Serpico-2

Dont laugh, but I just changed my bike from a mtb to a road bike. (Thats not the funny bit =) )

Anyways, it has shimano 105 sti (9 speed) shifters.

One problem is that almost every gear shift is messy, either taking an age to move gear (if it decides to at all), making a lot of noise in the process or jamming up to an extent, Ive even managed to knock the chain off when trying to shift the front cogs. Its a new bike so it should be set up properly and its is clean. Any ideas whats up...its not a cheap bike and compared to my cheapo mountain bike its put to shame, which just isn't on. What are the likely causes for all that?

OK. Now for the stupid part =)

Ive noticed that on these shifters there are two small buttons, I have a feeling these might switch off the shifters. Is that right? If so, whats the point in that? Where they are positioned means I keep pushing them by accident when I change my hand position on the handlebars. Locking myself in a stupid gear and unable to get my shifters to work again.

My bikes in the garage as I type this and the rear shifter isn't working but the front one does. Ive pushed the buttons several hundred times but nothing happens.

This has happened before, and they've come back to life as mysteriuosly as they've died...WHATS GOING ON!!!

Any help greatly appreciated.

Many thanks,

Serpico.

steve33

I suggest that you get some proffesonial help, a shrink maybe.!!!

Joe Gardner

Welcome to the forums Serpico.

How long have you had the bike? With new bikes, you should have a tune up about a week or 10hours of riding, the reason is cable stretch, and that would cause sloppy shifting. Your LBS that sold you the bike should do this for free, when your there, they can also answer your questions about the two buttons, and tell you what they do.

Serpico-2

Thanks for the welcome Joe. Much better than:

Well steve33, I'll give you 0 for spelling, 0 for originality but 10/10 for coming across as a prat.

Next time, if your bored, have a play with little steve33 and don’t waste yours and everyone else’s time by writing unhelpful crap like that. Cheers

I cant really take the bike back, I got it from another part of the country (my town lacks any bike shops). Cant really go back any time soon. And phoning up without really knowing what the problem actually is probably wont be too useful, these guys are quick to sell you stuff but the after sales service usually lacks.

Are these shifters not ubiquitous. I thought shimano 105 stuff was on just about every bike you look at. Are these mysterious button not on other peoples bikes?

When I got the bike I remember seeing a review on-line somewhere and a bloke said the same thing as I’ve mention above...about the poor positioning of these buttons...so I don’t think I’m making it up

Thanks for your time.

Serpico.

steve33

Ouch,! what a grouch. Before undertaking malor overhaul projects, you should have a basic understanding of derailuer, crank and chain alignment. sorry that we seemed to hurt your feelings, but i was serious when i said proffesonial, you need the help of a mechanic. which i am and have been for about 15 years,but this problem cannot be resolved over the internet. SORRY!!!!!

Joe Gardner

Hmm, if you dont have a good LBS, i would reccoment buying a bicycle mechanics book off the internet, adjusting the derailuer arnt that hard, just a few screws to move in or out, its kind of hard to trouble shoot on the net, but a good book should help you enjoy your bike for years to come.

Untill then, read this artical: <IFRAME FRAMEBORDER=1 ALIGN=CENTER width=100% HEIGHT=400 SCROLLING=YES SRC="https://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html">https://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html</IFRAME>

P.S. Steve33 isnt that bad of a guy, just a grump

roadbuzz

Serpico,

If the two buttons you noticed are two little bumps on the inside of the right-hand brake hood, those are for use with Shimano's Flight Deck bike computer. If you don't have a flight deck, they do nothing.

Tailwinds,
Bob

Xavier

Serpico,

Call me at 909.788.3956 ask for Xavier (me). I would not mind if not too busy to guide you through the steps. Working on bikes is very easy and not nearly as hard as many point out. Many times I help people over the phone and in the long run save them trips to the shop and money. Nothing like saving time.

Your problem is very easy to fix.

The buttons are for the FlighDeck computer that you need to buy separate. Just like the ones sold for MTBs.

nickBMXr

Check to make sure that the cassette matches the number of gears on the shifters.....

If they don't match then full shifts will be sitting in the middle of two separate gears causing the chain to streatch and make noices.....

You can tell this if you skip gears when you only do one shift.....

GOOD LUCK!!!

MikeC

I don't know if you got your problem figured out, but the two buttons I had on my 105 brake/shift hoods were to control the Flight Deck computer (which you probably don't have installed)...
By the way, my 105 derailleurs shifted great, so stick with it!

Buddy Hayden

It's your cable tension....shift it into the smallest cog in the rear, wind out the barrell adjuster to let some slack in the cable, undo the cable anchor bolt,then pull the cable reasonably tight with your fingers !! ,do up the anchor bolt nice and tight,move your STI ****er into the next gear up from the smallest, then spin the cranks(assuming you are using a workshop stand) with one hand while turning the barrell adjuster with the other ..keep turning the adjuster untill it shifts into that next gear you put your shifter into..fine tune untill it's as quiet as it's gonna get...then go up and down the gears with the shifter to check it's all moving smoothly...cheers and have fun...

Buddy Hayden

that word that has been asterisked?? is shifter as in S.T.I

Joe Gardner

You forgot the f and yes, i do censor a few words on this forum...

orguasch

Serpico,
Try surfing the entire bikeforum.com, and you will find the members here are really nice, anywayz welcome to the site .....