Broken Shifter Pod

llamafarmer

I was just starting out on a ride on Sunday morning and shifted into the big ring on the front and once the chain had shifted I realised the thumb lever had gone slack. I was still able to shift down with the trigger (my Deore pod has the two independant levers), so finished the ride using just the middle ring.

I didn't notice anything fall off and nothing seems to be missing from the pod and the cable is still under tension. Does anybody know what the problem is? I'm guessing it's something fairly easy to diagnose, but shifters are not something I've had to fix before...

Cheers

.blitz

Same thing happened to me twice with Shimano shifters so I bought a Sachs Wavy shifter and never had a problem since. I never had to clean or lubricate it, it just keeps going.

stumpyjon

Does sound like something may have snapped, double check all the cables and the mech to make sure it isn't them. Next step is probably a new shifter, you can remove the covers and have a look inside but it's unlikely that it'll be fixable or worth the cost, new shifter shouldn't set you back more than £ 20.

sniper68

This happened to me on a night ride(Sram X0)Thought i'd snapped a cable,turns out the front mech had FROZEN solid(it was about -5)Works perfectly fine now 8)

llamafarmer

stumpyjon wrote:

Does sound like something may have snapped, double check all the cables and the mech to make sure it isn't them. Next step is probably a new shifter, you can remove the covers and have a look inside but it's unlikely that it'll be fixable or worth the cost, new shifter shouldn't set you back more than £ 20.

Cheers stumpyjon, I'll probably open it up and have a look over the next few days, but I think this is probably a job for my lbs.

bogussocialworker

I'm not 100% sure but it sounds like a spring has gone in your shifter.

Inside your shifter is a little spring loaded lever and a toothed cog (amongst various other bits and bobs). As you push the thumbshifter the cog moves round and the spring pushes the lever into the next groove on the cog... hence a bit of cable is pulled through and you change gear.

If that spring has broken there is nothing pushing this little lever against the cog. Thus it misses the teeth on the cog and doesn't change gear at all. The shifter just goes limp and doesn't do anything when pressed.

The down shifter uses a separate mechanism in the shifter which is probably why its not been affected

This sort of thing has happened to me twice. Unfortunately, I ended up buying a new shifter each time.

llamafarmer

I reckon you've nailed it there mate. I can release cable with the trigger lever, but can't pull any in with the thumb lever.

New pod for me then! And I'll get some new cable and replace the slightly bent derailleur while I'm at it too - that may even have been the cause of it I guess.

sniper68

llamafarmer wrote:

I reckon you've nailed it there mate. I can release cable with the trigger lever, but can't pull any in with the thumb lever.

New pod for me then! And I'll get some new cable and replace the slightly bent derailleur while I'm at it too - that may even have been the cause of it I guess.

Are you sure its the Derailleur that's bent and not just the hanger?Most bikes have a mech hanger that's designed to bend/snap,cheaper than replacing a rear mech 8)

llamafarmer

ibbo68 wrote:

llamafarmer wrote:

I reckon you've nailed it there mate. I can release cable with the trigger lever, but can't pull any in with the thumb lever.

New pod for me then! And I'll get some new cable and replace the slightly bent derailleur while I'm at it too - that may even have been the cause of it I guess.

Are you sure its the Derailleur that's bent and not just the hanger?Most bikes have a mech hanger that's designed to bend/snap,cheaper than replacing a rear mech 8)

Yeah it could well be mate. It needs a good once over by a proper mechanic anyway, so I'll be getting it into my lbs in a week or two.

damien55

You might be able to fix it yourself. I've had this problem twice and both times I fixed it myself. First time on a friend's bike (old altus shifters if i remember right) and second time on my XT (2000 model).


As bogussocialworker said you have a a little lever loaded with a little spring and if the spring is broken or not strong enough to push the lever onto the cog you can't change your gears anymore.
Generally you have two possible problems:
-The spring is broken ---> Buy a new shifter as I don't think you can get a spare
-The spring is not broken and the problem comes from the lever not beeing sufficently lubricated on its pivot.

If you have second problem then you can fix it easily. You just need to open the shifter, take the little lever with its spring out, clean the pivot and lever, re-lubricate the pivot and lever (I used some white grease and it worked a treat) and put everything back together.
Be carfull because these parts are quite small, the lever is about a 5mm long and springs like to jump in places you can't reach...


Damien