I busted up the thumb shifters on my mountain bike in a modest little crash. I took a bad line through a rock garden and fell over hitting the shifter on a rock. Got it working good enough to finish the ride but needs to be replaced.

Current shifter is Shimano SLX 670. Bike has 2x10 drivetrain with XTR derailler.

Anyone advise on the level of difficulty of replacing shifters? I've done some minor maintenance jobs like replacing shifter cables, replacing chains, truing wheels, etc and wondering how difficult a job replacing shifters is. Since I need to replace the right one, thinking I might as well upgrade to Shimano XTR shifters on both sides while I am at it.


Thanks.

Easy.

The hardest part will be removing the grips. If you have an air compressor I recommend getting an air gun nozzle under the inside edge of the grip and blowing it off. Otherwise it can be pretty difficult.


Once you have the grips off, remove the brake levers and shifters. Put the new shifters on, and put everything back together. After the grips, the next hardest thing is the cable and you already know how to do that.

Thanks for the tip. I have a compressor but would never have thought about using air to remove the grips.

The job sounds straightforward. I'll put the new shifters on in the next day or two so I can get back on the dirt soon.

Your issues might be more then the shifters. In fall downs impact damage happens sometimes where at first you don't think to look for. Make sure the rear der is hanging straight. Andy

Lacking a compressor I have had good success working a thin screwdriver blade under the grip, then inserting a WD-40 straw alongside and shooting a little in. Work the blade and grip around a little (turn the handle)and the grip will slide off fairly easily. Just clean the bar and grip after so they do not movbe around when reinstalled.

I do it that way too except I use a solution of dish washing soap and water.

Cheers

I can't imagine what life would be like without owning an air compressor. Just the thought of putting WD40 inside my grips gives me the willies.

Pro tip #2 , you can also use the air nozzle trick to get the grips back on. Just a little puff of air and a shove from the end. Done.

A bit of key info missing from the OP - What spec are the shifters/brake levers, regular or I-Spec B, what are the intended replacements going to be?, you only have the options of regular or I-Spec B with this, if looking at M980's.

If you have the option of running I-Spec with your brake levers, would look at this as an option.

For the grips, most current MTB's run lockons (unless using silicon like ESI's) far easier to replace your current grips with lockons if your current ones aren't.

No need to buy a complete set, as you can buy shifters individually.

For replacing wth SLX with XTR, your looking at a massive cost increase, is it going to really be worth it?, the M670's have a really nice feel, I recently replaced some M770's with M670's, and the newer M670's just feel better even though they are technically a lower spec.

+1 to this and to the compressor trick. I always spray the inside of grips with hairspray when I put them on again, it acts like a lubricant when it's wet so they go on easy, but when it dries it's like a threadlocker and keeps them from twisting or slipping off.

Assuming you want your new shifter to index I think that the real issue is finding a new shifter that matches the rest of your drive train. Once you are positive that you've done that part right the rest of the project should go pretty easily.

It's too difficult to do yourself. Take to bike shop.

While I've seen this done at my local co-op, I've never been able to do it myself and the times I have seen it done, it takes a lot of air to do the job. I've never seen on "just zip right off" as many people say. Personally, I can get the grips off faster using the method dsbrantjr uses...but without the WD-40.

I'm not sure why you would even want WD-40 anywhere near a pair of handlebar grips. It's messy and the grips are unusable afterwards. Putting a lubricant with low volatility under something that needs to not twist around is just not a good idea.

Soap and water works. Window cleaner also works. My favorite, however, is to slide a thin tool...the 2.5mm allen wrench from a Park Tool set that you almost never use on anything works the best...then spray in a bit of alcohol from a spray bottle. Then pull out the tool and twist the grips off. I can remove grips this way faster than someone using the air method...and with a lot less noise.

Yup. Works like a dream. I have a bottle of AquaNet that I bought back in the early 80s that I still use for putting on grips. Best $1.25 I ever spent

Thanks for all the great advice. I've got a set of regular clamp on type XTR 980 shifters coming my way in the mail and will use the tips above to remove the generic silicon grips off without damaging them so I can reuse.

Once I get the shifter replaced will check the derailler alignment and shifting to make sure the hanger didn't get bent. (Am pretty good at straightening out and aligning rear derailler since I race cross in the fall, am not very good at it, and have hit the ground a fair amount!)

Really appreciate the help and insight.

It is the first thing I learned to do bike-mechanic-wise, even before tires and tubes. It isn't difficult.

If you've done cables, the shifters themselves should be easy. They just bolt onto the handlebars, otherwise it should be a very similar process setting them up. Just make sure your new ones match the indexing on your old system.

After getting the grips on with hairspray...what happens next time you want to take them off?

I've also found rubbing alcohol (isopropyl) to be the best tool for the job at removing grips. No clean up afterward. You can even use it to put the grips back on as it'll dry and leave the grips in place. None of this messy WD-40 stuff. That'd be impossible to remove from the inside of a grip. And despite what people say, WD-40 DOES contain a very light lubricant, which would be... terrible... for grips.

I just use water, and instead of a screwdriver, I use a bamboo skewer, like for grilling shish kebabs.

OP, if you can change cables and housing, swapping a different shifter onto your bar is child's play.

Same procedure as above. Hairspray usually contains a bit of alcohol...so that it will dry quickly...so it's soluble.

Rubbing alcohol or ethanol will work. Acetone will also work. Just about any solvent which evaporates quickly will work.

I usually use the 2.5mm allen because it is there on the stand, it's thin and it's not used for much else. I use water in a pinch but it does take longer to evaporate. Heck, a whole lot of spit will work to get the grips on and they hold just about as well as hairspray...Eww!

Spit is not gross, otherwise there would be no french kissing.

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