NC Cyclocross w/ Sand = Wrench Help Needed

Triathlon Forum
1

Participated in the North Carolina Cyclocross race in Charlotte last week-end. I did a couple of practice laps and fell in the sand section of the course and it gunked up my STI shifter. Fortunately an LBS employee was there and using a straw he was able to blow out some of the sand and got the shifter to partially work before my heat started. Very thankful he was there otherwise I was going to be a DNS.
I t was a blast doing the race. Thanks to practicing or falling in the the sand and watching the pro wave effortless glide through the sand I was able to keep it wheels down during the race. Saw a couple of people end-o really well in the sand and they all picked themselves up and carried on after the large crowd response.

Update One of the End-Os was just put on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ytDRfKl4o4s

It is at 57 seconds, I am the guy just after the end-o passing on the far right :slight_smile: the guy who fell was all smiles at the finish.

The lack of shifting did not slow me down any, but the shifter remains partially functioning. Any tips on fixing the shifter? I have an air compressor or can use some of the office supplies compressed air to try and blow out the sand. Would applying any dry lube help? Should I take the STI apart?
Many Thanks,
Greg

2

New STI, that is what I ended up doing. Suck. Used the office air can and it helped but never was the same. I use low level components now :slight_smile:

3

I’ve had this problem myself and know many CX heavy shops that do the same thing.

  1. Remove rubber hoods (even better, remove shifters)
  2. Spray the hell out of the shifter internals with an aersol degreaser like Finish Line’s Speed Degreaser. This might take half a can depending on how much sand you have in there.
  3. Allow the shifters to dry and make sure they are unclogged and operational. If not, continue to clean.
  4. Relube with a dry, Teflon based lube like Finish Line’s Dry Lube

I’ve used this procedure with both Shimano and SRAM shifters with excellent results. Again, guys I know at shops that race CX (or with heavy winter commuting) do this as well.

Good luck!
-Pete

4

I’ve had this problem myself and know many CX heavy shops that do the same thing.

  1. Remove rubber hoods (even better, remove shifters)
  2. Spray the hell out of the shifter internals with an aersol degreaser like Finish Line’s Speed Degreaser. This might take half a can depending on how much sand you have in there.
  3. Allow the shifters to dry and make sure they are unclogged and operational. If not, continue to clean.
  4. Relube with a dry, Teflon based lube like Finish Line’s Dry Lube

I’ve used this procedure with both Shimano and SRAM shifters with excellent results. Again, guys I know at shops that race CX (or with heavy winter commuting) do this as well.

Good luck!
-Pete

X2, I trashed Ultegra STI’s in the sand for a few years and flushing them out works fairly well. They are not rebuildable like SRAM tho…

If you are really screwed, Chainlove is blowing out SRAM Force shifters for $279 right now. You’d have to get a new RD tho… SRAM is nice for cx, only one lever so it is easier to shift with gloves on (for when it is 16 degrees at the state champs in Dec!)