Originally Posted by JohnDThompson

I have a shifter that no longer reliably stays in 1st gear. I can shift into 1st, and it works fine until I hit a bump, upon which it pops up to 2nd gear. It's not too tight; if I loosen the cable enough to prevent the jumping, I no longer get 1st gear at all. It's not the hub or indicator rod, as I've tried two different hubs and the same thing happens, but they work fine in my wife's bike. I assume it's just half a century of wear & tear on the shifter. I don't feel like coughing up the $$$ for a NOS shifter or taking a chance with a used and possibly similarly worn shifter, so on bumpy roads I ride with my finger holding the shifter in 1st gear.