eja_ bottecchia

I would like some advice regarding the right/rear shifter-brake combo on my "new" Litespeed.

A couple of months ago I bought a 2001 Litespeed Classic. The bike is equipped with a Dura Ace 7700 drivetrain. From the beginning I noticed that the right shifter was a little "hard" to shift. I have never used a brake-shifter combo (I am old-school, and have always used downtube shifters) so I really had nothing to compare it to. Still, it felt a little "hard" to shift.

In the past couple of rides the right shifter has not returned ot the neutral position after a shift. Si I finally took the bike to the LBS. The mechanic there adviced me that the shifter internal parts are worn out, causing hte hard shift and keeping the shifter from occassionally returning to the neutral position. He said there are no user-serviceable parts and my only option is to replace the shifter.

What do you guys (and gals) think? Any suggestions, comments or advice (especially regarding my options) would be greatly appreciated it.

The shifter works OK through the entire range of gears, up and down. It is just a litlte hard to shift and it sometimes does not return to neutral. Other than that, it works just great.

Should I just ignore this issue? Should I replace the shifter? Should I try to over haul it?

Let me know.

Thanks in advanced.

Al1943

Hose out the shifter mechanism with WD 40. This restored my 7700 shifters to "like new" performance. The factory grease becomes hard with age, WD 40 will loosen the grease and help remove dirt from the shifters. Do this to both shifters.
Also replace all cables and cable housings if this has not been done recently.

Airburst

He's got a vested interest in selling you a new shifter, of course he'll say that.

As for the problem, I dealt with a similar one on my Shimano Acera MTB shifter by hosing the insides out with GT85 (basically WD40 with teflon in it), this might be better than the WD40 that AL1943 suggested, as it apparently leaves a low-friction teflon film on parts even after it evaporates.

kycycler

The LBS mechanic is correct in that the shifter is no longer available. What Airburst and AL1943 suggest is a good fix for a while. With the shifter being 11 years old I would suspect that the the gears are worn fairly well. In the shop that I work at we try the flushing technique. If that does not solve the problem the next thing is a new shifter. You did not say how many speed this bike is. 9 speed shifters are still available as are 8. Problem is that they will not be DA, maybe not even Ultegra.

operator

7700 refers to 9 speed specific shifters. There is no other possibility.

TLCFORBIKES

Shimano DA 7700 shifters are available (Irvine warehouse). If your LBS has a Shimano account have them call Shimano. Dealer cost will not be cheap which means that the buyers cost will not be cheap.

Go with flushing out the shifters first (flushing & moving the levers until freeing the moving parts may take a few minutes). Be patient. If you have success follow the flushing with lubricating the internal parts..

goatalope

Flush first. 7700 is 9 speed. Only new option is Tiagra. Lame. Could get used 7700 shifter off ebay, but still won't be super cheap.

operator

No, there's more than that for 9 speed quality wise.

canam73

I have a bike with 7700, wife has Tiagra (4500). No noticeable performance difference. Mine shifters are fine, but if one failed and I couldn't find a replacement I would not have a problem going with a tiagra.

To OP if you do need a replacement, other 9sp groups are 4400, st-r600, 5500 and 6500. New Sora is 9sp but then you get the thumb shifters which many dislike. Also, microshift makes new 9sp shimano compatible shifters. Performance and Nashbar have them as their house brands. I haven't ever used one, but posters here found them to function well but with a cheaper feel than shimano.

Good luck with the flush. I got my 7700 NOS about 2 years ago and gave them the treatment and put in new lube as preventive medicine. They have worked perfectly for me. For what it's worth, I flushed with Kroil, blew everything I could out with compressed air and lubed with Triflow.

HillRider

And used brifters are always a crap-shoot for both function and longevity.

eja_ bottecchia

Everyone who wrote, thanks. I followed the flushing-cleaning-lubing advice and the shifter works a little better. I changed the cable and housing and it shifts even better. The right shifter still needs a strong "push" to shift shift to the smaller cogs (but it works). I will bite the bullet and replace it (I am planning to do a multi-day ride and I don't want to have problems while on the road).

I was able to locate a NOS DA 7700 shifter on eBay. It is not cheap ($160.00 plus shipping) but it is new. I think that the bike's previous owner (who is a good friend of mine) is not as much into bike maintenance as I am. For example, when I sprayed WD-40, a black gunky residue came out of the shifter mechanism. That suggests to me that they shifters needs a good cleaning/flushing.

After I install the NOS shifter, I will start putting money aside in my bike "piggy bank" until I have enough money to change over to the DA 7900 series. I have heard lots of good stuff about the 7900 series and I like the fact that all the cables (brake and shifter) are hidden under the bar tape. I like that clean look.

Again, thank you all for your advice. This forum rocks. I really enjoy being part of a larger bike community.

Grazie!