Originally Posted by
scarleton .
As more and more time goes by, some parts are healing faster than other parts... My thumbs seem to be the worst off, and the forearm muscles that help move the thumbs around. Here is a picture of my shifters:
Call me crazy, but I think my thumbs are warn out from pushing these things around. The left hand one is even bent because of the force I have to use to get it to shift into highest gear.
Back in the day, I HATED the original shifters so back in the late 90's I had these put on. The derailers are Exage 400LX. Could this be my problem? If so, what would you recommend I do about it? I simply HATE how hard it is to shift this bike, thought I love the frame. It is all a bit crazy!
As far as getting a new bike, I want one to complement this one. Oh, and time frame, not for a few months yet, I might wait until next season, it all depends on if I opt to ride throught the winter here in Southern Ohio. They are not too bad, more rain then snow and cold. With fenders and the right gear, I think winter riding around here would be just as fun as summer riding
Thus maybe my new bike will be my Christmas present to me!
FWIW. Regarding your shifters, something along the same line of discussion came up a while back in the middle of a discussion on downtube shifters ...
The bottom line is that 'I' must be the clumsy one because it just never occurred to me to try to flick the levers of a down tube shifter with
just my thumbs or another, single finger AND I always grabbed the shift lever between my thumb & index finger whereby I was essentially using my whole hand to move the lever ...
Which is MY way of saying that while you can certainly flick the levers between positions as if it were a small joystick which you are toggling to-and-fro, it will undoubtedly be easier to ignore the NAME & actually grab the levers between your thumb & index finger when you want to move them to a new position.
REGARDLESS, it appears that there is something wrong with the
guide of the left shifter on which the cable adjuster is attached ...
The non-tangential guide means that the cable must surmount an unnecessary ~30º hump which wouldn't otherwise be in the cable's path ... in other words, the hump is creating a bottleneck of sorts which manifests itself as binding ...
- I don't know how the guide is attached to its clamp ... a small screw may have fallen out OR the piece may have cracked due to unexpected pressure ... it can probably be repaired with a minimal amount of effort
BTW. Most cables benefit from being lubed ...
- lubed cables (I use ANY light petroleum based grease which is handy -- e.g., White Lithium, etc.) have remarkably less resistance than un-lubed cables ...
- IMO, lubing is even beneficial for pre-lubed cables-and/or-housing.
After setting the chain on the inner-most chainring, just detach the derailleur cable from the front derailleurs, slip the housing which is between the LEFT shifter & the cable stop on the frame out of the stop ... slip the housing away from the shifter to expose the cable ... put a dab of grease between your thumb & index finger AND apply a THIN coat of grease to the cable by running the cable between the fore mentioned, greased finger tips (
or, your greased finger tips across the cable)... slide the housing back over the portion of cable which was greased ... refit the housing into the end of the shifter & the cable stop on the frame ... reattach the cable to the derailleur. You should feel less resistance ...
- if it appears as though there is evidence of LIGHT corrosion (which could simply be varnishing + non-ferrous crud), then after greasing, wipe the grease off with a clean paper towel AND re-grease ...
Do the same for the rear derailleur's cable.
Also, ensure that your rear & front derailleurs are not rusted ... if you see rust, then apply some 3-in-1 oil to the pivots ... wait & repeat as necessary.
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BTW. I think that more than the bikes, per se, that are out there which you might test ride and/or purchase, you want to try the different shifters + possibly differentiate the response to a "regular" rear derailleur & a "Rapid Rise" rear derailleur.
- the benefit of a Rapid Rise rear derailleur is probably most obvious when shifts are made while the bike's drivetrain is under a load (e.g., going up a hill) when using "Trigger" shifters
- I am the only person I know who admits to preferring GripShifts -- I guess that I still like the idea of being able to move the chain across more than one Cog in the rear at a time vs. "Trigger" shifters which allow the movement across only one Cog at a time ...
FYI. You can use 8-speed shifters with a 7-speed Freewheel-or-Cassette if you feel a need to change your current shifters.
