closetbiker

I bought a '96 Cannondale R400 road bike in '97.

It came with RSX STI shifters for a 7 cog cassette and a little bit last season, and more so lately, I'm finding the rear shifter isn't working very well.

I pivot the shifter, but nothing catches.

I don't think it's an adjustment problem, it's more like the cable just isn't catching when I shift.

Eventually it shifts, but it takes a while.

I'm thinking the mechanism that holds the cable is just wearing out.

I don't use the bike for bad weather, just good and if I had to guess, I probably have about 33,000 kms on it.

What's a reasonable life span of a brake lever/shifter?

Steev

There seems to be no good answer to lifespan, but you may well increase the lifespan of your shifters by giving them a good flush out with some kind of cleaner and then a lube with a light lubricant like Tri-flow.

operator

That just prolongs the life, it doesn't prevent nor fix the actual problem. Shimano STI shifters were never designed to be serviceable. Once they go, and flushing it out with Wd-40/lubricatns doesn't work it's time to replace them.

You want something that's actually servcieable, campy ergos.

thomson

I don't know how those particular shifters work and I don't know what it means to pivot a shifter but let me ask a basic question. When you say the shift doesn't take immediately but delayed, are those shifts to smaller cogs? If so, frequently that can be trouble with the cable travelling through the housing. The spring is just not strong enough to snap it to the lower gear. Changing the cable and/or housing can fix the problem.

tellyho

Possibly could be a cable / housing friction problem, but most likely the shifter. Do a search for the WD40 flush method and see if it works. I have the same RSX shifters on my R300 and the left is starting to be unreliable; not enough to flush yet.

closetbiker

When I say pivot, I mean pivoting the shifter to shift.

It doesn't work when shifting to the smaller cogs (smaller, inner lever) or to the larger cogs (larger, outer lever).

I have given it a spray of Tri-Flow and tightened the cable and that has helped a bit, but it still barely shifts.

These things can't last forever, or can they?

Panthers007

Everything wears out eventually. If you have lubricated it and checked the cable-tension, to little avail, then I'd say it's time to consider a replacement. It's 12 years old! Congratulations to both of you.

Good luck.

ogbigbird

start with a good flush of the shifter and relube with triflow. this will buy you some time. then also as mentioned, check your shifter cables and housings and replace if need to or just cuz their cheap enough and you'll know they are right. check your derailleurs for proper adjustment and clean and lube.

the life span of shifter depends on how often they were shifted. a shifter that belongs to a constant gear hunter or was shifter hard often or left to be exposed to harsh elements won't last as long as shifters that the rider didn't shift so often, was kept out of bad elements and maintained. sti shifters don't last forever and eventually you gotta move on. just replaced a friends gripshifters on his 90' univega cuz they were just worn out and the grips began to decompose on the shifter itself.

id upgrade to gripshift, another sti system or whatever you prefer, if a flush n lube doesn't work.

crocodilefundy

if the shifter shifts some of the time it probably needs to be lubed. if it never shifts part of the mechanism probably failed and you'll need new stuff.

cs1

Shimano, unlike Campy, isn't rebuildable or owner servicable. Most Shimano owners just squirt brake fluid in the brifter to clean it out. If the brifter is sluggish, flush it and be done. Good luck

Mr. Underbridge

I'm in a somewhat similar boat - I have a 1993ish Giant Nutra that I've had since it was new (and I was 15). Mine started exhibiting similar symptoms as yours recently, occasionally wouldn't engage though it would eventually catch. I took it apart to clean it and noticed it was a bit frayed. Figured I'd get to it eventually. Well, a couple of weeks ago the thing just locks up, won't shift, and I'm cursing the thing to death. I go to tweak the barrel adjuster while I'm riding, figuring that might get things unstuck, and come away holding the end of the chewed-through cable. Whoops.

That was fun. I started off on a crappy old 7 speed, and by the end of my ride I was a single-speed loving hipster on a beater, er, "vintage" bike.

Moral of the story - have you checked to see what those cables look like in there?

closetbiker

At first, I thought it felt like a worn cable but I thought it was was just last season that the cable snapped and I replaced it.

After reading your post, I checked my records and saw that I did change a cable last season, but it was the front derailer cable, not the rear.

Thanks for the anecdote, and I guess here's yet another example on why it's important to write things down (particularily when you get old, and start to lose your memory)

Hopefully, this'll be it.

closetbiker

Well, there you go. It's always the simplist thing.

I appreciate the fresh minds lending help. Sometimes you need another perspective.

I changed the cable and all is well.

Just an aside. I've got to say I'm impressed with the durablity with a lower end component that I thought was going to be the weal link of the bike.

I bought the bike as a replacement for another that was destroyed when a car drove into it.

The insurance company gave me money to replace my bike and I made a choice to go with a better (different) frame with lesser components (Ultegra vs. RSX).

I thought by now, I'd be having problems or wearing out the RSX, but they're still going strong.

dsm iv tr

Aside:

I understand why people don't want to take the time to service Shimano STIs, but the supposed "fact" that it can't be done is simply untrue.

Exploded parts diagrammes are available on Shimano's website for people with the patience and time to do so. I have serviced one of the lower-end (Sora?) STIs and while it -was- a technically demanding job, there is no reason why someone with a beer, a free evening, and a hankering for a challenge can't do it.

edit: The service involved was cleaning out tons of sand and debris that had just gotten into the brifter, through no fault of the owner.

Here's the Sora, for anyone interested: https://techdocs.shimano.com/media/te...9830609256.pdf. Oh, and for the "return spring installation tool", someone else on these forums suggested dental floss. It works.

cs1

Thanks for the info dsm. Being a Campy user, on my road bikes, I'm used to rebuilding my brifters. I think Shimano gets a bad rap for not being user servicable. Usually Shimano brifters just need a good cleaning to keep them running. My only gripe about Shimano is the lack of replacement parts for sale. Great info, thanks for sharing.

dsm iv tr

@cs1

No problem! Happy to share. The way I see it is that there is probably no need to buy new brifters if you have a few hours and some patience - plus, who wants to give up thier faithful brifters after years of service?

oldroads

I've never seen them break or wear out.
They usually gum up and a good WD-40 flush, along with moving the pawls back a forth with a small screwdriver, will bring 'em back to life.

HillRider

The Shimano tech document you reference only shows the brifter taken apart into major sub-assemblies and says absolutely nothing about the intricacies of the gear shift mechanism. Disassembly to the level shown is quite easy. The "special tool" is a small diameter metal tube and one comes with every replacement STI set. Actual service on the shift mechanism is not usually attempted and, as noted, replacement parts are not available.

dsm iv tr

Fair point about replacement parts, but this doesn't invalidate the fact that Shimano STIs are still serviceable by someone with patience. I linked Shimano's stuff because although simple, that diagramme is probably all most people want to bother attempting (it's enough to be able to clean out most parts and check for function again), and if they were really interested... well, read on.

See https://www.norvil.net/pedal/service/...sti/detail.php for further, more intricate details on how to strip down a Dura-Ace 9sp STI.
Rebuild instructions are on the next page, https://www.norvil.net/pedal/service/...ti/rebuild.php and includes tips about how to reinsert the springs.

Ranger63

I've got RSX100s on the 91 Paramount (this is the japanese made Paramount)and have over 60K on them.
Only think I've had to change out was the cables.
'Course,this is a road bike.

mishmashmusic

I just resurrected some Shimano 200GS shifters on an old mountain bike. They were completely frozen because of the old grease. Following advice found here on the boards, I took them out of the plastic shells and soaked them for a couple of days in WD-40 to free up the hardened grease, cleaned them off, and relubed with Tri-Flow. Works like a charm now.

Steev

I've never seen that site before despite much googling. Thanks. The DA 9 speed shown is very different from the older Ultegra 9 and the 600 8 that I've looked at. Seems Shimano really does keep updating the design.

dsm iv tr

@Steev:

Yeah, they do keep updating stuff. That's why I think it's important to investigate and figure out how a particular lever works yourself, if you have the time. For people disinclined to possible breakage, it's probably not the best option but if your brifters are dying/dead anyway it's worth a shot.