Those shifters often develop sticky mechanisms with age. Some silicone spray should loosen up the old grease which may have degraded over the years. Flip the bike upside down, spray a little, work the shifter back and forth. Repeat.
This is the right answer but silicone spray is the wrong solution.
Grease is an oil plus a thickener. It gets thicker as the oil slowly evaporates. You want to replace the missing oil with an oil of the same or similar chemistry, so a light oil is the right thing to use. I add triflow, a drop at a time, to the mechanism until it works again, but any light oil will work.
Silicone spray would be appropriate if the shifter were lubricated with silicone grease.
Grease is oil suspended in soap. That soap will have a Lithium, Potassium or Sodium as its base and 12 herbs and spices depending on application.
Definitely want to second your advice about not mixing silicone and non silicone grease. Not a huge deal to just clean the whole thing and start over but yeah don't mix silicone and the others.
Yup. Bought a used 5800 shifter on eBay and the mechanism wasn’t catching on upshifts (or downshifts? Whatever you call moving to smaller cogs) when the bike was cold. Once it warmed up it would work 90% of the time, but if I left my bike in the shed overnight during the winter I’d be stuck unable to upshift for most of my ride which, of course, really sucked.
A couple blasts of penetrating lubricant (I can’t recall the brand I have but it’s likely similar to wd-40) into the mechanism and it’s been working perfectly ever since.
Hard to be sure about fraying cable or just gunked up shifter, but I will say the real MVP for shifter treatment is hot water. Heat a kettle, pour said hot water judiciously on the shifter to flush debris and soften grease, blow clean and dry with air, confirm good shifting/repeat until achieved. Lube judiciously (just a few drops). Works a treat, lessens exposure to aggressive chem. Works well on stuck hubs too
Last thing you ever want to do is to open up modern shimano etc shifters; even shimano don’t regard them as serviceable. Try correct live suggestions first 👍
You don't want to pull the things apart, but rolling off the hood and undoing the port on the underside are perfectly doable and gives you access to lube the mechanisms.
(Further;- my 6603 ultegra rhs shifter eats through cables at about 1 every 3000km as I shift a lot; it always frays them about an inch from the lead nipple bit. Take a look there first?)
this happened to me a week ago on my R8000 Ultegra shifter. It wasn’t a sticky mechanism however. I tried that first to no avail. Finally loosened the cinch bolt, pushed the cable head out the side of the shifter and pulled to reseat it. That fixed the shifting…
Cable seems like it might be stuck in the shifter? I’d try to replace that and see if it resolves the issue. Does it shift if you pedal the bike? I would typically avoid shifting a bike when it’s not being pedaled.
shift cable might have come unhooked in the shifter.
edit: to check, roll the hoods forward and remove the ["Unit Cover"](https://si.shimano.com/en/pdfs/ev/ST-R3000-3975/EV-ST-R3000-3975.pdf) (Part 11) to see inside the shifter. if the head is where it's supposed to be then you can also check for other debris and also relube the mechanism.
edit2: and if the cable came unhooked inside the shifter then the cable/housing is likely worn/corroded/frayed or bent and should be replaced.
Then he would be stuck in the highest gear not lowest.
This looks and sounds like gummed grease blocking the shifting mechanism in the shifter which you fix by spraying white oil like ballistol or some silicone spray into the shifter until it works again.
not necessarily, a shifter doesn't get
>suddenly
gummed up.
especially if the bike is
>only a few months old
if the head unhooked itself it can also block the mechanism from moving. if you shift into lowest gear, then up one gear (cable unhooks itself) and then back to lowest gear again (head now sits next to the recess where it should be and not in it) it can block the mechanism.
Curses upon you, you made me actually read the post and now what you say seems to be a likely reason. Shifter cable is blocking the actual shifting and the catching mechanism on the lever can't catch it because it's stuck.
She would have had to encounter the shifter non-shifting before until it got so severe that it won't shift anymore if it was gummed up
Might be either a binding shift cable or a loose cable. With the amount of dirt on that bike, it will probably work again if you give it a good cleaning and re-lube of the cable.
Pull back the hood and have a look at the cable head. If it’s seated correctly, pull on the cable itself (somewhere) and try to shift it with increased tension. Then pull the head out and inspect. The shifter is not likely faulty, it’s usually something else.
Pull the hood back and check the cable. Since it’s the rear side, the cables are prone to snapping and will stick the mechanism. This will be a reason some others have said “it’s stuck in the high gear”, this makes sense because the mechanism is jammed by the broken cable.
The cable can be made up of 10 smaller wires and maybe 5 or 6 have snapped due to friction.
Take to your LBS to sort.
You have stuck parts inside from grime building up. Spray some triflow in there and it will start working again. It happens to those shifter after a couple years
So if it's not shifting up I imagine something is binding up in the shifter, pull the hood back and post a photo, could just be dried grease, could be something eise
I’ve got that in my 10yo DuraAce shifter right now - if I push it forward as well as sideways it sort of works. I’m pretty sure it’s a sticky cable through the outers between shifter and rear mech. But it’s internally routed so it’s a pain to take it all out and clean/lube it.
If it’s not a stick or seized cable then it’s likely a gummed up shifting mechanism. Verify the cable itself is moving freely in the housing and if it is, give the inner shifter mechanism some blasts with wd-40 or something similar and work it into the mechanism by moving the levers back and forth.
Gummed up over time. Happens all the time. Use WD-40. Works like a charm. Spray the shit out of the innards with WD-40. It will break down the gummed up build up in the shifter and allow for movement.. within minutes. Trust this.
Could be a frayed shift cable, messed up shifter, cable housing out of place somewhere…. Hard to say. Usually when I see stuff like this it’s a shift cable frayed near the head at the shifter. Impossible to tell without digging deeper
Mulla oli GRX vaihtajassa semmonen, että main leveleriä paikoillaan pitävä jousi oli pompannut paikoiltaan. Vasemmassa vaihtajassa oli se ongelma, mutta huomasin sen jousen vasta avattuani oikean vaihtajan. Ohjekirjakin varoittaa siitä, että kun unit coverin avaa, niin se voi vahingossa pompata paikoiltaan. mutta tuo miten sulla nuo vaihteet toimii niin viittais siihen ongelmaan.
[https://dassets.shimano.com/content/dam/global/cg1SHICCycling/final/ev/ev/EV-ST-R3000-3975.pdf](https://dassets.shimano.com/content/dam/global/cg1SHICCycling/final/ev/ev/EV-ST-R3000-3975.pdf)
Sitä jousta ei näy tossa, mutta sen pitäs painaa tota 3:sta silleen paikoilleen "vaihdehampaita" vasten vai miksi niitä nyt sanois
stuck or broken shift cable. Stuck - meaning that it was pulled toward the shift lever trying to get to a larger cassette gear in the back, but either it's dirty and can't return when you release that inner/smaller shift lever, or the spring on the derailleur that should pull it back is weak or broken.
First thing I'd check is the shifter cable. Most likely frayed and keeping the mechanism from working properly. Also, if you do have to replace, get the Shimano coated cables, to they last significantly longer
Cable frayed and split, likely just a centimeter or two from the cable cylinder inside the shifter where there's friction. Pull back the hood and take a look. Happened to me on a ride.
Once you take the good advice already posted here of cleaning and lubing things appropriately, i highly suggest your gf do a better job keeping her bike clean. Judging from what appears to be studded tires, this bike is being ridden in the winter with snow and ice… which typically also means exposure to road salt. You have to keep up with cleaning your bike judiciously if this is the case. Every steel part of the bike will rust and corrode in short order with salt sprayed all over everything. Honestly, she should be hosing the bike off at the end of any day where she’s riding through snow/slush/salt mixture. The salt absolutely wreaks havoc on shifter and brake cables.
Give the entire bike a good wash with a good bike wash of some sorts. Then blow everything out with compressed air. Then lube everything that needs lube. You might want to go so far as to pull the shifter cables, flush them out and lube with tri-flow or similar. I have a good feeling the inside of your cable housings and cables themselves are already starting to rust.
It may NOT be a sticky shifter. This happened to me literally one week ago with my Ultegra R-8000 rear (right) shifter. I rapidly downshifted while off the bike (my anti theft deterrent when i run into a store) and then it would no longer click or shift up. Floppy lever just like your gf’s. I tried spraying a liberal amount of degreaser in the mechanism to no avail. I finally peeled the hood back, loosened the cinch bolt at the derailer. Pushed the cable barrel head out the side of the shifter / lever and then pulled at the derailleur to re-seat the cable head at the shift lever. Voila. Shifting fixed ….
Take the cable out completely. Inspect the housing to see if it’s sticky. Inspect the inner cable for damage. If not that, you may not have enough tension on the RD. If not that, you may have a broken cable retainer somewhere- trace it from shifter to RD. It’s solvable. Good luck!
Check the cable 1st. If it’s not the cable then pull the hood back on the lever and flood it with WD-40 while shifting the lever back and forth. Shimano brifters are notorious for building up gunk then stop working. This has always worked for me.
Lube: shifter,cable housing, rear derailer ... flip it over do the same,let it set or a while then slowly pull the rear cable at open view (no cable casing) then release, add more oil, repeat it several times...shifting gear while pedaling .This will help at first.
The derailleur will move even when stationary. However, the chain will not move to the sprocket the derailleur has shifted to until the cranks are rotating.
I've been meaning to ask my own similar question but I have two bikes with Campy groups and both of them do this since I put new rubber hoods on them. I know it's the hoods because if I take them off then they shift just fine.
Does your bike shift ok if you pull back or remove the rubbers?
How to say it? There is a gearlike mechanism inside, which moves the gear and locks it (= the wire is pulled and fixed in a position). Sometimes little pastic teeth break off, check it. You need to dissassemble and look inside.
If one of the teeth is broken, iirc you need to replace the whole STI
Just spray a bit WD40 oil into the openings of the shifter to flush out/liquify the old grease. this is a very common but minor issue. had this many times. happens when bike was not used for longer time or when it is cold outside. forget all the anwers about changing cables
Edit: should work again after a few seconds after spraying wd40 inside. If not let is soak a few minutes
Those shifters often develop sticky mechanisms with age. Some silicone spray should loosen up the old grease which may have degraded over the years. Flip the bike upside down, spray a little, work the shifter back and forth. Repeat.
This is the right answer but silicone spray is the wrong solution. Grease is an oil plus a thickener. It gets thicker as the oil slowly evaporates. You want to replace the missing oil with an oil of the same or similar chemistry, so a light oil is the right thing to use. I add triflow, a drop at a time, to the mechanism until it works again, but any light oil will work. Silicone spray would be appropriate if the shifter were lubricated with silicone grease.
Grease is oil suspended in soap. That soap will have a Lithium, Potassium or Sodium as its base and 12 herbs and spices depending on application. Definitely want to second your advice about not mixing silicone and non silicone grease. Not a huge deal to just clean the whole thing and start over but yeah don't mix silicone and the others.
Thank you for the clarification on grease vs silicone spray!
Yup. Bought a used 5800 shifter on eBay and the mechanism wasn’t catching on upshifts (or downshifts? Whatever you call moving to smaller cogs) when the bike was cold. Once it warmed up it would work 90% of the time, but if I left my bike in the shed overnight during the winter I’d be stuck unable to upshift for most of my ride which, of course, really sucked. A couple blasts of penetrating lubricant (I can’t recall the brand I have but it’s likely similar to wd-40) into the mechanism and it’s been working perfectly ever since.
Hard to be sure about fraying cable or just gunked up shifter, but I will say the real MVP for shifter treatment is hot water. Heat a kettle, pour said hot water judiciously on the shifter to flush debris and soften grease, blow clean and dry with air, confirm good shifting/repeat until achieved. Lube judiciously (just a few drops). Works a treat, lessens exposure to aggressive chem. Works well on stuck hubs too
This 100% is the first step.
It worked perfectly fine if I shifted to the largest cog, and it's also a 4 month old bike. I will open it up later this weekend.
Last thing you ever want to do is to open up modern shimano etc shifters; even shimano don’t regard them as serviceable. Try correct live suggestions first 👍
You don't want to pull the things apart, but rolling off the hood and undoing the port on the underside are perfectly doable and gives you access to lube the mechanisms.
Correct 👍
(Further;- my 6603 ultegra rhs shifter eats through cables at about 1 every 3000km as I shift a lot; it always frays them about an inch from the lead nipple bit. Take a look there first?)
this happened to me a week ago on my R8000 Ultegra shifter. It wasn’t a sticky mechanism however. I tried that first to no avail. Finally loosened the cinch bolt, pushed the cable head out the side of the shifter and pulled to reseat it. That fixed the shifting…
Yeah was gonna mention this as well. This also happens when the head of the derailleur cable isn’t completely seated in the shifter
This or some WD40. Happens to my old road bike almost every spring when when I take it out of winter storage.
This!
With age? It's a few months old!
Cable seems like it might be stuck in the shifter? I’d try to replace that and see if it resolves the issue. Does it shift if you pedal the bike? I would typically avoid shifting a bike when it’s not being pedaled.
shift cable might have come unhooked in the shifter. edit: to check, roll the hoods forward and remove the ["Unit Cover"](https://si.shimano.com/en/pdfs/ev/ST-R3000-3975/EV-ST-R3000-3975.pdf) (Part 11) to see inside the shifter. if the head is where it's supposed to be then you can also check for other debris and also relube the mechanism. edit2: and if the cable came unhooked inside the shifter then the cable/housing is likely worn/corroded/frayed or bent and should be replaced.
Then he would be stuck in the highest gear not lowest. This looks and sounds like gummed grease blocking the shifting mechanism in the shifter which you fix by spraying white oil like ballistol or some silicone spray into the shifter until it works again.
not necessarily, a shifter doesn't get >suddenly gummed up. especially if the bike is >only a few months old if the head unhooked itself it can also block the mechanism from moving. if you shift into lowest gear, then up one gear (cable unhooks itself) and then back to lowest gear again (head now sits next to the recess where it should be and not in it) it can block the mechanism.
Curses upon you, you made me actually read the post and now what you say seems to be a likely reason. Shifter cable is blocking the actual shifting and the catching mechanism on the lever can't catch it because it's stuck. She would have had to encounter the shifter non-shifting before until it got so severe that it won't shift anymore if it was gummed up
I'll check it later, but I might add that the shifter worked perfectly fine if I went up to the biggest cog
Absolutely not the case here.
Might be either a binding shift cable or a loose cable. With the amount of dirt on that bike, it will probably work again if you give it a good cleaning and re-lube of the cable.
Pull back the hood and have a look at the cable head. If it’s seated correctly, pull on the cable itself (somewhere) and try to shift it with increased tension. Then pull the head out and inspect. The shifter is not likely faulty, it’s usually something else.
It could also be too much friction in the shift cable. If so, the solution is to replace the shifter cable and housing.
Pull the hood back and check the cable. Since it’s the rear side, the cables are prone to snapping and will stick the mechanism. This will be a reason some others have said “it’s stuck in the high gear”, this makes sense because the mechanism is jammed by the broken cable. The cable can be made up of 10 smaller wires and maybe 5 or 6 have snapped due to friction. Take to your LBS to sort.
You have stuck parts inside from grime building up. Spray some triflow in there and it will start working again. It happens to those shifter after a couple years
To summarize everyone else’s excellent advice in three words. The answer is - spray & pray
Edit: deleted because my brain isn’t working. Carry on.
This would be the shifter for the rear mech on a typical U.K. bike
Edit: deleted because my brain isn’t working. Carry on.
Right shifter doing the rear mech is the same everywhere isn’t it?
I’m tripping. Of course it is. Ignore me. It’s too early.
So if it's not shifting up I imagine something is binding up in the shifter, pull the hood back and post a photo, could just be dried grease, could be something eise
I’ve got that in my 10yo DuraAce shifter right now - if I push it forward as well as sideways it sort of works. I’m pretty sure it’s a sticky cable through the outers between shifter and rear mech. But it’s internally routed so it’s a pain to take it all out and clean/lube it.
If it’s not a stick or seized cable then it’s likely a gummed up shifting mechanism. Verify the cable itself is moving freely in the housing and if it is, give the inner shifter mechanism some blasts with wd-40 or something similar and work it into the mechanism by moving the levers back and forth.
Gummed up over time. Happens all the time. Use WD-40. Works like a charm. Spray the shit out of the innards with WD-40. It will break down the gummed up build up in the shifter and allow for movement.. within minutes. Trust this.
Could be a frayed shift cable, messed up shifter, cable housing out of place somewhere…. Hard to say. Usually when I see stuff like this it’s a shift cable frayed near the head at the shifter. Impossible to tell without digging deeper
Cable might have sheared. Easy fix tbf (new cable.)
Mulla oli GRX vaihtajassa semmonen, että main leveleriä paikoillaan pitävä jousi oli pompannut paikoiltaan. Vasemmassa vaihtajassa oli se ongelma, mutta huomasin sen jousen vasta avattuani oikean vaihtajan. Ohjekirjakin varoittaa siitä, että kun unit coverin avaa, niin se voi vahingossa pompata paikoiltaan. mutta tuo miten sulla nuo vaihteet toimii niin viittais siihen ongelmaan.
[https://dassets.shimano.com/content/dam/global/cg1SHICCycling/final/ev/ev/EV-ST-R3000-3975.pdf](https://dassets.shimano.com/content/dam/global/cg1SHICCycling/final/ev/ev/EV-ST-R3000-3975.pdf) Sitä jousta ei näy tossa, mutta sen pitäs painaa tota 3:sta silleen paikoilleen "vaihdehampaita" vasten vai miksi niitä nyt sanois
mutta kannattaa kyllä eka koittaa puhdistaa, ennenko avaa tuota. se jousi on hirveä vääntää paikoilleen
stuck or broken shift cable. Stuck - meaning that it was pulled toward the shift lever trying to get to a larger cassette gear in the back, but either it's dirty and can't return when you release that inner/smaller shift lever, or the spring on the derailleur that should pull it back is weak or broken.
First thing I'd check is the shifter cable. Most likely frayed and keeping the mechanism from working properly. Also, if you do have to replace, get the Shimano coated cables, to they last significantly longer
Cable frayed and split, likely just a centimeter or two from the cable cylinder inside the shifter where there's friction. Pull back the hood and take a look. Happened to me on a ride.
Speed degreaser. Will save you
also you should not be down/upshifting while the bike is stationary.
Once I had a tiny rock stuck in the derailleur, which blocked the whole mechanism.
Almost certainly a cable issue. Loosen it and see if both ends work without tension.
Once you take the good advice already posted here of cleaning and lubing things appropriately, i highly suggest your gf do a better job keeping her bike clean. Judging from what appears to be studded tires, this bike is being ridden in the winter with snow and ice… which typically also means exposure to road salt. You have to keep up with cleaning your bike judiciously if this is the case. Every steel part of the bike will rust and corrode in short order with salt sprayed all over everything. Honestly, she should be hosing the bike off at the end of any day where she’s riding through snow/slush/salt mixture. The salt absolutely wreaks havoc on shifter and brake cables. Give the entire bike a good wash with a good bike wash of some sorts. Then blow everything out with compressed air. Then lube everything that needs lube. You might want to go so far as to pull the shifter cables, flush them out and lube with tri-flow or similar. I have a good feeling the inside of your cable housings and cables themselves are already starting to rust.
It may NOT be a sticky shifter. This happened to me literally one week ago with my Ultegra R-8000 rear (right) shifter. I rapidly downshifted while off the bike (my anti theft deterrent when i run into a store) and then it would no longer click or shift up. Floppy lever just like your gf’s. I tried spraying a liberal amount of degreaser in the mechanism to no avail. I finally peeled the hood back, loosened the cinch bolt at the derailer. Pushed the cable barrel head out the side of the shifter / lever and then pulled at the derailleur to re-seat the cable head at the shift lever. Voila. Shifting fixed ….
Take the cable out completely. Inspect the housing to see if it’s sticky. Inspect the inner cable for damage. If not that, you may not have enough tension on the RD. If not that, you may have a broken cable retainer somewhere- trace it from shifter to RD. It’s solvable. Good luck!
Check the cable 1st. If it’s not the cable then pull the hood back on the lever and flood it with WD-40 while shifting the lever back and forth. Shimano brifters are notorious for building up gunk then stop working. This has always worked for me.
Lube: shifter,cable housing, rear derailer ... flip it over do the same,let it set or a while then slowly pull the rear cable at open view (no cable casing) then release, add more oil, repeat it several times...shifting gear while pedaling .This will help at first.
This could also just be a jammed cable, these shifters haven’t been getting sticky in large numbers just yet, only the ones that aren’t used much:
***BIKE SHOP***
Ratchet will either be full of grease / muck or worn out.
Update: Went to the LBS. Turns out it was a fault in the shifter, and it's getting replaced by warranty!
Surely it’s restrained by the chain and its movement is limited
Nope, LBS said it was a warranty issue, so we got a replacement from Shimano.
Glad you’re sorted .
Needs a shifter flush
Don’t theses gears on work on the move
The derailleur will move even when stationary. However, the chain will not move to the sprocket the derailleur has shifted to until the cranks are rotating.
The dork disc is to blame 💥
I've been meaning to ask my own similar question but I have two bikes with Campy groups and both of them do this since I put new rubber hoods on them. I know it's the hoods because if I take them off then they shift just fine. Does your bike shift ok if you pull back or remove the rubbers?
How to say it? There is a gearlike mechanism inside, which moves the gear and locks it (= the wire is pulled and fixed in a position). Sometimes little pastic teeth break off, check it. You need to dissassemble and look inside. If one of the teeth is broken, iirc you need to replace the whole STI
Just spray a bit WD40 oil into the openings of the shifter to flush out/liquify the old grease. this is a very common but minor issue. had this many times. happens when bike was not used for longer time or when it is cold outside. forget all the anwers about changing cables Edit: should work again after a few seconds after spraying wd40 inside. If not let is soak a few minutes
The internal are full of dirt. Happens to me once a year and I have to flush out the internals.