I had a bit of a wipe out yesterday , hit a piece of ice in a sheltered spot, not going too fast but came down on the left STI shifter. It now wobbles on it’s pivot axle (if you understand what I mean), and when I brake this means that it doesn’t always go back in to position. Plus shifting to the big ring feels like it is going to take the lever off. I am taking to my LBS later this week, but I was wondering…
Salvageable or not? I sure don’t want to spring for some new shifters just 1 month after spending all that money on the bike.
Yours in pecuniary misery
Chris
I don’t remember if any of the Shimano shifters are rebuildable or not. My suspicion is that they are not. However, a left shifter should not be that expensive. I suspect that since QBP sells quite a few RH shifters alone, the LH shifter should not be all that expensive.
One alternative is (in the case of an aluminium frame) to have a qualified mechanic put a shift boss onto your frame and you could have a dt shifter instead. You could be like Lance. If you have dt bosses, then this MAY be the less costly alternative, but it is not likely unless you bought an Italian bike (and not all of them have dt bosses like they used to). But, by the time you get all of the parts and labour in the case of installing a boss, you could have bought an lh shifter. I used to perform this operation, and probably could with a bit of coaxing (as my drill press is free, now), but again, it would probably not be worth it from a time and money standpoint. Best to either rebuild the lever or get a new one. But the good news is that you won’t have to pay for an entire new pair of them.
You may ask “how does someone install a DT shifter boss on a finished frame without destroying the paint?” Nova sells a dt shift boss kit, which involves an 8mm hole through the down tube, a little JB Weld, and a few turns of a hex wrench.
Sorry, but what is QBP? I would love to be able to source a single shifter. A down tube shifter is not really what I am after, but thanks for the suggestion.
Chris
QBP is what many cycle shops in the U.S. use as their wholesaler.
I didn’t think that you wanted dt shifters; but I thought of that as an alternative IF you had the bosses.
If your LBS goes through QBP, then you could probably get an LH shifter.
Thanks but I am in the UK, so unlikely that my LBS uses them.
I have had a look at the service instructions on the website, and it looks like it may be possible to fix them.
They call the bit where it is loose the lever stud. We’ll see…
If you can fix it, then that’s cracking good news for you, mate.
I don’t know who any of the distributors in the U.K. are, but do know a few shops (as I visit them every year).
Count on that part not being able to be fixed unless you can use the parts you have, or someone has another “scrap” shifter that they can part out for your parts. ShimaNO is infamous for being certain to not offer replacement parts.