gonesh9

Hey all, I'm trying to figure out what is wrong with my bar end shifters... I've used them for the last few years, and they've been great (Dura Ace shifters). Now the front shifter, which is friction only, doesn't seem to hold the derailleur on the big chainring. It shifts it up there fine, but fairly quickly the force of the derailleur pulling the cable pulls the derailleur to the small chainring. I'm thinking it's got to be some bearing or something in the shifter that isn't holding the friction properly? Or am I just missing something?

Thanks!

ogbigbird

i have never run bar end shifters, but on my downtube shifters i just tightened up the screw that holds them together and onto the frame. pf the front shifter is friction only, this may work if able to do with barend shifters. if not, all i could suggest is to buy another one. maybe just a good rebuild.

bluenote157

is the screw that holds the barcon to the mount tight? Are your cables frayed or damaged inside the cable?

roadfix

Did you tighten the big screw to see if that made a difference? If not, a serrated washer/spacer inside can be worn from use.

Jeff Wills

Ditto. I found that the central screw doesn't really hold if it's tightened to Shimano's specs. I got the biggest screwdriver that would fit in the slot and really torque them down.

FWIW: I have one set of Shimano bar-ends that are still working perfectly, 17 years after I purchased them. If you want to risk a trip to this side of the Columbia, I'll show 'em to you.

cascade168

How long has it been since you replaced your cables and housing? Those bar ends are about as near bulletproof as you can get - but, cables and housing just last so long, and I'd just about bet that's your problem. Also, make sure your cables are not gunked up (sorry about the technical jargon) where they pass under the BB.

cascade168

Another thought ...

Is there any chance that some kind of lube got inside the shifter? Those are not meant to be lubricated. If you find some oil (???) inside then clean up all the parts, reassemble and try again.

gonesh9

O.K.- so I went to my favorite LBS and asked what they thought. Turns out it's quite common that the sifter itself fails- What happens is there's a plastic cap (black) that covers the pressed disc which holds the bearings. He took the lever off and showed me that one of the bearings had dislodged and was wedged under the side of the plastic cap.

Now just to be fair, I am very hard on my bike, and just raced a few cyclocross races with the bar ends. I don't remember ever bashing the shifter or crashing on them, but then again I abuse my bike pretty well.

Thanks for the input though!