joeync

I am looking to purchase a used Trek 1220 (circa 1999) with Shimano RSX Dual control shifters/brake levers. Apparently the shifters are not moving either the front or rear derailleur. Do you think I would be able to repair these shifters, or what type of new shifters would be compatible with the crank set? I'm not able to find much on ebay.. I'm trying to keep things within a very low budget for my wife who is just getting into road cycling. Thanks for the help.

Joe

88Tempo

I would say there is a fair chance that they still work and it is just old gummed up grease stopping them from moving. I've picked up 3 non shifting RSX equipped bikes for cheap and with a little cleaning and some fresh lube the shifters all work fine.

HillRider

Either the shifters are worn out, gummed up or the cables are improperly adjusted. If the shifters are worn out or broken, there are no repair parts available. If they are gummed up, solvent washing and relubing with light oil should make them work again. Unless this is a very low cost purchase or you are sure an adjustment will fix it, find a different bike.

dedhed

RJ the bike guy has some youtubes on these.


What speed? https://www.randombikeparts.com/prod...BoCLm4QAvD_BwE

curbtender

They sell some pretty cheap sets of 7 speed sti's now, but you can usually get these to work with just a flush.
​​​Microshift 7 Speed Road Levers | Jenson USA

Kontact 

Start by removing the old cables. The heads break in Shimano shifters all the time.

Alcohol followed by spray lube should loosen them up.

Microshift brifters work well.

Jean_TX

I have the RSX shifters on an old 1998 DiamondBack road bike. If I haven't ridden the bike in a long while, the shifters do seize up internally and won't move the derailleurs. Assuming that the derailleurs are well lubricated, the first thing to try is to "de-gum" the shifters with some WD40:

- Pull the shifter lever backward as if you are braking and generously spray the WD40 into the shifter body internals.
- Try shifting the derailleur up and down several times.
- If the derailleur still doesn't move, try more WD40.

If the above "de-gumming" doesn't work, then start thinking about replacing the cables and cable housings.

Ironfish653

I've also had a couple of RSX's where the shifter was 'dry-fired' too many times and fouled the cable Cycling the levers while the cranks aren't roatating, and the head of the cable got out of the pulley, and wedged between the shifter body and the internal mechanism.

The RSX has the reputation for being a pretty robust unit, more likely to need service than replacement.

joeync

Kontact 

Did you inspect the cable heads, especially on that left?

Use a spray lube or drip lube. Don't use lithium grease as it reacts with WD40, which might already be in there or might get used some day.

Is the front derailleur moving smoothly, or does it need oil?

jimc101

That's an issue with the first gen under cable routed STI's, (5700, 6700 & 7900), the previous and next gen's weren't affected by this in the same way, as in no one ever seemed to mention it as an issue before they went to that design.

Kontact 

Been working in shops since 1990. It absolutely has always been an issue for Shimano STI. I don't know how many jammed shifters I've seen or fixed. Hundreds.

curbtender

Thought back to this thread today when a fellow rider was complaining about tough front shifting. His bike had a sticky residue around the bottle cage and when I flipped it over, the guides were all gummed up, gatoraide? Rinsed it off with water and it was good to go.

joeync

As an update to this: I applied some Brakeleen inside the shifter and worked them back and forth for a while, then applied a fresh application of lithium grease. The bike has seen about 200 miles after this and the right shifter seems to be OK (not good, just OK), while the left shifter is still unreliable. Any other ideas for for the left shifter? It seems like I need to apply a ton of force to shift the left shifter up (from middle ring to big ring or small ring to middle ring) and then to shift in general, I need to wiggle the shifter back and forth a few times. Debating either taking off the shifters and trying an ultrasonic clean or potentially looking to replace the left shifter only if I can find something cheap on ebay.

dedhed

I don't recommend Brakleen with any mechanisms containing plastics as it melts certain types of plastics

88Tempo

Have you tried the left shifter out just using hand tension on the cable? Grab the bare cable right where it comes out of the mounted shifter and put some tension on it and if it still shifts hard you'll have narrowed it down some anyhow. If you've already tried that I'm at a loss for an explanation.