Wattimages

I have a Shimano Sora 3 x 9 group set on a 2014 Opus Largo touring bike. When shifting down on the front chain ring from the largest cog it skips the middle cog and goes right to the small cog. Shifting up is no problem, cable tension doesn’t matter and the front derailleur is good. The problem seems to be the shifter, when under any kind of tension you have to push it in all the way and then it makes a loud click and releases all the way to the bottom. Do I need a new shifter, or, is there a way to repair this one? I’ve sprayed WD40 in there and worked it back and forth a bunch of times without cable tension but still no luck fixing this issue. Has anyone come across this before? This did happen once before about 2 years ago and then it just worked itself out, but, this has been going on for a few rides now. Any help and suggestions are much appreciated.

FastJake

If the shifter is dumping two shifts instead of just one I think you need a new shifter. I don't think these are rebuild-able. Downtube or bar-end shifters are other options and are more appropriate (durable) for a touring bike, in my opinion.

I'd also consider removing the big ring completely and replacing the middle ring with something in the 42-46T range. This will give you all the gearing you need and a lot less front shifting. None of my bikes have triples anymore. Super compact doubles are so much nicer.

Dave Mayer

With the WD40 flush, you've done all that I can recommend - as far as recovery. Sometimes you have to attack the internals from several different angles and access points, and sometimes it takes hours for the old solidified grease to soften up or be washed away.

Fortunately you need a left-hand shifter, which is far easier to find used in good condition, than the right. I shift the rear derailler at least 10 times for every time on the front, so the rights are the ones that wear out. Ebay is your friend.

I am a recent re-convert to triple drivetrains, I have suffered through compact doubles on several recent bike purchases. On the road compacts, I find myself constantly cycling between the small and large rings, as on the flats, the small ring is too small, and the big ring too large. I picked up a cheap bike on Craigslist with a 3 x 9 Tiagra drivetrain, and it was a revelation. The middle ring is where I am 90% of the time, with the granny for long climbs, and the big ring for descents and the flats with a tailwind. Easy Peezy.

God only knows why the industry has gone away from triples for your average road rider. Perhaps because using a front derailleur is SOOO Hard. Or perhaps because our aspirational cycling heroes don't use triples, and we are all racer-wanabees. But then our racer heroes don't use discs either, unless forced to by their equipment suppliers.

I see the industry is doubling down on stupidity with 1 x systems for the road. Which requires pie-plate sized cassettes and big gearing jumps. Whatever.

My suggestion: spend 5 minutes on Ebay or phoning around to shops for a surplus/orphaned front shifter. Should cost less than $100.

FastJake

The typical 50/34 road compact is probably the worst. As you say, the big ring is usually too big and the small ring is too small. Constant front shifting is the result and due to the large gap between rings the big-big or small-small combinations are used too much. I'd rather have a 52/42 and stand to climb than deal with a 50/34.

The key is to size the big ring so the middle cogs are being used the most. My main bike has a 46/28 and the 46T chainline lands in the middle of the cassette. So I'm usually using the middle cogs, have full access to the cassette with the big ring, and have a very low granny ring for steep climbs.

It's so much better than any gearing setup I've used including various triples. The only thing it doesn't have is the absurdly tall gearing that most people never use anyway. If I'm going 35+ MPH, chances are I'm coasting or tucking down a hill and don't need to pedal.