bampilot06

Hello, I posted this in the cycling page a nd was told to post it here.
I bought a used 2001 cannondale caad 4 in Oct, all original 105 and ultegra parts.
It has a 9 speed cassette, however my shifter only allows me to use the 3 highest gears. When I down shift, the shifter will let me down shift three times, (only from the highest) sometimes only two times and then the shifter won’t do anything. When I push the the handle to the right it does not have any tension, and it will not click. The other shifter for the front derailer works fine.
I haven’t tried making any adjustments yet because I didn’t want to make it worse.
Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. I am new and also on a tight budget (on medical leave) so If i can salvage what I have for now, that would be the goal until I go back to work.

Thanks for the help.

tomtomtom123

Rule number one. Post photos or else we can't help what we can't see.

Downshift is ambiguous. Do you mean shifting inward towards the center of the bike, or outward, away from the center of the bike?
Which 3 gears? The innermost 3 cog? The outermost 3 cogs? 3 cogs in the middle of the cassette?
If it's the outermost 3 cogs, if the shifter has an indicator window, did you check to see if the dial is on 9 when you're on the outermost cog? If no window, then you simply have to disconnect the cable from the RD and release as much cable as possible by pressing one of the levers on the shifter.
Did you check that a high or low limit screw is not limiting your RD?

dedhed

2 things to check first.
Remove the cable - often they get frayed at the head and hang up. Better yet just replace it anyway.

Clean & lube

bampilot06

it is the outer most cogs. I don’t believe it has a window, but the shifter is beat up pretty bad, barely able to read flight deck on it. Thanks for the responses and the video, I will give it a try.

dedhed

Outer cogs (smaller) is often the frayed cable at the head issue. When shifting to lower (bigger) gears the lever pulls the cable to move the RD, when shifting to higher (smaller) gears the lever releases cable and the RD spring moves the RD. The RD spring can't overcome the friction of the frayed end and move down the cassette.

https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-m...i-shifter.html

AeroGut

Sounds to me like the usual gummed up pawls problem. Flush it with wd40 or pb blast until it starts to work. Then lube with a heavier oil.

dsbrantjr

Check for a frayed cable first, it is MUCH easier to get it out of the shifter before the end has broken off inside; replace if required. Then clean/flush/lube the shifter as needed until it takes in and pays out cable correctly. Then set it up following this procedure from the beginning without skipping any steps: https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair...eur-adjustment.

bampilot06

thanks for the responses. I am going to try the wd clean method tomorrow. I was looking at it today and i’m not sure how to check to see if the cable is frayed. The way the cable enter the shifter, I’ve yet to figure out how to access it. I cant put slack on the cable, because it won’t down shift to the largest cog.
Am I over thinking this?

dedhed

Probably. You need to disconnect the cable from the rear derailleur to check/replace the cable.

https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/si/SI-6C80D-001-ENG.pdf

https://www.birota.ru/manuals/shiman...e/6C80D_EN.PDF

bampilot06

That makes better sense. I had watched a video about checking for frayed cable at the shifter but didn’t realize til the end that it was for a brake cable. Thanks for clearing that up. The down shifting to the largest cog rd, and then up shifting to the smallest cog w/o pedaling I think through me off.
Thanks for clearing that up.

bampilot06

I cleaned the shifter with wd 40 and re lubed it with tri flow. Works great!!! As soon as I have some extra cash I’m gunna replace all of my cables. I have no what of knowing how old these cables are.
I don’t want to start loosening things until I have the spare parts.

One last question relating to replacing the shift cables.

My cable comes out of the shifter and after about 6 inches i have a barrel adjuster and then the cable continues to the derailers. Are these to separate pieces of cables. And if so do I use the same barrel adjuster or when I replace the cable is that all the same.
If I use the same barrel adjuster, how do I remove it from the cable?
I apologize for my stupid question. Bike seems tuned right now, and I don’t want to mess with it and make a situation that doesn’t exist.
Thanks

dedhed

If you have an adjuster at the Rear derailleur you don't need the inline one. Unless you feel you will need to tweek something on the fly. If there isn't one at the RD then reuse the inline one. Yes all the outer housing is separate pieces. Use the old cable housing as a guide for cutting lengths. Be aware all cable housing and inner cable are not the same. You want "indexed" shift housing. and good quality SS inner for low friction and best results.

https://www.bikeman.com/bicycle-repa...bles-a-housing

bampilot06

thanks again! you have been a huge help!