TheCappucinoKid

Been a long while since I played with my Bianchi Varsity hybrid, but I'm pretty sure the Deore Mountain LX shifters used to work as index shifters. For some unexplicable reason, they now don't. Both front & rear thumbshifters are working only in friction mode. Even in friction mode, the rear thumbshifter won't hold its position, so when moved to the largest (rear) sprocket, the chain just falls by itself to the lower sprockets, as the tension releases. I have tried moving the little friction/index mode switch on the rear shifter into all different positions. I have tried playing with the cable tension screw next to the shifters. I have tried taking the thumbshifter apart, and also tightening the screw that holds the assembly together. I have tried adjusting the tension on the rear derailleur, and making sure it isn't slack when in the smallest rear sprocket (high gear). Still can't get either thumbshifter into a working index mode....

I'm sure I'm overlooking something... but what?!

bikinfool

Sometimes it's just time to retire a part...but who needs indexing anyways when using thumbies?

TheCappucinoKid

Uh... I was hoping for something a little more hopeful.... I, for one, am one who needs indexing. I find this friction shifting, at least on this bike, to be terrible. When it worked, the indexing was excellent on these thumbshifters. The part does not need to be retired, it is of good quality and excellent condition; far better quality than much of what is being made today (including the cheaply made shifters on my Giant Cypress, which came 20 years after the Bianchi). It will outlast all of us, I'm sure. It just needs to be adjusted (since it worked the last time I used the bike, it is not likely that both front & rear thumbshifters decided to commit suicide during storage). But I can't find any manual or in depth info that explains how to adjust friction / index shifters like the Mountain LX (apart from how to put them in friction/index mode).

Svr

The thumbshifter is held together by a nut, not a screw. When you remove the shifter from the mount, the small flat head screw at the bottom of the threaded hole only holds the top cap on. Remove the screw and the top cap to reveal the adjustment nut. Adjust as needed.

LarDasse74

I think you may be mistaken about the front shifter - it was probably only ever a friction shifter... there may have been a click in the center of the lever's travel, but I doubt even that.

I know what you mean concerning the quality of the newer, fancier stuff... so much money gets spent on "features" when what people really need is "quality." I used to cringe when people would come into the shop and say they paid $1000 for a bike fifteen years ago but now figure they can get as good a bike for $400... yes you can get a bike with 24 speeds and suspension, but it is not going to be as good as a $1000 bike from a decade ago with 21 speeds and no suspension.

wrk101

Front shifter appears to be friction only, while rear shifter is indexed/friction optional. Back then, it was common to only have indexing for the rear.

Sounds like the shifter itself is a little loose. I would follow the other advice (above) and tighten the adjustment nut.

TheCappucinoKid

Yes, correct on both counts. The front shifter is friction only (like I said, I hadn't used this bike for a longggg time....) while the rear is indexed. I fixed the problem, and yes, the problem turned out to be the shifter itself kept coming loose and moving, which interferes with the ability to index. The reason for this is there are 4 alloy pins that hold it on its mount... they were all broken (had they used hex screws instead, like they should have, these shifters would probably last a lifetime!). Hence no matter how tight I got the screw that holds it to the mount, the body of the shifter kept moving, making it impossible to stay in indexed mode. Solution? I hot glued the shifter to the mount. So far, its holding, and the indexing is working! (Now that I got the bike tuned up, this Biopace chainring really seems to hold a good cadence...).

Good thing I don't subscribe to the "Just throw a lot of money at the problem School of Bicycle Repair & General Problem Solving". Else I would have been about $200 poorer, with probably less well made shifters!

bikinfool

Glad you figured it out, my comment was after you completely overhauled it and didn't find the solution...just didn't know that you hadn't completely overhauled it yet...

I have some older stuff still working fine myself...it's a good thing to keep a functioning item going...

dahoyle

Wow, someone needs to take their meds.

First, They are not working correctly

Then they are the highest possible quality, and will outlast us all.

Then there was an obvious design flaw was repaired with hot glue.

Wonder if hot glue lasts a lifetime.

Personally, I would have just made new pins, out of something harder and more durable than hot glue and aluminum.

TheCappucinoKid

Wow, someone needs to take their meds.

I'll inform the nurse the next time I see her. I forget, what room did you say you were in?

First, They are not working correctly

So far, so good.

Then they are the highest possible quality, and will outlast us all.

Now you're losing it. I said they were "good quality", not "the highest possible quality". It's very easy to check that actually, you just hit the "scroll" button.

Then there was an obvious design flaw was repaired with hot glue.

Ok, good. Overall, I'm give you a 7 out of 10 for reading comprehension, and taking some marks off for hyperbole.

Wonder if hot glue lasts a lifetime.

Well, the bike's not going to "last a lifetime". So who cares if the shifter does? You see many 90 year olds on Bianchi Varsity's, do ya? LOL!

Personally, I would have just made new pins, out of something harder and more durable than hot glue and aluminum.

LOL! Good one. I can tell you've never seen these pins or done this sort of thing before. But do please explain exactly how you would find tiny pins of the right size AND hard material, how you would cut this hard material to the right length and flatten the end out perfectly so that it would stand straight on its platform, and most interestingly, how you would adhere them to the underside of the shifter body so strongly, they would withstand the rotating shifting forces "for a lifetime", all the while ensuring they stand perfectly straight on the platform no matter the method used to adhere them. There are only 4 people in the world that I know of who can do what you think you can do. They are in no particular order; Superman, an advanced race of aliens, the Twilight Zone kid who can make anything happen that he wishes for, and Shimano. That's "Shimano of 20 years ago, when they still used to work with metal....". Thanks for the laughs. You're all right, kid.

LarDasse74

You two can bicker like an old married couple all you want, but this is not a terrible idea:
It would probably take a drill, a tap, and some very small screws.

wrk101

Eventually, when the shifter totally dies, I have been using these to replace mountain bike shifters. They cost $12 at Niagara for the 7 speed version, less for six speeds. The seven speed version even comes with all the cables and SIS housings. Tourney SL-TX30.

TheCappucinoKid

No, that's true, that's quite doable (Dahoyle though was talking about making and gluing new pins! Quite a different story). In fact, I had thought of that idea of drilling through the part of the pins that remained in the assembly and fixing screws in, the moment I saw the pins had broken off. It's easier on paper than it is to execute though. You have to drill very very carefully and perfectly straight (to fit the screw body) into those pins, and drill the pin material right out without going too far and poking into the switching assembly, and breaking anything there. Then you have to drill holes into the much harder mount, and my small drill bits tend to break or bend readily, when drilling into anything harder than, say, cheese. Seems much easier to just use epoxy, or Bondo, or whatever will glue metal very well, because the whole thing is easy to clamp, and can easily be reglued if ever necessary. (I realize hot glue is not the best but... it's what I had at the time!).

dahoyle

I was just giving you a hard time, and the hyperbole was deliberate, but I would have fixed them the way I said, and I am neither superman or an advanced race of aliens. It is just the direction I would have taken, if I was going to repair the shifter.

As to tiny pin material. How about the shank of the tiny drill bit you use to drill the holes. Very hard indeed. A good 2 part epoxy would work to retain them.

If you are breaking tiny drill bits, you need to work on your technique. I have routinely used bits smaller than .021, and some as small as .017. You need lots of speed, such as a dremel tool. Another way is to fix the bit into a pin vice and drill it in by hand. If depth is critical, that is probably the best way to do it. You are not going to do it with a Black and Decker.

If that didn't work, I'd have just glued them like you did, but with a little more appropriate adhesive.