HCB

Hey guy, had a crash on Thursday and my left side Dura Ace 9170 shifter is not shifting. Brake works fine. My mechanic opened up the shifter and noticed


cable was severed. He told me that it was not repairable. Just getting second opinion here.

soyabean

You don't trust your personal mechanic?

You think he is lying/stealing, and you want strangers with unproven experience to override what he thinks is best for you?

My opinion is that I would agree with my own mechanic.

ScottCommutes

Here's my random opinion from the internet - sometimes busted is busted.

TiHabanero

Way back when I had a customer pay one of his employees to fix a broken wire on the cadence sensor mounted to his tandem. Each strand had to be soldered together. Not sure why, however it took the guy over an hour to do it. The point is, anything can be repaired provided time and skill level are available. Now, is it worth paying shop rate to have someone tear down that wire harness in the shifter to fix it? Likely no.

veganbikes

It might be repairable I have never had to do so or been inside one but maybe some tech kid could figure it out with some time and money however if the shifter is a newer shifter you might reach out to Shimano and see what they say. Dura-Ace components have a 2 year warranty and while this was a crash and generally may not qualify but is worth at least asking.

I would kind of agree with soyabean to a degree you should trust your mechanic as that would be a pretty high level repair and most shops probably wouldn't get involved.

dedhed

I personally would try fixing it because (A) I'm cheap (B) Challenge, fully knowing I'll likely 99/100 need a new one.
Probably after I already had a new one on the way for use as a "spare"
I've repaired wires in tighter spots
A shop knows that time spent on a possibly unsuccessful effort still needs to be paid and possible comebacks so they will always be "replace". That's business

soyabean

Maybe the OP can print out a hardcopy of this thread and show it to the mechanic to prove they must repair it.

Iride01 

The other half of that lug ear below the red arrow that a pin goes through is in the top piece above the red arrow. It's broke.

Shimano doesn't make them to be fully serviceable with replacement parts AFAIK. You'd need at minimum a new shifter body too.

soyabean

Seriously, if I had a crash like that, I'd be more concerned if I had any buised bones and get better tyres so this doesn't happen again. Throwing money on a repair so I can continue cycling is as trivial as breathing.

Cycling is an expensive sport. I don't whine when I can't afford that S-works for $18G.

I'm starting to see how the BSO makes sense. For some folks it's all they can afford.

bboy314

Cycling is as expensive as you want it to be. There are in fact a few options between BSO and $18g S-works. In the case of the OP, judging by what gear they’re using, I don’t think a replacement shifter will totally break the bank for them.

ScottCommutes

I used to believe a version of this, but reality has taught me otherwise. Sometimes, you don't have the tools. Sometimes, you don't have the shop space or the weather. Sometimes, you can't get the parts. Some things, like a blow out sidewall on a bike tire, are just non-repairable.

Part of the skill of repairing stuff is deciding what to spend your time on.

soyabean

Schwalbe marathon zombie revived tyres forever!

grumpus

The cable is probably repairable, I'd try if it was mine but I wouldn't offer to do it for a customer because it would be time consuming and not guaranteed, and isn't the lever broken anyway?

TiHabanero

ScottCommutes, I have been in some very poor places on this earth and I can assure you a slashed tire can indeed be repaired. I have seen it on autos and motorcycles, and probably didn't notice it on a bicycle or two.

soyabean

Yup, I was using marathons on my train station bike that was only a mile each way, so any failure I would just walk it.

Been like this for years

There were holes tears in the ply, held together with strapping tape.

What's a good tape to use inside the ply that grab onto the tyre so it don't expand on inflate?

HCB

Ended up ordering a new shifter 😁