Ev0lutionz

Just wondering, been using my Shimano 105 flat bar 10 speed shifters for 5 + years. I generally spray in GT85 after every rain ride to keep it smooth.

Koyote

Generally, about 6 years.

Just kidding.

Depends on how often you shift (flat vs hilly terrain), your luck, and other factors. I have about 20k+ miles on my 10sp Ultegra shifters and they are still fine; my 9sp 105 shifters are also still fine after about 35k+ miles. And I never spray anything into them.

cxwrench

That question can't be answered.

Ev0lutionz

Just a question, are the triggers fairly reliable ?

cxwrench

Yes.

Pop N Wood

I have indexed downtube shifters that are just now starting to act vague after 40 years of heavy use.

I've had multiple trigger shifters that I had to replace. Mostly lower end stuff. They are reliable but not to the same degree as a downtube shifter. In every case the trigger shifter gave me plenty of notice it was wearing out. I did rebuild one and got another year of use out of it before needing to replace it. Now I just replace them when they get old enough start to acting up.

Never understood people wanting bar end shifters because they are reliable. Yes, they are reliable, but so are trigger shifters. Pay attention to your gear and you should never get stuck in outer Mongolia with a failed shift lever. I swear there are people on Crazy Guy On a Bike who have nightmares about a failed shifter.

mpetry912 

the ratchet piece inside Campagnolo index shifters (brifters but I hate the word) is a wear item.

A replacement wheel is included in the rebuild kit. I think I've done the rebuild once each on the two bikes I have so equipped.

I would think conventional "shifters" (downtube levers) would last essentially forever.

Mark Petry
Bainbridge Island, WA

HerrKaLeun

Squirting in random stuff probably will only make them last half as long. Just leave them alone and service if needed. All that stuff you squirt in will just gum it up and attract dirt. If you are lucky, it does nothing.

pdlamb

I've got a set of 14 year old Tiagra brifters that work. The original lube gummed up a while back, but a heavy spray flush of WD-40 cleaned it out, and with some new lithium grease sprayed in, they're still going.

Campy brifters seem to require re-building every couple years.

(I'm with Sheldon -- "brifter" is a brilliant one-word generic name for the part!)

Drew Eckhardt 

I broke my first Campagnolo Ultrashift rear lever front paddle return spring due to fatigue in 5 years over 24,000 miles which for me is about 12 shift cables. With Campagnolo abandoning Ultrashift small parts sales, I put a spare lever on although I could have bought a new shift mechanism for $80.

Conversely, I replaced G-springs every couple of years in my 1997 8 speed ergo levers upgraded to 9 in 2000 with a new index cam. I rode those 15 years until I wore out the rear lever ratchet pawl spring after the lever assembly had been discontinued. Just before that I wore out my first front paddle return spring and replaced it with one of the last two I could find in the US. Unfortunately, I have no idea how many miles I had on my shifters because I eschewed bike computers for over a decade after my purple Avocet 45 wore out.

Your mileage will vary.

Amt0571

Once a cheap grip-shift failed on me. It started slipping and no longer clicked in place.

Never had any decent shifter fail. On 2 occasions I've had 15 and 20 y/o Deore triggers where the downshift paddle stopped catching when it was pressed because grease had gummed up inside. I sprayed them with degreaser and they still work fine.

Andrew R Stewart 

Here in the USA we had a TV commercial years ago whose tag line was "pay me now of pay me later". The reference was about maintaining your car's oil (and need to replace the oil filter periodically). Shimano suggests periodic relubing of their indexing shifters. I suggest you do the same. This year we have solvent flushed and relubed a few dozen Shimano shifters that had their factory grease turn to gummy crud that kept the little ratchet pawls from moving freely. Andy (who likes doing this service)

HerrKaLeun

Good point, but does that apply to higher end shifters, like XT, that have sealed bearings (and possibly sealed mechanism)? I'm afraid to open them up to see what is actually exposed.

Maybe I'm wrong, but i was under the impression the higher end shifters being sealed don't need the flushing (since they wouldn't be possible to re-lube through the seals)

Andi if you flush and re-lube from the outside (without opening up), what lube do you squirt in? i assume not a grease like it is from factory.

zacster

Time to use the secret Campy handshake!

I also have Campy 10 shifters and they are completely user rebuildable. I did the g-spring a few years ago and it shifted like new afterwards. This was after about 10 years of use. I'll be 75 before I need to do that again and my guess is that if I am still riding I won't be riding it very hard.

70sSanO

My only question is how long term is this bike. Chances are you’ll have many more years of shifting, but 10 speed road flat bar shifters are not that common. And Tiagra 4700 10 speed shifters are not compatible.

If you are going to keep this bike and really like your 105’s, you might want to keep an eye out, at least for a rear (right) shifter if one pops up.

Not trying to raise an alarm, and it could be a waste of money, of course there will probably be someone who’ll want them; just a thought.

John

Troul 

depends how hard the impact is from the first accident.

veganbikes

Ummmm...actually you are very wrong! It is 42 which also happens to be the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything!

Andrew R Stewart 

A few points- Sealed anything, WRT the bike business, is more a marketing tool then an actual ability to have nothing enter (or leave) the internals the seals "isolate". Sure there are close fitting plastic shields and covers. Yes, there are contact o rings, sometimes and labyrinth dust caps. But any moving part will allow some water to enter, and with it the slurry of crap. In the last couple of days I've replaced 3 bike parts that are "sealed" because of exposure/rust internally. So in the shop service world many of us feel that "sealed" only reduces the size of grime/grit that gets into that part, not prevents it. But this is a different issue then mere age.

High end shifter pods are not excused from the aging of lubricants. Yes, the Shimano factory uses a grease in many shifter pod aspects but over the years the oils dry out and the "soap" (the thickening part of greases) is left behind. Yes, after solvent cleaning reinjecting grease into the tiny gaps and layers of the pods is a challenge. One that most don't try. Instead we use a thin oil to initially get to those tiny spaces, add a medium weight oil second (BTW compressed air helps drive in the lube) and maybe smear a thicker grease over the assessable surfaces. An annual replenishment of a light/medium oil will maintain the workings very well.

This is a service that doesn't usually have to be done for a few years but sooner or later it will be needed. When one decides to service the pods is their choice. Many will just react to a problem and not act preventatively. Much like those who in their later years find the motivation to change their lifestyle of their diet after a life challenging "event". Andy

JaccoW

Exactly! But there is a range with varying levels of certainty and exactness.

So anywhere between 2 miles dragging on pavement and 100,000+ miles if ridden like a normal person for a bike with a limited number of gears and high repairability.
Some Sturmey Archer shifters from the 30's are still around.


Source: u/Blakeyardigan93/

Amt0571

Be more specific. 42 what? miles? years? beers?

Pop N Wood

If you don't understand the question how can you possibly understand the answer?

veganbikes

Hopefully this will help

ClydeClydeson

Shimano's first ratchet-mechanism shifters, called Rapid Fire were notorious for only lasting a few seasons, especially the cheaper ones like 100GS. THey made LX and XT versions which were better but still didn't last forever. THe next generation of shifters were called Rapid Fire + (basically very similar to the current MTB shifters with a thumb lever and trigger both under the bar) and these lasted much longer. Around the same time the introduced the first STI levers ('brifters') which are almost identical to modern STI levers, except for 7 or 8 speed instead of 11 or 12. The first few generations of these weren't perfect either, but over time the reliability has increased greatly. There is no reason why a modern set of STI levers won't last for decades or regular use. THe two problems that still pop up on the modern versions are failure due to the grease in the ratchet mechanism hardening over time, especially if the bike is stored in a cold place in the winter, and cables breaking in a way that jams up the mechanism inside the shifter.

Aside from those two known issues, whenever I hear someone say their bike isn't shifting well because they "need new shifters", my immediate response is 'no you don't'. As long as the mechanism isn't gummed up and the cable is intact, Shimano shifters are extremely reliable, and shifting problems are almost always caused by something else (cable friction, der. hanger alignment, etc).

I have much less experience with SRAM and Campy shifters, but they are also, as far as I know, very very reliable for years.

vespasianus

I have some old 9 speed Ultegra shifters from 1999 that still work perfectly fine. Now granted, they did not get used a lot (maybe 1000 miles) per year but still, they work.

SurferRosa

Campy down tube? Pretty much forever.