Shimano Bar-end Shifter Maintenance

[Ron Ruff]

I'm on my second set of Shimano bar-ends in the last 2 years. The first
set died after I attempted to clean it with carb cleaner (plastic parts
melted!), but it was a last ditch effort to get it to work anyway.
Previously I dripped oil on the outside pretty regularly and tried to
work it in, but it didn't seem to help much. Now the new one is feeling
gritty and sticking between gears as well. Both spent most of their
lives in wet, hot, salty Hawaii where things tend to corode quickly.

Since everyone seems to rave about the durability and reliability of
these, is there a good maintenance procedure to keep them working well?
Maybe soaking in solvent and/oil every so often? Any ideas?

 

[Ozark Bicycle]

Ron Ruff wrote:
> I'm on my second set of Shimano bar-ends in the last 2 years. The first
> set died after I attempted to clean it with carb cleaner (plastic parts
> melted!), but it was a last ditch effort to get it to work anyway.
> Previously I dripped oil on the outside pretty regularly and tried to
> work it in, but it didn't seem to help much. Now the new one is feeling
> gritty and sticking between gears as well. Both spent most of their
> lives in wet, hot, salty Hawaii where things tend to corode quickly.
>
> Since everyone seems to rave about the durability and reliability of
> these, is there a good maintenance procedure to keep them working well?
> Maybe soaking in solvent and/oil every so often? Any ideas?

Do you actually see corrosion inside the mechanisms?

I still have my first pair of Shimano bar-ends, 7SP from 1991. Lotsa
miles, lotsa shifts. They are on the one bike I will use in all
conditions, including (in the past) the nasty slop of New England snow
melt, road clearing chemicals and all. This is also the one bike I will
roof rack, etc., so they have been in some nasty downpours at 60+ MPH.
Zero maintenance, zero problems; so your experience surprises me.

 

[Ron Ruff]

Ozark Bicycle wrote:
> Do you actually see corrosion inside the mechanisms?

I soaked the first set in WD-40 at one point and it left a thick rusty
brown residue... which could have been dirt or rust. After the
carb-cleaner soak I could see inside and yes, the steel parts were
somewhat rusty. They aren't using stainless parts apparently... these
are DA 9spd BTW.

The guts of the shifters aren't sealed that well, so water, dirt, and
volcanic pumic etc, get in to some degree... and there is no easy way
to flush them out. I'm actually more surprised that everyone raves
about their trouble-free longevity.

 

[Jim Behning]

Ron Ruff wrote:
> I'm on my second set of Shimano bar-ends in the last 2 years. The first
> set died after I attempted to clean it with carb cleaner (plastic parts
> melted!), but it was a last ditch effort to get it to work anyway.
> Previously I dripped oil on the outside pretty regularly and tried to
> work it in, but it didn't seem to help much. Now the new one is feeling
> gritty and sticking between gears as well. Both spent most of their
> lives in wet, hot, salty Hawaii where things tend to corode quickly.
>
> Since everyone seems to rave about the durability and reliability of
> these, is there a good maintenance procedure to keep them working well?
> Maybe soaking in solvent and/oil every so often? Any ideas?
>
I have regreased a RSX STI rear shifter. The shifter performance was
pretty cruddy when someone sprayed solvent and then relubed with oil.
Well it did shift but not so swell. Taking everything apart and using
grease let the shifter work like butter. You do not use brake cleaner or
carb cleaner on a bike. Good for cleaning some things on a car but it
can cause damage to car parts. Simple Green or its equivalent diluted
some can work but read the warnings about spraying on aluminum. It has
not caused me any problems when I dilute 50% but your performance may
vary. Kerosene works pretty well as a cleaning solvent. Biodiesel is
supposed to work well but some plastics may not like it. You have to
have the correct hoses in a car for biodiesel to work. It melts some old
style hoses. I haven't tried it as a parts solvent yet. Maybe next year
I can try cleaning bike parts with biodiesel when it warms up so I can
use it in the car.

 

[Werehatrack]

On 25 Dec 2006 11:34:44 -0800, "Ron Ruff" <[email protected]> may
have said:

>I'm on my second set of Shimano bar-ends in the last 2 years. The first
>set died after I attempted to clean it with carb cleaner (plastic parts
>melted!), but it was a last ditch effort to get it to work anyway.
>Previously I dripped oil on the outside pretty regularly and tried to
>work it in, but it didn't seem to help much. Now the new one is feeling
>gritty and sticking between gears as well. Both spent most of their
>lives in wet, hot, salty Hawaii where things tend to corode quickly.
>
>Since everyone seems to rave about the durability and reliability of
>these, is there a good maintenance procedure to keep them working well?
>Maybe soaking in solvent and/oil every so often? Any ideas?

IME, trying to stop salt-based corrosion in either aluminum or steel,
once it has begun, is a battle that is lost more often than not. I
would counsel obtaining some barends from less challenging climes.
Also, it's possible that you choice of lubricant may be a factor; some
oild attack certain plastics. Unfortunately, the only way I'f found
to actually discover which ones are unsafe is to try them.
(Lubriplate, by the way, has been the single worst offender in this
regard, causing the deterioration of more plastic items than I would
like to admit. Certain other lithium-soap greases have also caused
disintegration of some plastics for me. I'm discounting incidents
involving items that I know were made of polyurethane; that stuff will
self-destruct in a low-moisture no-UV cabinet.)

--
My email address is antispammed; pull WEEDS if replying via e-mail.
Typoes are not a bug, they're a feature.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

 

[Ozark Bicycle]

Ron Ruff wrote:
> Ozark Bicycle wrote:
> > Do you actually see corrosion inside the mechanisms?
>
> I soaked the first set in WD-40 at one point and it left a thick rusty
> brown residue... which could have been dirt or rust. After the
> carb-cleaner soak I could see inside and yes, the steel parts were
> somewhat rusty. They aren't using stainless parts apparently

They're just warmed over DT shifters, on a different mount. No better
sealed, but no worse either.

.... these
> are DA 9spd BTW.

I've a set of 8SP DA, 8SP Ultegra and an OEM 7SP set. Only the 7SP set
sees tough duty.
>
> The guts of the shifters aren't sealed that well, so water, dirt, and
> volcanic pumic etc, get in to some degree... and there is no easy way
> to flush them out. I'm actually more surprised that everyone raves
> about their trouble-free longevity.

You are the only person I have heard with these problems. Perhaps the
pumic is the X-factor?

 

[Helmut Springer]

Ron Ruff <[email protected]> wrote:
> Since everyone seems to rave about the durability and reliability
> of these, is there a good maintenance procedure to keep them
> working well?

I'm not aware of any than flushing with some solvent and light oil.
Mine are missing the most used index now after 5 years, they see
some salt from winter and sweat as well...


--
MfG/Best regards
helmut springer

 

[Ted Bennett]

"Ozark Bicycle" <[email protected]> wrote:

> Ron Ruff wrote:
> > Ozark Bicycle wrote:
> > > Do you actually see corrosion inside the mechanisms?
> >
> > I soaked the first set in WD-40 at one point and it left a thick rusty
> > brown residue... which could have been dirt or rust. After the
> > carb-cleaner soak I could see inside and yes, the steel parts were
> > somewhat rusty. They aren't using stainless parts apparently
>
> They're just warmed over DT shifters, on a different mount. No better
> sealed, but no worse either.
>
> ... these
> > are DA 9spd BTW.
>
> I've a set of 8SP DA, 8SP Ultegra and an OEM 7SP set. Only the 7SP set
> sees tough duty.
> >
> > The guts of the shifters aren't sealed that well, so water, dirt, and
> > volcanic pumic etc, get in to some degree... and there is no easy way
> > to flush them out. I'm actually more surprised that everyone raves
> > about their trouble-free longevity.
>
> You are the only person I have heard with these problems. Perhaps the
> pumic is the X-factor?

Roger that.

My 8-speed Ultegras have given me faithful service since they were
installed ten years ago, maybe, and with an almost non-existant
maintenance regimen. Ron's experiences surely reflect some difference in
exposure.

"Hot, wet and salty" is how he described conditions in Hawaii, which is
about one-third true for around here.

Anyway, I like barends, but they are so rarely spec'ed on new bikes that
I sometimes wonder how long we can still get them. There is a steady
market for them as aftermarket items, so I suppose as long as that
exists, it doesn't cost Shimano much to produce a product that needs no
annual updating.

--
Ted Bennett

 

[Ron Ruff]

Ted Bennett wrote:
> My 8-speed Ultegras have given me faithful service since they were
> installed ten years ago, maybe, and with an almost non-existant
> maintenance regimen. Ron's experiences surely reflect some difference in
> exposure.

My shifters are also mounted on the inside of the bar under the hoods
and sticking up, using modified Paul's Thumbies. I don't think that
should matter though. I was considering having some mounts custom built
(the Thumbies are not ideal)... maybe a hundred or so and then selling
them. I figured there might be a small market for people who like the
barends but prefer to be able to shift them from the hoods. My barends
have been problematic though, so I forgot about that idea...

> Anyway, I like barends, but they are so rarely spec'ed on new bikes that
> I sometimes wonder how long we can still get them.

I wouldn't worry about that for the near future... they are used a lot
on TT and Tri bikes.

 

[Helmut Springer]

Ted Bennett <[email protected]> wrote:
> Anyway, I like barends, but they are so rarely spec'ed on new
> bikes that I sometimes wonder how long we can still get them.

TT and Tri use them quite a lot, actually the market seems to be big
enought þhat Campagnolo featured some advertising for their bar
ends...

--
MfG/Best regards
helmut springer

 

[Qui si parla Campagnolo]

Ron Ruff wrote:
> I'm on my second set of Shimano bar-ends in the last 2 years. The first
> set died after I attempted to clean it with carb cleaner (plastic parts
> melted!), but it was a last ditch effort to get it to work anyway.
> Previously I dripped oil on the outside pretty regularly and tried to
> work it in, but it didn't seem to help much. Now the new one is feeling
> gritty and sticking between gears as well. Both spent most of their
> lives in wet, hot, salty Hawaii where things tend to corode quickly.
>
> Since everyone seems to rave about the durability and reliability of
> these, is there a good maintenance procedure to keep them working well?
> Maybe soaking in solvent and/oil every so often? Any ideas?

best mainyanence is to take them off, put 'em in a drawer, bite the
bullet and buy some outrageously priced Campag ones, replace the RD
with any Campag one, and THEN have the ability to take 'em apart,
clean and lube regularly.

 

[Ron Ruff]

Qui si parla Campagnolo wrote:
> best mainyanence is to take them off, put 'em in a drawer, bite the
> bullet and buy some outrageously priced Campag ones, replace the RD
> with any Campag one, and THEN have the ability to take 'em apart,
> clean and lube regularly.

Actually, I just bought some 2006 Veloce levers and plan to go the
hubub route. The Campy brifters are way cheap compared to Shimano...
but the barends are much more expensive.

 

[jim beam]

Ron Ruff wrote:
> I'm on my second set of Shimano bar-ends in the last 2 years. The first
> set died after I attempted to clean it with carb cleaner (plastic parts
> melted!), but it was a last ditch effort to get it to work anyway.
> Previously I dripped oil on the outside pretty regularly and tried to
> work it in, but it didn't seem to help much. Now the new one is feeling
> gritty and sticking between gears as well. Both spent most of their
> lives in wet, hot, salty Hawaii where things tend to corode quickly.
>
> Since everyone seems to rave about the durability and reliability of
> these, is there a good maintenance procedure to keep them working well?
> Maybe soaking in solvent and/oil every so often? Any ideas?
>
i think you'll find that the people that experience the least trouble
with shimano shifters are the ones who maintain them the least. try
/not/ touching the next set you get and see how that goes. my shimano
mtb shifters have been through 4 years of dust and sometimes mud where
i've been caked head to toe - and never a blink. unless you know for
sure that the lube you're using /is/ compatible with the componentry in
the shifter, /and/ that you're definitely not introducing other
contaminants in doing so, i say leave them alone.

 

[Ozark Bicycle]

Ron Ruff wrote:

<snipped>

>
> My shifters are also mounted on the inside of the bar under the hoods
> and sticking up, using modified Paul's Thumbies. I don't think that
> should matter though. I was considering having some mounts custom built
> (the Thumbies are not ideal)... maybe a hundred or so and then selling
> them. I figured there might be a small market for people who like the
> barends but prefer to be able to shift them from the hoods. My barends
> have been problematic though, so I forgot about that idea...

If you have a viable design that won't cost a fortune to manufacture,
you might want to proceed despite your unusual experience. IMO, there
are quite a number of people interested in mounting DT levers or
bar-end levers in the way you describe.