shifter not working in cold

I've been noticing that in sub 32F degree weather, my commuter bike's 7-sp Deore LX rapid-fire
shifter stops working during upshifts (ie. shifting to an easier gear). It seems as though the lever
doesn't 'catch' anything... as I can push it all the way without any clicks. I've tried tightening
whatever could be tightened to no avail.

In warm conditions, it will do this on rare occasions, but just about 100% of the time in cold.
Is this a symptom of a dying shifter that needs to be replaced? It's about 8-9 years old with
5-10K miles on
it... cosmetically fine, no problems with the left shifter.

Once the bike 'warms-up' indoors, it seems that the shifter is working once again.

Thanks.

 

Powerlube. Shoot it into the shifter guts, lots of it, flush it clean (Powerlube will leave a
residual lube that does a great job with older levers). The sooner you do this, the better your
results will be. If you can't find Powerlube (available at better auto parts stores everywhere!),
you can sub WD40 or something similar; however, Powerlube is the magic stuff for us.

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

"Lloyd Kwong" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I've been noticing that in sub 32F degree weather, my commuter bike's 7-sp Deore LX rapid-fire
> shifter stops working during upshifts (ie. shifting to an easier gear). It seems as though the
> lever doesn't 'catch' anything... as I can push it all the way without any clicks. I've tried
> tightening whatever could be tightened to no avail.
>
> In warm conditions, it will do this on rare occasions, but just about 100% of the time in cold. Is
> this a symptom of a dying shifter that needs to be replaced? It's about 8-9 years old with 5-10K
> miles on
> it... cosmetically fine, no problems with the left shifter.
>
> Once the bike 'warms-up' indoors, it seems that the shifter is working once again.
>
> Thanks.