Is this shift lever busted?
09-21-20, 01:36 PM
#1
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Is this shift lever busted?
I'm throwing parts at my Serotta just to get it rolling. I have this pair of Dia Compe Gran Compe ENE shifters I thought I'd try. Unfortunately, the right lever seems messed up, as demonstrated in this short video clip (which you can hopefully view from my Google Drive). The short clips involving both the left and right levers involve me pulling on the cables (to simulate derailleur load) while moving the lever. As you can see, the left performs as expected, while the right simply snaps back to the starting position when I release the lever. It seems all the interesting bits are buried in the lever body. Are these beasties "user serviceable?"
09-21-20, 02:35 PM
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If you tried to view the MP4 link it might well not have worked. Hopefully I have unscrewed the permissions on the clip properly.
09-21-20, 02:50 PM
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I just get the "rolling donut" (21st-Century hourglass) trying to view the video.
09-21-20, 02:52 PM
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Broken? Maybe. Certainly not working as designed. Maybe installation error? Don't know what the error could be, though.
09-21-20, 02:58 PM
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Seems like maybe a washer is missing? Just a guess, but yeah, sumthin' ain't right.
09-21-20, 03:09 PM
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I have a Riv catalog with a pic of the internals and the collection of parts for the Silver shifter, which I understand to be the identical design. Does it look like anything is missing from yours?
09-21-20, 03:13 PM
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Oh! Noticed that your cable’s not routed properly. It’s not seated in the rear shifter’s channel. Maybe that?
09-21-20, 04:48 PM
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I agree with a lost washer or the screw bottoming out before it is tight enough. It will be backwards but try installing it on the other boss and see if it works.
I doubt that would cause this issue.
I doubt that would cause this issue.
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09-21-20, 06:29 PM
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The cable is definitely not seated in the channel on the right shift lever. See how it works when you've seated it properly.
DD
DD
09-22-20, 02:21 PM
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Thanks for the various replies. Didn't mean to go incommunicado. Here's a picture of the right side shifter off the frame.
I don't think any parts are missing. I agree the unrouted cable looks odd, but I don't think it's an issue. I was holding the cable and my phone with my left hand. Even without the camera in action, it fails to hold. I do hear a bit of ratcheting when I pull the lever back. I hadn't thought to try and pry off the little cover thinking the pin shown was peened over. I just fiddled with it a bit. No go. Maybe the Riv Silver shifters feature a screw to hold the cover in place as an improvement over the Dia-Compe version. Bianchigirll suggested flipping it over to the other side, just in case. I will give that a try before giving up completely on it for now.
At any rate, I'm not willing to go much farther with this at the moment. If the flip experiment doesn't work it will have to go back in the parts bin until such time as I feel the need to grind something with the Dremel...
I'll grab another set of shifters (I tell ya, they multiply like rabbits) to keep the project moving.
I don't think any parts are missing. I agree the unrouted cable looks odd, but I don't think it's an issue. I was holding the cable and my phone with my left hand. Even without the camera in action, it fails to hold. I do hear a bit of ratcheting when I pull the lever back. I hadn't thought to try and pry off the little cover thinking the pin shown was peened over. I just fiddled with it a bit. No go. Maybe the Riv Silver shifters feature a screw to hold the cover in place as an improvement over the Dia-Compe version. Bianchigirll suggested flipping it over to the other side, just in case. I will give that a try before giving up completely on it for now.
At any rate, I'm not willing to go much farther with this at the moment. If the flip experiment doesn't work it will have to go back in the parts bin until such time as I feel the need to grind something with the Dremel...
I'll grab another set of shifters (I tell ya, they multiply like rabbits) to keep the project moving.
09-23-20, 06:23 AM
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I wonder if your plastic washer thingy should have a nice crisp rectangle to keep the lever from slipping. Some folks don't line them up and when they tighten the screw ...
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09-23-20, 06:39 AM
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09-23-20, 07:15 AM
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The black washers are lined up correctly (was pretty careful about that) and aren't cracked. There are four little triangles at the corners of the rectangle at the center of the washer shown. They are, as far as I can tell, actually cast into the part. They aren't a side effect of incorrect installation. Still have yet to try Trina's suggestion of flipping the lever to the left-hand post. Was busy riding most of yesterday. No time to wrench. 
09-23-20, 12:27 PM
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It's clearly stamped "R", so I doubt it's on the wrong side.
09-24-20, 11:11 AM
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I swapped levers side-to-side and flipped them over. As madpogue indicated, the levers are clearly marked right and left. I used my calipers' depth gauge to select the shorter d-ring bolt to minimize chances it was bottoming out. The right side lever still won't hold tension. I think I'm going to have to (slightly destructively) tear it down to see what's going on.
09-24-20, 11:27 AM
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Because it’s riveted together, it may be worth a try to add a washer or two to take up the extra length and see if it holds tension before opening it up.
