LX shifters with 105 derailer?

[hedgehog]

I just got Kona Dr. Dew hybrid, the drivetrain is a mixed bag of road and mtb parts, the crankset is a road triple I believe.

It has Shimano SLR-440 shifters, never heard of these before. They have the ability to half-shfit to trim the front (I know this is common with road shifters, never seen it with rapidfire shifters).

Anyways, it doesn't seem to work real well so I would like to replace the shifters and am considering LX. Do you think it would work?

 

[Retro Grouch]

I just got Kona Dr. Dew hybrid, the drivetrain is a mixed bag of road and mtb parts, the crankset is a road triple I believe.

It has Shimano SLR-440 shifters, never heard of these before. They have the ability to half-shfit to trim the front (I know this is common with road shifters, never seen it with rapidfire shifters).

Anyways, it doesn't seem to work real well so I would like to replace the shifters and am considering LX. Do you think it would work?

I'm thinking that, if you can't get the SL-R440 shifters to work, you aren't going to be able to get LX shifters to work either.

If it was my bike, I'd completely disconnect the front shift cable. Then I'd access the Park tool website and follow their instructions, starting at the very beginning, as if I were installing the front derailleur for the first time. The position of the derailleur on the seat tube and the sequence of the adjustments that you make are critical.

 

[free_rideman]

but to answer your first question, yes lx will more than work with 105 derailleurs.

-but the thing is, you have to isolate the problem. If the shifters suck, there are big chances that many other parts suck on the bike. One important part is the chain. Many mid-range bikes come with chains that aren't very well suited for shifting. That and the cassette could be of poor quality.

-anyways if you do change shifters or whatever, be sure to change the housing and cables. This should improve shifting by a lot.

 

[hedgehog]

Sorry, should have been clearer. It shifts fine, I'm just not crazy about the indexing having 4 stops instead of three.

 

[Retro Grouch]

Sorry, should have been clearer. It shifts fine, I'm just not crazy about the indexing having 4 stops instead of three.

Well then. Shimano says not to mix mountain shifters with road derailleurs BUT, manufacturers have been doing it successfully for years. My daughter has a Burley tandem that came that way and my wife has a Specialized hybrid that came with an LX shifter and a Tiagra front derailleur.

I'm kind of surprised that you feel that having 2 stops for the middle ring is bad. That's the way my Ultegra triple tandem is set up.

 

[free_rideman]

yeah, and my new campagnolo chorus shifters have about 11 shifts for the front derailleur alone! Talk about infinte trim!

mmmmmmmm..................................trim......................

 

[gclark8]

I guess the bike is a 9 speed. The ST-R443 left shifter is considered an upgrade over the 8 speed SL-R220, however the 220 is now replaced by a 224 with the two middle (chainring) positions.

My suggstion is, be patient, its new tehnonlgy, learn to master the shifter, look at the visual indicator, it tells you which middle positin you are in. I have ST-R440 shifters on both my bikes.