Possible broken Sora shifter

jefflad

I've added a Trek 1.2 to my collection but what I didn't notice is the shifter for the front mech appears to be broken and need some help/advice on repairing or replacing.

The right shifter works fine and skips up and down the rear cog with no issues but left shifter, when wired in with tension gets stuck on the big cog at the front and the thumb switch to disengage to the smaller cog won't work, it doesn't move almost jammed in position. When I loosen the cable off it starts working but it feels a little rough compared to the other shifter so I guess it is goosed. So it leads me to wonder can these items be taken apart and maybe serviced or am I best just biting the bullet and looking for a new Sora shifter? I did think for a short while I could upgrade to 105's but then I realised I'm all 9 geared up so would need to change everything

Can someone offer any pearls of wisdom before I hit fleabay looking for some second hand suiters

ride_whenever

wind out the high stop on the front mech and see if the problem persists. If it does then the shifters had it, look for second hand spare.

crankycrank

Before scrapping the lever try dousing the moving parts with WD-40. This helps flush out the gunk and hardened grease while leaving some light lube behind. Try not to get the WD-40 on the rubber hoods as it tends to gradually ruin the rubber. No big deal if a little gets on the rubber though, you just have to wipe it off and use some detergent to remove any residue. You can take them apart if you're very mechanically inclined but I have never seen any tutorials for the Sora shifters and there are no spare parts available for the innards. At least with it apart you can give it a proper lube and check if anything is broken but I would only recommend disassembly when all else fails. This is for a 9sp Ultegra, a bit different but gives you an idea of what you're in for. http://www.nitrodyno.com/Ultegra-STI/ I almost forgot to suggest checking the cable end at the shifter for fraying which could also cause the symptoms the OP mentioned.

jefflad

Thanks chaps... I'll try that now.

jefflad

OK... had a look at the cable on the shifter end, unseated it and spread some WD40 in. Certainly seems to have to the trick and is now shifting, more of an industrial shift on the thumb switch rather than a more elegant one on the other shifter but it's working and thats the main thing... One question though is raised it appears to be a triple shifter and as the bike is a double, is there anyway around getting it to click once down and no further and vice a versa?

Thanks for both of your help with the major fault though!

crankycrank

jefflad wrote:

One question though is raised it appears to be a triple shifter and as the bike is a double, is there anyway around getting it to click once down and no further and vice a versa?

I'm not sure you're aware but there is a trim function in the shifter i.e. it has a half shift to move the front mech slightly to keep from it rubbing the chain for certain gear combinations. This could be the 2nd click you're referring to or it could just be a triple shifter after all.

jefflad

crankycrank wrote:

jefflad wrote:

One question though is raised it appears to be a triple shifter and as the bike is a double, is there anyway around getting it to click once down and no further and vice a versa?

I'm not sure you're aware but there is a trim function in the shifter i.e. it has a half shift to move the front mech slightly to keep from it rubbing the chain for certain gear combinations. This could be the 2nd click you're referring to or it could just be a triple shifter after all.

Ah! I wasn't aware... That's probably it :-/ thanks for that!