Dura Ace bar ends not centering ..any fix?

The 9 speed Dura Ace bar end shifter on my wife's triathlon bike seem to no longer center correctly. We swapped out cables and lubed the rear derailler but no longer have nice silent shifting without "fiddling" with the the lever to make sure things are centered. Its almost like riding an old non-indexed system. Since my wife has always ridden indexed systems she doesn't have that auto-tweak thing going on in her head that those of use who have ridden 40 years have.

Are the Dura Ace bar ends servicable or is it time for a new set?

Thanks for any informed replies.

SciGuy

The levers are not serviceable (as opposed to Campagnolo for which replacement index gears are available). I would include worn chain or cassette as other possibilities for the poor shifting. If the rest of the drivetrain is OK, then the lever probably needs to be replaced. Fortunately, they are not that expensive (compared to STI).

Something you might want to check: Shimano bar-end shifters have a "keyed" spacer between the mount and the actual shift lever. It's possible to install the spacer incorrectly and installing them incorrectly results in the shifters not indexing properly.

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Rebellion with no point or purpose is worse than conformity.

Since it has worked pretty well for several years now, I'm more inclined to suspect either general wear and tear or perhaps some carbo solution having made its way into the inner workings. This bike has been through IM Hawaii and Lake placid twice each as well IM Canada and many training miles in between. I guess at this point the shifters are either due for a bit of TLC or replacement.

Thanks for the info.

Hugh

You might try flushing them out with Power Lube. They do wear out, but not nearly as fast as STI levers. The radius for the cable is small so any build up of "tired lube and road grit" makes the indexing worse. If indexing is particularly bad when shifting to smaller cogs, suspect anything that adds friction like plastic ferules on cable ends and the shifter(s)' internals.
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=76
will help if you are ready to tackle the rear derailer.

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David Ornee, Western Springs, IL USA