tubesocksFred

I've been riding my Shimano STI equipped bike for 4 months. Around a month ago, the front shifter intermittently won't click and change to the small chainring. I sprayed a little bit of lubricant and all was well. Same thing happened around a week ago and I did the same thing and it was well again. Later, as a precaution, I sprayed it thoughly with WD40 and the short shift lever barely engaged anymore. I kept playing around with the levers and spraying until what I felt it was engaging about half the time, and decided to let it soak overnight, thinking it would get better. But on the next day's ride it wouldn't shift, even after trying to manually shift it off the bike for 30min. I had to loosen the front derailleur cable for it to drop into the small chainring in order for me to tackle the hills and then get home. I did a couple more rounds of WD40 to no avail. I checked the cables and routing, and they are all fine.


I then tried to flip the bike and spray WD40, hoping the upside down flow will get into places it couldn't reach before and all of a sudden it was shifting consistently. I turned the bike upright and it stopped shifting. I rotated the bike while shifting and it stopped shifting right around when the bike is facing upward. I was wondering if some springs that holds the paws down came loose so in the upright position, then paw falls downward and is not engaging the cogs. There is almost no information on the R3000 Sora Shifters, whether video, breakdown or how to service them.


The shifter seems to be still under warranty, I don't want to bring it to a dealer, where they spray a massive amount of degreaser, then it starts working again (maybe after removing the whole thing and disassembling it). I want to bring it in only if I am sure it is defective, get the warranted part, and assemble it back myself.


Any logical reason why it would only shift when it is upside down, and only after it has been degreased (BTW, I got a small smear of the grease from the internals of the shifter, and it is still in pristine condition).

Crankycrank

I can't see any reason why you would NOT take it to the dealer for a warranty inspection. The more you mess with it the easier it is for them to say you broke it if it does need replacing. Most shops will not allow you to get a new warrantied part such as the brifters and install it yourself. They have to cover themselves in case the customer screws something up and wants yet another replacement. Just smart business practices.

andrewclaus

This happened to me with an older 600 shifter. One of the pawls is on the bottom of the mechanism. The tiny torsion spring broke and the pawl would only engage when the shifter was inverted (I take them off the bike to work on them). There's no home repair for that.

tubesocksFred

The bike has limited dealer support, thus I was told to reach out to Shimano for parts warranty. Shimano told me I can go to any of their dealer to assess the part in question and have the part exchanged if it is a defect. It was just that in pretty much all the information I found about shifters that either won't click or shift, they all mention that it is an easy fix with WD40. Nobody ever indicated their shifter was defective, so I assumed it was always an issue with gunked up grease.


Shimano doesn't just take the customer's word for it. Either one of their dealer would assess the issue, or if a part is mailed back to Shimano for replacement, they will examine the component to see if the issue is covered under warranty.


I will probably bring it to the Shimano dealer in the next few days. At least now, I am able to shift to the small chainring, even if it me having to stop and flip the bike beyond vertical position.


I am just surprised on how unreliable these equipment are. Packing in so many tiny stamped steel components in such a tiny space is just asking for trouble.

tubesocksFred

It is weird that it happened consistently after I thoroughly sprayed the WD40. Maybe beforehand, the grease was holding it in place or allowing it to stick back to the gears?

shelbyfv

Actually they are very reliable and last for years w/o needing any attention. An old shifter with hardened grease may benefit from a WD40 flush. The flush won't do anything good for a new shifter. Take it to a shop. Shimano will determine if it's a manufacturing defect or if it's been otherwise buggered. Worst case you have to buy a replacement, they aren't expensive.

SalsaShark

Keep the rubber side up when riding, I guess?

tubesocksFred

Non serviceable miniature parts pretty much means most maintenance has to be done by the LBS. I haven't regularly worked on bikes in ages, but my last setup, a bike w/super record grouppo were 100% serviceable.




Lol, or mount the brake levers upside down like the way I mounted them on the bullhorn handlebar of my track bike.


Actually, it seem to shift only when the bike is facing around 140 deg to 100 deg. With the bike completely upside down, the shifter wont engage.


Now with all the WD40 sprayed, much of it got under then handlebar warp, dissolving the adhesive and causing it to get into a tangled mess throughout my ride.

Crankycrank

LBS don't do disassembly on Shimano brifters as there are almost no replacement parts available but as mentioned they are generally pretty durable and reliable which makes me think something is defective with yours as they are only 4 months old.
WD-40 can degrade your rubber hoods as well if left on too long.

Andrew R Stewart 

When possible warranty work, on bikes we didn't sell, comes into the shop where I work (actually I just "retired" but am still "on call") we charge for the time it takes to assess and process the warranty for the customer. If the company does offer warranty coverage we will charge to install said part. If the bike is one we sold we go about this differently.

I agree that the OP should have sought dealer help far earlier on in this story.

I disagree with the OP's goal of a warranty assessment being able to be done before the dealer (or Shimano) has had a chance to handle the part. That would be like a doctor diagnosing disease and prescribing medication with no prior examination or history with the patient. Andy (who's a doctor's kid)

djb

Pretty clear to me, this bike must have originated from Australia.

(ya ya, don't quit the day job, I know)

tubesocksFred

I went to the local Shimano dealer and with just a couple of attempt at shifting, said it definitely is broken, but they don't know what I want them to do. I guess they never dealt with such situation. I told them what Shimano told me what they will do. They will have to do all these extra work to put it back on instead of just doing a swap, which I wasn't surprised since they are not a factory dealer or anything. But they want my bike for some time, which I ride everyday. Maybe when it gets too cold to ride the bike outside, I could bring it it. But by then, I have other options Shimano provided, including mailing the defective part in.


I rode it today, starting off on the 34T small chainring, pushing to as high as 25mph, sometimes cross-chaining to the 12 on the rear. But when the pace picks up to 30mph, I had no choice but to perform the 1 upshift I am allotted, hoping there is no steep hill for the rest of the ride since my biggest cog in the rear is a 25, and that's if I cross-chain.

shelbyfv

Now you understand why everyone needs at least one spare bike.

Crankycrank

That sounds a little odd from the shop but then we don't know the whole story about where you bought your bike or if you have proof of purchase etc. I would bring it to another shop who can at least give you a solid answer about what your options are. If Shimano says it's OK to send it to them that's what I would do as it's probably quicker. In my experience Shimano is very good at replacing defective parts as long as it's obvious that it was their error and a good reason why you don't want to continue to try to fix it yourself.

tubesocksFred

Yeah, I got a folding bike which I rode daily for the first half of this year, a small mtn bike which I changed the components so it fits me like a road bike, which I rode all last year after the lockdown here, a old steel racing bike where out of all the tubular tires I had, only one didn't have a flat. I ride that once in a while when I am on my own(including today), by using my existing road bike's front wheel. That bike has a 53/42 front and 13/21 & 12/18 rear wheels, so I don't take that on group rides where they venture out far and the hills could be too steep or long for its gearing.



Bike was bought new from a brand that has an online presence. Shimano gave me 2 dealers in my vicinity, and vicinity meant 30 or so miles away. I asked if any dealer can take care of it and I was told they can, with the parts going through those 2 dealers(?), That's why I thought of bringing it to my LBS, which is still an enthusiast's shop, albeit a mountain bike one.


I didn't know how selective Shimano would be on determining product defect. Lots of mfgs can claim misuse, or wear and tear. I saw some surface rust on the internal nut/screw head, which didn't seem to affect its functionality. I can't say how the internal gears are. I don't want Shimano to have some excuse like "not properly cared for" or "used in extreme environment" in denying the warranty claim.