Originally Posted by ivan_yulaev
Uh-uh. I lowered the cable tension, and presto! It is perfect now. The problem was that the cable tension was simply too high in the first gear, and this caused the shifter to snap itself into second gear. Giving it a tad bit of slack kept the shifting crisp, but avoided tensioning the cable so much in first gear.
It's like there was so much tension, I was BARELY able to get into first, but the shifter would not hold it there.
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Sometimes this kind of problem means you need to lubricate or replace the shift cables and housings.
Al