Originally Posted by
flyfisherbob
The chain is new. Pic attached. The shifting did not fully improve after the hangar was straightened, and the mechanic showed me what looked like a lot of play. The unit is a six speed, so it looks like lucking onto the part is the best I can hope for. Am I right that the stops for the indexing are around a plastic sleeve inside the shift lever body?
+1 No luck required, they are for sale on ebay, pretty much continuously. I have bought many sets on ebay. I am patient, so I wait for a deal (spread of prices is pretty wide on ebay).
+1 When you own a 25 year old bike, with technology that went out about 20 years ago, the used market is your friend: donor bikes, co-op, ebay, and the marketplace on this forum are all your best sources. Bike shops do not use these sources, so not surprised they didn't have a reasonably priced alternative.
Note, I also occasionally pick some up used at bike shops. Some shops have buckets of misc parts, I have picked up three sets of bar end shifters in the last couple months this way. One set was actually NOS, still in original bag.
+1 Lots of causes that would not be the shift levers. Those levers are very durable.