Dura-Ace 8 spd STI levers, is rebuild possible ?

[Glen Hendry]

Hi All,

I have an 8 spd Dura-Ace ensemble I bought a long time ago and have been riding on ever since. The
majority of the group set is still very good, (especially the hubs) but my shifters require a bit of
a deft touch to shift sharply as the clicki-ness is somewhat worn.

I have the original manuals/spec sheets with assembly diagrams, my question is, since I have never
rebuilt an STI lever before, do I have any chance of pulling them apart, cleaning it all out and
rebuilding with any noticable improvement ? Will I be able to get replacement parts for the
consumables in there ?

Thanks for any info Glen

 

[Mike Jacoubowsk]

> I have an 8 spd Dura-Ace ensemble I bought a long time ago and have been riding on ever since. The
> majority of the group set is still very good, (especially the hubs) but my shifters require a bit
> of a deft touch to shift sharply as the clicki-ness is somewhat worn.
>
> I have the original manuals/spec sheets with assembly diagrams, my question is, since I have never
> rebuilt an STI lever before, do I have any chance of pulling them apart, cleaning it all out and
> rebuilding with any noticable improvement ? Will I be able to get replacement parts for the
> consumables in there ?

You can replace the entire blade (basically all moving parts of the shifting mech, including the
levers that you push to make it shift), but that's about the same price as an entire lever. There
are no individual replacement parts for all the litty tiny things in there that wear down and make
it shift less crisply.

However, you probably can greatly improve the shifting action with a liberal application of
Powerlube. Instructions for doing so are at the bottom of this page-

www.ChainReaction.com/noisystilevers.htm

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles http://www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

 

[Qui Si Parla Ca]

ghendry-<< I have the original manuals/spec sheets with assembly diagrams, my question is, since I
have never rebuilt an STI lever before, do I have any chance of pulling them apart, cleaning it all
out and rebuilding with any noticable improvement ? >><BR><BR>

No replacement parts were available when they were new for the innards of these or any STI levers.
You may be able to take apart and clean but reassembly is challenging at the very best. Lots of
hidden, preloaded springs and stuff. The chances of improving anything is small, the chance of
making them inoperative is large.

Peter Chisholm Vecchio's Bicicletteria 1833 Pearl St. Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535 http://www.vecchios.com "Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

 

[John Everett]

On 1 Feb 2004 19:49:41 -0800, [email protected] (Glen Hendry)
wrote:

>Hi All,
>
>I have an 8 spd Dura-Ace ensemble I bought a long time ago and have been riding on ever since. The
>majority of the group set is still very good, (especially the hubs) but my shifters require a bit
>of a deft touch to shift sharply as the clicki-ness is somewhat worn.
>
>I have the original manuals/spec sheets with assembly diagrams, my question is, since I have never
>rebuilt an STI lever before, do I have any chance of pulling them apart, cleaning it all out and
>rebuilding with any noticable improvement ? Will I be able to get replacement parts for the
>consumables in there ?

http://www.billcotton.com/sti_shifter_repair.htm

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3

 

[Song]

If you're passably good with your hands and can maintain workspace
discipline, I recommend this document for 8spd shifters (hopefully applies
to DA's too):

http://www.cyclingforum.com/features/downloads/STIdisDetail.doc

(Kudos to whoever wrote it - don't remember who it was!)

Having had zero experience with rebuilding STI, I fixed three 8spd STI levers yesterday, a left
Ultegra 600 and right 600 and 105 (8spd). A guy called Peter Moore [beware!] from LA sold me the
600's, which were stuck in the highest position. As many will tell you, most of the time it's just
gunk that prevents the pawls from engaging the ratchet. Flushing it (you don't really need WD-40 -
TriFlow will do) is much more effective and efficient when done from the inside. No tools needed but
some allen wrenches.

That said, if things are broken, it would be hard to do anything about it. But from my recent
personal experience, just keep track of where all the parts are and you can't really make
things worse.

Song

"Glen Hendry" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi All,
>
> I have an 8 spd Dura-Ace ensemble I bought a long time ago and have been riding on ever since. The
> majority of the group set is still very good, (especially the hubs) but my shifters require a bit
> of a deft touch to shift sharply as the clicki-ness is somewhat worn.
>
> I have the original manuals/spec sheets with assembly diagrams, my question is, since I have never
> rebuilt an STI lever before, do I have any chance of pulling them apart, cleaning it all out and
> rebuilding with any noticable improvement ? Will I be able to get replacement parts for the
> consumables in there ?
>
> Thanks for any info Glen

 

[Song]

In reference to my insinuation about Peter Moore, let me say now it's not personal. I can believe
he's a decent chap, just perhaps not especially careful to check that the stuff he's selling is
working. So deal with him, just make doubly sure he verifies functionality first.