Stiff front shifter on XTR ST-M951
Manc33
Posts: 2,157
I have an XTR shifter (ST-M951) and the up shift on the front mech is stiff. It is probably 2-3 times harder to upshift than the shifter I took off was, which is a cheap Altus.
- Brand new cables.
- Cable housing is all nice and neat.
- Oiled inside the cable housing.
- Oiled the front mech.
- Oiled the cable under the bottom bracket.
What I haven't oiled or sprayed with WD-40 is the inside of the shifter itself.
- The XTR shifter without any cable isn't stiff at all, but is that meaningless anyway?
- The Altus I took off wasn't stiff without or with cable.
Is it possible the spring has gone weak in the shifter? Or gone altogether?! Would it be like this if there wasn't any physical spring there in the shifter at all and it was only working off the spring on the front mech?
Front mech is a Sora, not that that matters much because it worked alright with the Altus shifter.
I know these XTR shifters have a brake lever reach adjustment, but does the upshift lever as well? It would help if I didn't have to shove as far away with my thumb.
- Brand new cables.
- Cable housing is all nice and neat.
- Oiled inside the cable housing.
- Oiled the front mech.
- Oiled the cable under the bottom bracket.
What I haven't oiled or sprayed with WD-40 is the inside of the shifter itself.
- The XTR shifter without any cable isn't stiff at all, but is that meaningless anyway?
- The Altus I took off wasn't stiff without or with cable.
Is it possible the spring has gone weak in the shifter? Or gone altogether?! Would it be like this if there wasn't any physical spring there in the shifter at all and it was only working off the spring on the front mech?
Front mech is a Sora, not that that matters much because it worked alright with the Altus shifter.
I know these XTR shifters have a brake lever reach adjustment, but does the upshift lever as well? It would help if I didn't have to shove as far away with my thumb.
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Comments
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Manc33 wrote:Front mech is a Sora, not that that matters much because it worked alright with the Altus shifter.
It can matter.
There's plenty of stuff written about compatibility problems with Shimano road front derailleurs + Shimano mtb shifters and with Shimano mtb front derailleurs + Shimano road shifters.
Example: http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12937669&p=184977450 -
Agh. OK cheers, I will swap the FD from my MTB.
What if the MTB front mech won't go on the road bike frame?
Is it even possible to swap a FD without a bike shop having to do it, regarding lining it up?
God I hope it works.
EDIT: If I put the MTB front mech on what about the chainrings then? Its not a 22-44 on the bike, its 28-48 :roll:
Its something to do on a Sunday lol.
Found this:
"Old pre STI front mechs work fine with MTB shifters as do Nexave and new hybrid specific front mechs."
Yep, the setup used to be STI "brifters".
In fact I can further butcher the old bike in the loft, thats a 1990s touring bike with a triple changer, Deore I think.0 -
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cobba wrote:
Are these the elusive front mechs that are for a road chainset but work with MTB shifters?
Or are they normal STI type front mechs that are just part of a groupset where they also make flat bar shifters that have STI internals?
Why did the Altus flat bar front shifter work with the Sora FD, but now an XTR front shifter is stiff?
At least front mechs are cheap as hell although at the moment I will have to borrow money to get one. :roll:0 -
Read some conflicting info on that stuff.
I've read that the flat bar shifters only work with 'road' derailleurs and also I've read the flat bar shifters are the same as 'mtb' shifters and will work with front 'mtb' derailleurs.
The rear flat bar shifters will work with most rear derailleurs, the exception being the 10 rear speed shifter which won't work with a 10 speed 'mtb' rear derailleur.
If you have a 48-38-28 crankset there's plenty of mtb/trekking front derailleurs rated for a 48 tooth large chainring and a 22 tooth difference between the large and small chainrings.
http://productinfo.shimano.com/specifications.html
On that link, click on 'MTB/Trekking', click on 'Front Derailleur', click on 'SUBMIT'
The front derailleurs rated for 7, 8 & 9 speed will work fine with your XTR shifters.0 -
There's a lot of confusion going on here!
If the Altus shifter was fine and the XTR one isn't, then the mech isn't the problem. There are a few compatibility issues with mechs, but they will cause irratic shifting, not stiffness. The M951 shifters are now at least 10 years old, so quite probably just worn out. I'd squirt some GT85 in there for good measure, won't hurt and may free it up a bit.
Most front mechs are near as dammit the same. The cable pull on road ones is marginally different, but will work in most circumstances. It's changed on some of the latest 10 speed road mechs, but I'd not get too bogged down in that.
Basically... the problem is the shifter, not the mech.0
