Shimano Rapidfire Service? (newby)

the shifters are very very reliable - try not to mess with them before you've eliminated the more
probable cause of problems, muck in the cables.

fine dust & grit get dragged into the gap between the cable and outer each time a cable shifts in.
over time this accumulates and wedges the cable hard.

cleaning is apita. best to replace the cables and make sure you use high quality cable ferrules that
have proper o-ring seals in them. or better yet, "wet weather" ferrules that have both an o-ring and
an outer "wiper" that keeps the whole exterior moving section of the cable clean.

shimano part # 6AM 9808.

jb

desertsailor said:

Hello Folks,

I have LX rapidfire shifters on two MTB's (mine and my wife's). My right (front) shifter began
acting up a while ago. Depressing the thumb lever to downshift, the lever would often do nothing,
just feel like it wasn't "catching." The slower I pushed, the better the chance of actually
shifting. A fast push (like, when there's an unexpected climb) almost always does nothing. Now my
wife's shifter is doing the same.

What it feels like is that it's gummed up, and there's some ratchet that isn't catching??? I've
shot some lube at it in the past, and that seemed to help a bit. I'm riding in some coldish
(40*f), dry conditions, and that's caused more problem.

I'm thinking of just removing one screw and blasting in some tri-lube, as I'm afraid complete
disassembly would result in releasing the dreaded bouncy little parts and shooting springs. All
the shop wants to do is sell me a new shifter...

Thanks! You're right that I need new cables, and I'll take your
advice when shopping for them, but that wasn't the problem. In the
interest of community (and cuz I'm so golsh derned proud of myself),
I'll post my solution:

On the back side of the shifters, near where the levers meet the body, is a screw. Turns out, this
is actually a plastic plug, which comes out in one turn. I dribbled a bunch of tri-lube inside, and
the shifters are working like new. Note that these bikes are exposed to extreme conditions (salt
air, long trips on top of the car in driving rain, desert sand, etc.), so I wouldn't be shocked to
find that this is rare.

By the way, the oil dribbled out of the shifters like mad. They're not sealed, as some think -- more
like splash-resistant. That said, these have been a great improvement over twist-shift SRAM, and
very reliable. This is the first time I've had trouble, and I'm hard on this bike (SC Heckler).

Guess I can tell the bike shop "dude" that I'll be spending my $50 elsewhere...

Have fun!

jim beam <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

the shifters are very very reliable - try not to mess with them before you've eliminated the more
probable cause of problems, muck in the cables.

fine dust & grit get dragged into the gap between the cable and outer each time a cable shifts in.
over time this accumulates and wedges the cable hard.

cleaning is apita. best to replace the cables and make sure you use high quality cable ferrules
that have proper o-ring seals in them. or better yet, "wet weather" ferrules that have both an o-
ring and an outer "wiper" that keeps the whole exterior moving section of the cable clean.

shimano part # 6AM 9808.

jb

Quoted message said:

What it feels like is that it's gummed up, and there's some ratchet that isn't catching??? I've
shot some lube at it in the past, and that seemed to help a bit. I'm riding in some coldish
(40*f), dry conditions, and that's caused more problem.

Many lubes are simply too thick; you need something that will flush out the gunk, and thin enough
that it doesn't get in the way. We use PowerLube (available at better auto-parts stores everywhere!)
and have had phenomenal results rescuing "dead" shifters. Doesn't always work, but the success rate
is well over 50%, and it typically lasts for quite a while.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗

"desertsailor" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hello Folks,

I have LX rapidfire shifters on two MTB's (mine and my wife's). My right (front) shifter began
acting up a while ago. Depressing the thumb lever to downshift, the lever would often do nothing,
just feel like it wasn't "catching." The slower I pushed, the better the chance of actually
shifting. A fast push (like, when there's an unexpected climb) almost always does nothing. Now my
wife's shifter is doing the same.

What it feels like is that it's gummed up, and there's some ratchet that isn't catching??? I've
shot some lube at it in the past, and that seemed to help a bit. I'm riding in some coldish
(40*f), dry conditions, and that's caused more problem.

I'm thinking of just removing one screw and blasting in some tri-lube, as I'm afraid complete
disassembly would result in releasing the dreaded bouncy little parts and shooting springs. All
the shop wants to do is sell me a new shifter...

desertssailor-<< I have LX rapidfire shifters on two MTB's (mine and my wife's). My right (front)
shifter began acting up a while ago. >><BR><BR> << I'm thinking of just removing one screw and
blasting in some tri-lube,

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

<BR><BR>

Flush it with WD-40. May help but it may be history.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 vecchios.comvecchios.comOpen ↗ "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

Quoted message said:

Flush it with WD-40. May help but it may be history.

Peter: You gotta drink the KoolAid. My experience has shown that WD-40 doesn't have the staying
power of PowerLube. It's (WD-40) good for cleaning, but PowerLube seems to keep them going, mile
after mile after mile.

I ought to get kickbacks for all the times I recommend the stuff...

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles chainreactionbicycles.comchainreactionbicycles.comOpen ↗ "