105 LH Shifter Failures - What happend to yours next?

tkupsick

I had mine replaced three times. The original set lasted about 1000 miles. The two replacement sets lasted less than 20 miles total. I called Shimano and they sent the LBS Ultegra shifters as a free upgrade. No problems since.

MatthewBulmer

beancounter wrote:

This is the whole point with these breaking 105 shifters - they are both double and triple compatible. Folks with double set ups are "over-shifting" thereby putting too much cable tension into the shifter which eventually snaps inside.bc

I had the same problem with my LH Tiagra shifter for the same reason as described above. I had it replaced under warranty with the new 'double chainset only' Tiagra shifter. Not sure if Shimano are now doing one of these in a 105 version.

Ands

So is this right - the 105 left shifter has an inherent design fault. Some people have had 105 shifters replaced with 105 shifters (and the problem has recurred); some have had 105s replaced with Ultegra free of charge; and some have had 105 replaced with Ultegra for a fee.

The reason I'm asking is that I got stuck in the big ring today and no matter how much pressure I put on the shifter I couldn't get into the little ring. It had worked perfectly with very little pressure previously - have done less than 200 miles on it. Just wondering what to expect if I go back to my lbs?

matty boy 80

Just fitted my replacement shifters,what chance of these failing

k2rider

just out of interest, what front mechs are being used here? as i heard last year from my lbs the front shifter problems were mainly being caused by too strong a spring in the front mechs, they was making the shifter snap into place rather than clicking into place and snapping off the bits of plastic. would be interesting to know.

freehub

I must be lucky, I've had well over 4000 miles out of mine, it's my right hand one that is abit iffy now though!

doctorbunhead

Mine broke while I was on my trainer (105 LH shifter) so the defective bit flew out on the carpet. Little metal tooth that looks like part of the ratchet mechanism. After that it was stuck on the top ring.

Just took it to the shop. No quibbles at all. They admitted there is a problem with 105 LH shifters and the supplier (probably madison) are now repairing these in the UK.

Should get them back within the week.

Clinty

Same thing happened to me earlier in year on a 2009 Allez Elite. Evans in Crawley told me that it was a common problem and replaced the lever under warranty while i waited.

Buckled_Rims

I'm (unlucky) to have both my road bikes with 105. Both LH shifters have problems.

My CAAD 105 is mostly OK, but occasionally will stubbornly refuse to shift down to smaller ring.

My Kona 105 is notchy and feels sh*te up or down.

What i've leant is 2 things.

1. If the LH shifter refuses to shift up to the big ring, it's probably cable stretch.

2. If LH shifter refuses to shift down, try dropping to a smaller rear cog ...pray doesn't help either, God laughs at Shimano 105 LH shifters as the work of the devil!

mclarent

My experience - (as explained to me) the bit of plastic which indexes the gears broke. The shifter was always stiff, so it actually wasn't too much of a suprise to me. I took the bike back to Evans, they posted the shifter to Shimano who sent out a new one which Evans fitted. Wasn't exactly rapid, but problem was sorted in about a week IIRC. This was on the last series (5600?) not the most recent

mclarent

BTW, I also have a 9-speed 105 set-up on my winter bike. No idea how many miles it's done (must be thousands) but never had any problems with it. Maybe it's a problem on newer (10 speed) 105 rigs only?

jeepie

I had this problem.

When trying to click down to the small ring on a double with a 105 FD where was no click in the shifter. I'd had my bike 3 years and 3,000 miles so my shifter was not replaced under warranty - which was annoying as I felt it was a design flaw - as my LBS told me I'd got acceptable usage out of it....

They did fix it with a 105 DOUBLE LH shifter as opposed to the generic 105 one which had been horrible since the pressure needed to change up onto the big ring was unreliable. The new one feels much better and more solid, but I reckon I'll try a different groupset on my next bike.

doctorbunhead

Aha!! Just noticed after refitting mine on the bike that it is now sporting a new cap with "105 Double" on it. The mechanism has been converted to a double one instead of the triple. It always seemed silly to me why Trek would fit a triple to a bike with a double chainset. There was always the option of fitting the 5601 (double) lever set instead of the 5600 (triple). There must have been some valid reason to fit the triples to all bikes but now it comes back and bites them in the butt with all these warranty returns.

paulgregorynet

Yeap,

Brand new bike with the 2010 (internal cable routed) Triple groupset. During initial setup the left shifter failed and was replaced. After about 10 miles that one failed and was again replaced. Third one failed after about 5 miles.

The bike is now going back for analysis, I think this is related to the groupset and not just the shifter, perhaps the front mech is playing a part in this. Like a lot of you Madison told me that there is no known issue with the new 105 but I think I smell a rat here....

Will let you know how I get on.
Grr

e999sam

I've had some on my training bike for 3years and they've done about 18000 miles in all kinds of weather conditions and they have survived a couple of crashes which have left them a bit chewed up, but both work just as well as the day I put them on my bike.

ketsbaia

I've had near constant problems with my LH 105 shifter and have no confidence in Shimano as a result.

I know people who swear by their reliability, but tbh, I can't wait to switch to either Campag or SRAM.

It's also a disgrace they're fully aware of the fault, but haven't issued a product recall/fixed the issue. Or offered free upgrades to Ultegra as a matter of course.

Obviously the Shimano/Campag/SRAM debate will rage on as to which is best, but for me Shimano lose hands down on this issue alone.

k-dog

Mine went after about 2 days - similar symptoms to most of you. Was fine and then suddenly there was no click and I couldn't get out of the big ring.

I called the LBS where I got it - Alpine Bikes in Edinburgh - and they said to pop down at lunchtime. I did and the mechanic took one off another bike and replaced it there and then. Great service and it's been perfect for about the last 18 months.

I hadn't heard that it affected the new 105. I was thinking of changing to that as I like the idea of under tape cable runs. Maybe I'll consider SRAM again.

racingcondor

I also had this problem (after 2 years on the bike though so not so bad) and as others have said it relates to a problem with the 105 shifter being capable of running as both a double and a triple.

I fixed it by ordering the spare parts (levers and attached shifting mechanism for £40) and fitting them myself (thanks Condor, excellent as always).

Considering the number of people who have had this problem I imagine Shimano will be selling seperate double and triple shifters in future or having a major overhaul.

I can't believe it's taken more than one year to fix personally, congratulations to Shimano for convincing so many people to try SRAM...

synchronicity

Mine was sent to Shimano in Madrid & fixed.
Luckily I bought it from the local bike shop & knew about the problem...