Shimano RapidFire Shifters - education needed
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Shimano RapidFire Shifters - education needed
I was recently volunteering at a church garage sale when the pictured bike came in. It is a Raleigh Touring Bike, 200 CT. It came with a Cat Eye Vectra Computer, a Headlight, and Nashbar Bottle Rack and Rear Rack with a Nashbar bag that had a repair kit, safety vest and a few other goodies. The bike was purchased in Florida and somehow made it to Texas. It was covered in dust as I assume it was stored in someone’s barn. I know a little about bikes so I kept my eye on it, because of the dirty condition and two “flat” tires it was marked for $ 10.00. I bought it at the end of the first night, took it home and cleaned it up. The bike has the following components:
• Shimano Altus A20 Rapidfire Plus
• Shimano Altus C10 Rapidfire Plus
• Shimano Altus C20 Front Derailleur
• Shimano Altus A20 Rear Derailleur
• Shimano Altus C20, 28/38/48 teeth
Question # 1 - I have no idea how the Rapidfire shifter works as each have two thumb levers. How do the shifters work?
Question # 2 - The front derailleur will shift from the low range to the mid, but will not hold and shifts back to low on its own. I cannot get the front derailleur to engage the high gear at all. Why is this happening?
Question # 3 - The rear derailleur will not engage at all, the shifter is very stiff. Why is this happening?
Question # 4 – The Cat Eye Vectra is not working; does anyone know of a link where I can learn how to change the battery and how the device functions?
• Shimano Altus A20 Rapidfire Plus
• Shimano Altus C10 Rapidfire Plus
• Shimano Altus C20 Front Derailleur
• Shimano Altus A20 Rear Derailleur
• Shimano Altus C20, 28/38/48 teeth
Question # 1 - I have no idea how the Rapidfire shifter works as each have two thumb levers. How do the shifters work?
Question # 2 - The front derailleur will shift from the low range to the mid, but will not hold and shifts back to low on its own. I cannot get the front derailleur to engage the high gear at all. Why is this happening?
Question # 3 - The rear derailleur will not engage at all, the shifter is very stiff. Why is this happening?
Question # 4 – The Cat Eye Vectra is not working; does anyone know of a link where I can learn how to change the battery and how the device functions?
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1) One lever moves upshifts and the other downshifts. Take a minute to play around with it and it'll be obvious. Pedal it on a stand and actuate the levers.
2) Wouldn't be surprised that the shifter is broken. Also can be an adjustment issue followed by cable + housing issue https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=75
3) Again, on a bike that's been sitting for a while, you can almost guarantee that the cable + housing suck https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=64
4) All wired bike computers operate on nearly the same principle. Magnet attached to the spoke on a wheel passses by a sensor which is connected by a wire to the mount which is typically on the handlebars/stem. The computer sits there. Battery is secured by a cover usually, again on the rear of the unit. If it is fubar, new wired units with multi-line display starts at around $10-$15.
Your questions are not easy to comprehensively answer without at least a little bit of homework and effort on your part.
2) Wouldn't be surprised that the shifter is broken. Also can be an adjustment issue followed by cable + housing issue https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=75
3) Again, on a bike that's been sitting for a while, you can almost guarantee that the cable + housing suck https://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=64
4) All wired bike computers operate on nearly the same principle. Magnet attached to the spoke on a wheel passses by a sensor which is connected by a wire to the mount which is typically on the handlebars/stem. The computer sits there. Battery is secured by a cover usually, again on the rear of the unit. If it is fubar, new wired units with multi-line display starts at around $10-$15.
Your questions are not easy to comprehensively answer without at least a little bit of homework and effort on your part.
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Cateye manuals: https://www.cateye.com/en/manuals/66
I have a 2000 KHS tandem with Shimano triggershifters and newer bikes with SRAM triggershifts. Generally, one trigger on each side goes up , the other goes down. Yours look different but probably work similarly.
I would suspect that your cables and housing could stand to be replaced and if you do that and then adjust them, all will work.
https://www.parktool.com/repair/byregion.asp?catid=53
Spending $10 on the bike (quite a deal!) allows you to spend whatever it takes to make it right.
What is the frame make of?
I have a 2000 KHS tandem with Shimano triggershifters and newer bikes with SRAM triggershifts. Generally, one trigger on each side goes up , the other goes down. Yours look different but probably work similarly.
I would suspect that your cables and housing could stand to be replaced and if you do that and then adjust them, all will work.
https://www.parktool.com/repair/byregion.asp?catid=53
Spending $10 on the bike (quite a deal!) allows you to spend whatever it takes to make it right.
What is the frame make of?
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Quite a good deal, judging from the picture alone it looks like it was taken care of - it has a rack on it that is level, and everything looks like it's in generally good condition. You'd have to spend approximately $400-$600 to get something of that quality new. Assuming nothing is fatally beyond repair.
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Question # 2 - The front derailleur will shift from the low range to the mid, but will not hold and shifts back to low on its own. I cannot get the front derailleur to engage the high gear at all. Why is this happening?
Question # 3 - The rear derailleur will not engage at all, the shifter is very stiff. Why is this happening?
Question # 3 - The rear derailleur will not engage at all, the shifter is very stiff. Why is this happening?
The Park Tools pages are good for basic diagnosis and repair: https://parktool.com/repair/
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Thank you very much, the parktool website is awesome. Just what a novice mechanic, like me, needs. Does Shimano spare old shifter parts? I assume the bike to be at least ten years old!
Thanks for the Cat Eye manual website also.
Thanks for the Cat Eye manual website also.
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Thank you very much, the parktool website is awesome. I will try the diagnostic suggestions that you gave me and see if I can get the "old girl" running again.
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