When it rains ...

Don Whybrow said:

............... After stopping at the roadside I had a look & saw that
there appears to be a missing grub screw holding a plate in place.
Just up the road was an LBS, so I stopped there. The man there had a
look, agreed that it was missing a screw and tried to fit one. This
did not make any difference and he thought that the thread had been
stripped. He was also of the opinion that it would not be possible to
repair and I should put on new STI levers. The ones I have are
Ultegra 9sp, but apparently these are now only available as 10sp
(Wiggle says otherwise). There other option is 9 sp Tiagra ones.

A few questions for the panel.

1. Are the STI's I have really non-serviceable?

I think that they can be serviced, but its tricky. Campag Ergo levers are a
lot easier to maintain.

Quoted message said:

2. Is there much difference between Tiagra & Ultegra in terms of feel,
performance, etc?

Can't answer. I use Campag.

Quoted message said:

If I go for a 10sp, this will need a change of chain & block.
3. Will I be OK with the chain wheel?

Probably, though check front derraileur as well.

Quoted message said:

4. Will my current rear dérailleur cope?

Probably.

Quoted message said:

5. Is it worth the extra gear?

Doubt it.

Alternatives:

a) read up the Shimergo page on the CTC website. There may be a way to use
other shifters, Campag or Shimano, with your current rear setup. Even a
change in cable routing is enough to swap between some types.

b) Ebay for a set of 9 speed Ultegra levers.

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/

Don Whybrow said:

Almost nothing to do with the weather.

Following my frame failure I was not too worried as I had another
bike I could use for the commute after making a few minor
modifications. The ride in this morning was uneventful, but on the
way home I went to change up a gear at the rear & nothing happened. I
tried down & it was OK. I tried up and after pushing on the lever, it
changed down. After stopping at the roadside I had a look & saw that
there appears to be a missing grub screw holding a plate in place.
Just up the road was an LBS, so I stopped there. The man there had a
look, agreed that it was missing a screw and tried to fit one. This
did not make any difference and he thought that the thread had been
stripped. He was also of the opinion that it would not be possible to
repair and I should put on new STI levers. The ones I have are
Ultegra 9sp, but apparently these are now only available as 10sp
(Wiggle says otherwise). There other option is 9 sp Tiagra ones.

A few questions for the panel.

1. Are the STI's I have really non-serviceable?

I don't know about your particular problem (there might be some way to fix
it: retapping?, glueing?), but STIs are generally regarded as
non-serviceable.

Quoted message said:

2. Is there much difference between Tiagra & Ultegra in terms of feel,
performance, etc?

Pass.

Quoted message said:

If I go for a 10sp, this will need a change of chain & block.
3. Will I be OK with the chain wheel?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

4. Will my current rear dérailleur cope?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

5. Is it worth the extra gear?

Not worth upgrading purely for that reason, IMO, but it wouldn't be purely
for that reason if the existing STI is not repairable. You will enjoy the
extra gear if you enjoy pedalling at just the right cadence - that is "just
right" for comfort for you.

Quoted message said:

Now for the bit about the weather. riding home with only the front to
provide different gears, it started to chuck it down. Oh joy!

I blame Wimbledon. They should move the tournament to the winter so we can
have a drier start to the summer each year.

~PB

in message <[email hidden]>, Don Whybrow

(') said:

Almost nothing to do with the weather.

Following my frame failure I was not too worried as I had another bike I
could use for the commute after making a few minor modifications. The
ride in this morning was uneventful, but on the way home I went to
change up a gear at the rear & nothing happened. I tried down & it was
OK. I tried up and after pushing on the lever, it changed down. After
stopping at the roadside I had a look & saw that there appears to be a
missing grub screw holding a plate in place. Just up the road was an
LBS, so I stopped there. The man there had a look, agreed that it was
missing a screw and tried to fit one. This did not make any difference
and he thought that the thread had been stripped. He was also of the
opinion that it would not be possible to repair and I should put on new
STI levers. The ones I have are Ultegra 9sp, but apparently these are
now only available as 10sp (Wiggle says otherwise). There other option
is 9 sp Tiagra ones.

A few questions for the panel.

1. Are the STI's I have really non-serviceable?

Shimano ones really are non-servicable. They're extremely complex
internally, but that's not the problem; the problem is that Shimano don't
sell the internal parts separately.

Quoted message said:

2. Is there much difference between Tiagra & Ultegra in terms of feel,
performance, etc?

Yes, I'd think so. Ultegra is a good group, but Tiagra's pretty
entry-level.

Quoted message said:

If I go for a 10sp, this will need a change of chain & block.

Once you get this far, start thinking about whether it would be worth
changing to Campagnolo. The parts are all serviceable even if years old,
the spare parts stockists are well supplied and knowledgable, and, well,
it's the real thing.

Quoted message said:

3. Will I be OK with the chain wheel?

Should be (but wait for Pete Biggs to give his official blessing).

Quoted message said:

4. Will my current rear dérailleur cope?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

5. Is it worth the extra gear?

No, not really. Not for the likes of us, anyway.

Frankly what I would be doing in your position is looking on eBay a good
second hand pair of Ultegra or Dura Ace 9 speed shifters - there are a
couple of sets on now. If the worst came to the worst at least you could
cannibalise.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

Morning had broken, and there was nothing we could do but wait
patiently for the RAC to arrive.

Don Whybrow said:

A few questions for the panel.

1. Are the STI's I have really non-serviceable?

I think limited service is possible (return spring Change?). Check the
Shimano service instructions.

Quoted message said:

2. Is there much difference between Tiagra & Ultegra in terms of
feel, performance, etc? If I go for a 10sp, this will need a change
of chain & block.

There is a world of difference; 10sp Ultegra is way ahead of 9sp
Tiagra, very smooth and very little effort required to change. You'll
need a new cassette and chain (10sp 105 stuff will prolly be OK). I
reckon your old front and rear mechs will be up to the job.

Quoted message said:

3. Will I be OK with the chain wheel?

Yes.

Quoted message said:

4. Will my current rear dérailleur cope?

Yes, I'm 99% sure but there's only one way to really find out...

Quoted message said:

5. Is it worth the extra gear?

Absolutely.

--
Mike
Van Tuyl titanium Dura ace 10
Fausto Coppi aluminium Ultegra 10
Raleigh Record sprint mongrel

Quoted message said:

1. Are the STI's I have really non-serviceable?

Get yourself down the GUM clinic... they'll sort you out..

Don Whybrow said:

Almost nothing to do with the weather.

Following my frame failure I was not too worried as I had another bike I
could use for the commute after making a few minor modifications. The
ride in this morning was uneventful, but on the way home I went to
change up a gear at the rear & nothing happened. I tried down & it was
OK. I tried up and after pushing on the lever, it changed down. After
stopping at the roadside I had a look & saw that there appears to be a
missing grub screw holding a plate in place. Just up the road was an
LBS, so I stopped there. The man there had a look, agreed that it was
missing a screw and tried to fit one. This did not make any difference
and he thought that the thread had been stripped. He was also of the
opinion that it would not be possible to repair and I should put on new
STI levers. The ones I have are Ultegra 9sp, but apparently these are
now only available as 10sp (Wiggle says otherwise). There other option
is 9 sp Tiagra ones.

If you do get a new pair, I'd be interested in acquiring your spare
left hand (front) lever as my RSX one is temperamental at best.

...d

Moo said:

Quoted message said:

1. Are the STI's I have really non-serviceable?

Get yourself down the GUM clinic... they'll sort you out..

When I read that I thought "Aha, it can be repaired". Then I used
Google! It' a good thing I wasn't drinking coffee at the time. Thanks, I
think.

--
Don Whybrow

Sequi Bonum Non Time

"The war isn't the war between the blacks and the whites, the
liberals and the conservatives, or the Federation and the
Romulans. It's between the clueful and the clueless." (an
anonymous poster on cypherpunks list)

Don Whybrow said:

Almost nothing to do with the weather.
.....He was also of the opinion that it would not be possible to
repair and I should put on new STI levers. The ones I have are
Ultegra 9sp, but apparently these are now only available as 10sp
(Wiggle says otherwise). There other option is 9 sp Tiagra ones.

Alternative for you:

New 10 speed Ultegra (or similar) levers.
Shiftmate cable adjuster, type 2, which matches a Shimano 10 speed lever
with a Shimano 9 speed rear block and derraileurs, from here:
http://www.jtekengineering.com/shiftmate.htm

Might be an alternative to a full rebuild to 10 speed, though no idea if
they would express airmail you the component ?

- Nigel

--
Nigel Cliffe,
Webmaster at http://www.2mm.org.uk/