Early 105 brifter not 'clicking'

General Help
1

So now that I’ve got a road bike you all get to answer my stupid questions.

I was adjusting the front derailleur last night and noticed the left lever doesn’t ‘click’, so once you shift onto the big ring it just shifts off once you let go of the lever.

A popular search engine indicates that sometimes they just need a good clean out (WD-40 or similar) as the grease hardens up over time - or - they are broken and need replacing.

Has anyone encountered this before? Did a clean out do the trick or am I just wasting my time and go and buy a replacement?

It’s this model; VeloBase.com - Component: Shimano ST-1055, 105SC

Rock.

2

Yep, quite common. Spray it to shit with degreaser. Let it sit for a bit. If you can, blast it with compressed air. Then spray a teeny bit of lube. Should work. If not, repeat. If not, still, it’s fucked.

3

If you do all of the above and it’s still fucked let me know cos I might have a suitable replacement from a pair that has a fucked right shifter.

4

^ Sweet, thanks team heavy metal.

5

I just did this with that Cecil Walker roadie I bought. flooded both levers with degreaser (apparently brake cleaner is best but I didn’t have any), let sit, pedaled bike & tried to shift it through the gears. then use silicon or whatever to get it all smooth again.

it’ll either work or it won’t I believe.

6

Rolly’s hit the nail on the head.

Also, Campag 10spd levers works with shimano 8spd drivetrain, that is if you wanna stay 8spd.

7

Yeh, what MikeD said. If everything else is working okay then it’s a really good option. Did it on my Sora-equipped commuter and it’s brilliant.
Only $100 at the moment too… wiggle.com.au | Campagnolo Veloce 10 Speed Powershift Ergopower Alloy Levers | Gear Levers And Shifters Road

8

Man, I’ve got so much to learn…

9

And if all that cleaning doesn’t work and you don’t want the passionate solution, just buy some Shimano Claris levers.

10

yeah gears eh, complicated.

however decent 8spd cassettes are getting rarer and cost about the same as 9spd.

edit: claris is a bad name for a groupset.

11

Good idea- they seem to be quite affordable $50-70 per lever?

12

Yeah, $25 for an HG50, $27 for a PG850, options from corncobs to MTB wide range. Similar price to similar spec 9 speed, but the 10sp Campy / 8 speed Shimano levers are cheaper than C11 / S9.

13

that is true, just mentioning as its best to think about long term plan for the bike.

14

FAVA BEANS CLARIS.

ntbd

15

I have no qualms about 8 speed. The new claris group means that Shimano will be supporting it for a while yet, and stuff is dirt cheap at the moment. Might even buy up a couple of cassettes and a few chains to go on with.

16

This whole thread reminds me of when I got my 6400 equipped roadie. I took it into a shop to get serviced as it was all out of whack and had the same shifter issue and I didn’t have any time to look at it myself.

When I picked it up they said they hadn’t been able to get the front shifter working. I was about to start looking for a new lever but thought I’d give it a WD40 myself just to make sure. The degreaser fixed it. So I took it back into the shop and told them what I’d done.

The mechanic pointed at the silicon lubricant and said they tried that with a shit load of this.

I’m not sure you should have to explain the difference between a degreaser and a lubricant to a bike mechanic.

17

I’ve had to explain the difference between threaded and threadless headsets and the difference in cable pull between V and sidepull flat bar levers (or more accurately why some levers give you 2 spots to put the cable end)

18

I’ve had to explain the difference between a public and a private company to a finance graduate employed by a bank.

19

And if that doesn’t work out, I can help you too.

20

ah, you beat me to it…

GOODBYE JAAAAAMESY!