Miss-shift with 08 Rival. Will new Sram shifters fix?
 

I made the jump from older Shimano 105/Ultegra 9-speed mix to Sram in 08 when I picked up a Specialized Tarmac setup with Sram Rival. Initially I was very happy, but did experience the occasion miss-shift, i.e. try to down shift, the chain moves to correct cog but the lever did not click into the correct ratchet position, release the lever and I end up with an up shift.

I figured this issue would go away as I get use to the levers, but 2 year later and I’m still having problems. I’m not sure if I just haven’t gotten use to the levers yet (or ever will at this point), if this is an issue with the 08 Sram Rival Shifters, a general issue with all double-tap shifters, or something else. This happens even when the setup is cleaned and dialed-in, but is a little more frequent when things are dirty or a little ‘off’.

So which is it, operator error :D, the 08 Rival Shifters, all double-tap shifters, or none of the above?

What I really want to know is if the issue will get better if I swap the levers out for newer Force or Red.
If this issue cannot be fixed or is operator error, then I’m going back to Shimano or jumping to Campy.

Thanks for the feedback.

sounds like an adjustment issue.

… a bit more info. It seems like the throw between cogs is not the same across the cassette. This makes the issue worse for me.

I have been using Sram for about a month now and have done this serveral times myself. If you are still doing it after 2 years there is no hope. The only thing I can think of that might help would be to get some Red shifters, they have zero loss shifting in the rear which means you don't have to throw the lever as far to do a downshift.

As Scientist said, it sounds like an adjustment issue. If not, I'd say that it's an operator issue.

Ok... looks like a trip to the LBS for a full tune-up is in order. If that doesn't fix the "adjustment issue", then it’s an operator issue and Sram just isn't for me.

"Throw" (distance) is the same. However, the effort required increases as you shift to lower and lower gears. This is a consequence of increasing cable tension, and it affects all mechanical shifters. You need to push harder to downshift from the 23 to the 25 than from the 13 to the 14.

I suppose you'll find out when you get the bike tuned, but this doesn't sound like adjustment to me. It sounds like you aren't pushing the lever far enough for a downshift, perhaps because of the increased effort required. What might help more than the tune is new cables and housing, especially if you get a low-friction cable set, like Gore. At the very least, you should be sure that your cables are Shimano or similar name-brand stuff; Jagwire cables and housing are not very good, far too much friction. How do I know? Because that's what I'm using. Bummer.

Too bad… I have Jagwire on the bike and just ordered a new set for a different bike. I never considered the cables.