X9 shifter rebound

geebee2

The large lever on my SRAM X9 rear shifter (10 speed,trigger) sometimes doesn't spring back very well ( so the lever doesn't return to it's original position immediately after use ).

It's been doing this pretty much since new a few weeks ago.

It's not a big problem, I just find it slightly annoying. Occasionally I have to move it back manually.

Basically the return spring(?) seems a little bit weak, or is something badly adjusted in some way? I tried lubing the cables a bit, didn't seem to make much difference.

Has anyone else experienced this?

d3matt

I had the same with my X9 9-speed rear shifter. I know it sounds obvious now but it turned out the large lever was bent. I put up with it not returning properly for weeks, until I had a proper look and the large lever was just slightly touching the small lever which was stopping it return sometimes, but not hitting enough for you to notice it when shifting.
I must have bent it on a fall.
I'm sure this isn't the case, but worth checking.

Or as you've already thought, it would normally be due to a stiff cable. Are you sure your cable doesn't have a kink or bend in it which is increasing the friction?

apreading

My X7 shifter is like this - worked great for a year but is a bit slack now and sometimes doesnt return. some days it works fine, just like before.

Was going to get someone to look at it but I have got used to flicking it back on occasion and now cant be bothered.

If it was like it from new I would be asking someone to sort or replace it though.

Mojo_666

Replacing the cable and blowing all the crap out of the outer housings/sheaths with WD40 fixed mine.

geebee2

Well I have re-lubed the cables again, and also turned the large bolt (6mm hex) a bit - dunno if this actually does anything, and it seems a bit better.

So maybe it is just a sign the cable is not super-smooth - but I would have expected it to be a bit more tolerant.

I didn't build the bike myself, so not sure what cables were used. Was bought from CRC, this one : http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Mode ... elID=59238

ddraver

hmm, sorry to say this but I think this is a common SRAM problem, There is n't really a fix. Taking the shifter apart and relubing does nt help much either...Although it feels wrong, not cleaning them with anything other than a damp rag is about the only way to avoid it. You can try sending it back to Fisher (they replaced mine for free) but they don't have a good reputation for returns....

Cue Yehaa and Cooldad with "just buy shimano" posts...

The Rookie

Lubing the cable won't do anything as the cable doesn't move when the lever returns, only when your pulling it out in the first place!

Simon

cooldad

ddraver wrote:

hmm, sorry to say this but I think this is a common SRAM problem, There is n't really a fix. Taking the shifter apart and relubing does nt help much either...Although it feels wrong, not cleaning them with anything other than a damp rag is about the only way to avoid it. You can try sending it back to Fisher (they replaced mine for free) but they don't have a good reputation for returns....

Cue Yehaa and Cooldad with "just buy shimano" posts...

What he said.

geebee2

The Beginner wrote:

Lubing the cable won't do anything as the cable doesn't move when the lever returns, only when your pulling it out in the first place!

Simon

I'm not so sure.

I think the cable tension can have an effect. Basically as you shift, the cable has a high tension, and there is a slight over-shift, then when you release the lever, the over-shift is released and the cable moves back a bit, and this helps the lever move back initially.
[ Explanation may not be quite right, hope you get the rough idea ]

I just found that a half turn on the barrel adjuster makes a difference. So a small bit of cable stretch could make the difference.

allen.coulson

Same with a Shimano shifter and I had tio take it to bits and re lube the ratchet hinge - it was gummed up with oil and dust.

Not a tricky job you can do it by removing the casings only - no need to disassemble the part.

The Rookie

geebee2 wrote:

I'm not so sure.

I think the cable tension can have an effect. Basically as you shift, the cable has a high tension, and there is a slight over-shift, then when you release the lever, the over-shift is released and the cable moves back a bit, and this helps the lever move back initially.

An overshift may use cable tension to move the lever back to the non over shifted point, doesn't help it return to the start point which is the OP's issue, I stand by my belief that cable 'cleanliness' has nothing to do with it.

Simon

cooldad

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
This is true.

geebee2

The Beginner wrote:

geebee2 wrote:

I'm not so sure.

I think the cable tension can have an effect. Basically as you shift, the cable has a high tension, and there is a slight over-shift, then when you release the lever, the over-shift is released and the cable moves back a bit, and this helps the lever move back initially.

An overshift may use cable tension to move the lever back to the non over shifted point, doesn't help it return to the start point which is the OP's issue, I stand by my belief that cable 'cleanliness' has nothing to do with it.

Simon

Well ( as the OP! ) I may not have described the problem accurately.
It's a bit hard to describe exactly what was happening ( and it's better now ), but when the problem occurs, you "know" what's going to happen even before you release the lever because as you shift, the resistance doesn't feel quite right.

100mill

I have the same problem with X9 rear shifter (2012 model) after smal crash. During fall I pulled (in normal use you push it) the lever and bend it slighly (I could notice it only becouse of marks on paint). After that the lever did not rebound until I push the upshift lever. I managed to repair it and hope the repair will last:-). The reason for the problem is internal dent of the lever. It is made of aluminium alloy and iside it devotials with iron pad. During fail the iron part sqeezed aluminium tooths (you can notice it also by paint's marks). Squeezed aluminum produces sharp edges that grapple and prevent lever from robounding. In order to repair it you have to sand sharp/sqeezed edges. In my case there were two.

Dissamble and reassemble of the the trigger is easy:
1. Remove 4 allen screws which holding cover.
2. Remove spring.
3. Remove 1 allen screw that holding wheel to which the cable is attached (you need also flat screedriver in order to hold leaver's bearing during unscrewing).
4. Remove 1 cross head screw that holding the plate to which the upshift lever is attached. It is that plate with which downshift lever grabbles.
5. Now you can remove downshift lever and sand it.

rockmonkeysc

I had a few X9 & X7 shifters go like this. Replaced the last one with X0 and had no problems since.

YateleyChap

My X7 shifters have had this lever return problem before. For me it also seemed to happen when a small amount of play developed in the large paddle over time, i.e. you could slightly wiggle the large arm up and down vertically. Initially I found that turning the hex bolt on its own did nothing; it turned OK but never actually tightened the paddle arm to remove the play. However when I used a small screwdriver to apply slight pressure to the inner mechanism via the cable replacement hole, it allowed some purchase when tightening the hex bolt at the same time. Once the hex bolt tightened and the lever play was removed, the return mechanism worked like new. Sorry if I'm not explaining that very well but this solved my lever return problem and avoided having to dismantle the shifter (which a lot of people say is a nightmare to put back together again).

The Rookie

Holy thread resurrection!