theshoemaker

My right shifter needs a lot of extra flicking to get it to move to the top two gears in the cassette. Shops are telling me that you can't repair an Ultegra shifter but I'm skeptical, especially when the cost of a single shifter is around $250. Anyone ever had one repaired?

owenh

I heard the same thing paid $110 for a spare sora that was lying around the shop
then Another LBS guy told mre he could repair them???
shop around see whos willing to do it

roadwarrior

Generally, they are not repairable.

But, have you checked everything else? Like the rear derailluer adjustment? Cable tension? Generally, the shifter is the last place to look.

Based on your comments, I am assuming that you have, indeed, looked into every part of the drivetrain and it's setup before looking to the shifter, itself, as the culprit.

Bob Dopolina 

There was a thread a while ago about a guy who was scavaging old levers and repairing them. Help here?

Otherwise Shimano STI levers are non-serviceable.

I agree with roadwarrior, eliminate ALL other possibilities before chucking your shifter. Check to see if the housing has pulled through the ferel and jammed itself into the STI lever. Check for kinks in the cable itself. Check your der hanger. Check general tension. Lube all pivot points. Make sure your cassette lockring is tight. etc...

theshoemaker

Yup. It's definitely the shifter everything else seems to be working perfectly. Also I had a repair guy confirm it when I was fairly sure I knew what it was.

I'd love to find this thread. Anyone...?

Jynx

Like everyone else said they are non repairable. The only thing I have heard people so is soak the insides with wd-40 to get some shifting back but it is really only temporary.

Hobartlemagne 

WD-40 makes things slick for a short time, then sticky forever. It is NOT a lubricant.
It is made for loosening rusty parts and repelling water.

Jynx

I know.

Not true.

That is debatable.

I know what WD-40 is used for.



And like I said in my original post. People spray the insides of the shifters to cleanout the gunk and get them back to working but it is only a temporary fix.

maddyfish

The proper repair for shimano=campy

banerjek

I've also been told the same thing, and believe it to be true. When I couldn't get my shifter repaired, I tried to do the job myself. I would compare the process with disassembling a mechanical watch. Very few people have any chance of even getting it back together, let alone of having it work.

kudude

If you pay $250 for a single shifter, you've done a very bad thing.

That has to be factored into this whole equation

AssosMan

Shimano shifters are unrepairable. There's a special tool needed to a put a special spring in the proper place. It's impossible to fix.

kudude hit the spot though; an Ultegra shifter shouldn't cost $250!

barba

If you have an eight-armed Japanese robot in your basement you may be in luck. Other wise, PBK is having a sale on Ultegra. $217 shipped for the pair.

SoreFeet

Campy is better in this regard. Downtube shifting is even better.

For a plastic shifter to cost more than autmobile part made of alloy is beyond me.

jkizzle

you can repair them but its next to impossible. our team captain did it, and it worked. but took him a whole day of being extremely meticulous.

AEO

hehehe... $250 for a single brifter... sounds like profiteering.

bikeM3987

+1 to checking off everything else. I have crashed hard on mine 3 times, and one of them inluded the bike falling off a bridge onto some rocks. They still work perfectly (albeit they are quite ugly now...)

tarwheel 

For $60, you can buy a set of Dura-Ace downtube shifters that will never wear out.

phoenity

I ran into this issue a couple months ago when my left Ultegra shifter blew up and wouldn't shift. I called around to local shops and they all told me Shimano shifters are unrepairable. I ended up buying a new pair of shifters.

Since I was curious, and I enjoy taking things apart to see what makes them tick, I slowly picked apart my blown shifter to find out what was broken. It happened to be a tiny lever that had sheared so shifting action would no longer engage to other gears.

Getting it apart was fairly easy. However, finding new parts and putting it back together would be pretty difficult. There were several springs that would be difficult to reassemble without some special tools, and without these springs you don't have a shifter.

I actually still have a spare right 6600 shifter in perfect working condition. If you need it send me a PM.

Rutnick

WD = water displacement 40

It was used as a rust inhibitor to spray on nuclear missiles while they were in the tubes. Seriously doubt it made them "sticky".

FlashUNC

As someone who just had his Ultegra shifters blow out after 7 years, I can attest they are not repairable.
If the shifters are gone, they're gone. Just bury 'em.
That sucks, but that's the nature of Shimano shifters.

Coincidentally, I'm trying my next build with Campy right now, because of what I dropped on replacing those shifters.

Cyclist0383

It's possible to repair STI shifters, as my LBS does it, but it takes a mechanical freak of a genius to do it.

To put it in perspective, the guy who fixes STI shifters not only makes all of his own tools, but was also recommended to me by a former member of Motorola/Postal who when I asked him about a good wrench simply said; I know a guy, and he's the best I've ever seen.

fskywalker

I had a defective 105 shifter (left side) on my Giant a while ago, but since it was still on warranty got it replaced by the dealer. If you cannot fix the problem, suggest you look for either a single unit in Ebay (new or used) or even check for a Dura Ace set. When I was waiting for my new shifter to be replaced under warranty used the bike without it for a while and looked on Ebay out of curiosity. To my great surprise, found a reputable seller selling the Dura Ace 7800 sets with cables and all accessories for $210 (buy it now fixed price) and bought them on the spot, which arrived just as described new in the box So, check around and you may upgrade for the same cost of $250 they quote you for a single replacement unit.

Regards,

Francisco

cuski

Actually, sounds like supporting the LBS. (flame suit on)

This is where PBK always comes to the rescue: https://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=D1055

Tequila Joe

At 250 a brifter, I would expect to get kissed before I got f'd