ULTEGRA TRIPLE SHIFTER TROUBLE

NeauDL said:

Is my shifter toast? I changed the cables on my Ultegra 6500 shifters
perhaps 500 miles back. Just recently, I've had trouble shifting the
front derailleur. From the small chainring, lowest position, a sweep
of the left hand only pushes the derailleur over two clicks, i. e. to
the lower of the two positions for the middle chainring, rather than
pushing it over three clicks to the higher position. Also, when I
shift from the big chainring to the middle, it sometimes drops the
chain to the lower position rather than the higher position. It has
become much harder to push from the middle chainring to the large
chainring position also. This is not a problem due to friction where
the cable goes under the bottom bracket; that has been cleaned and
lubed. I think the shifter was original equipment, meaning it probably
has 10,000 miles or more on it. Any thoughts?

Hard to say but ensure the cable is in the 'hole' of the shifter and
when detached, it is in the 'small' ring poisition, then tighten it to
the FD...It may be history but it sounds like the cable is not tight or
it is starting at an intermediate position. If all attach-things is OK,
flush with WD-40, Spray lube, if still no soap, 2 yr warranty, if
outside that-new shifter. Gonna be tough perhaps to find a single
6503-may have to get a 6603......or Campag...no more shifter failures
that cannot be fixed.

You should check the housing end on the downtube to be sure the ferrule
is in good condition. If you force the front shifter too much you can
cause the wires in compressionless housing to blow through the
ferrule(s) (both plastic and metal). This will result in inconsistent
shifting like you describe. It's also possible that you didn't get the
other end of the housing seated properly in the shifter and it has
recently moved causing the cable to be too slack.

You could also have left too much slack in the cable when you installed
it and it has now stretched out of alignment.

Quoted message said:

Is my shifter toast? I changed the cables on my Ultegra 6500 shifters
perhaps 500 miles back. Just recently, I've had trouble shifting the
front derailleur. From the small chainring, lowest position, a sweep
of the left hand only pushes the derailleur over two clicks, i. e. to
the lower of the two positions for the middle chainring, rather than
pushing it over three clicks to the higher position. Also, when I
shift from the big chainring to the middle, it sometimes drops the
chain to the lower position rather than the higher position. It has
become much harder to push from the middle chainring to the large
chainring position also. This is not a problem due to friction where
the cable goes under the bottom bracket; that has been cleaned and
lubed. I think the shifter was original equipment, meaning it probably
has 10,000 miles or more on it. Any thoughts?

Beyond the other excellent suggestions made, make sure that your shift cable
isn't fraying inside the shift lever. That can cause all manner of problems,
and whether Campy or Shimano, those cables can be assumed to need
replacement at 10k miles. We've seen them fail in as few as 7k. If it breaks
off completely, it can be a real pain to remove.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

"NeauDL" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Is my shifter toast? I changed the cables on my Ultegra 6500 shifters
perhaps 500 miles back. Just recently, I've had trouble shifting the
front derailleur. From the small chainring, lowest position, a sweep
of the left hand only pushes the derailleur over two clicks, i. e. to
the lower of the two positions for the middle chainring, rather than
pushing it over three clicks to the higher position. Also, when I
shift from the big chainring to the middle, it sometimes drops the
chain to the lower position rather than the higher position. It has
become much harder to push from the middle chainring to the large
chainring position also. This is not a problem due to friction where
the cable goes under the bottom bracket; that has been cleaned and
lubed. I think the shifter was original equipment, meaning it probably
has 10,000 miles or more on it. Any thoughts?