

http://www.cycleslambert.com/download.php/1doubletap.pdf?folder=Documents&file=1doubletap.pdf