SRAM Rival right shifter won't shift - help

[weisan]

my right side SRAM shifter won't engage or shift anymore after I disconnected the cable from the derailleur, shot some WD-40 inside and shifted a couple of times. The cable doesn't pull or let go when I shift. This is the first time I encountered this. I am relatively new to SRAM product, all my road bikes have shimano except the gravel bike. It came with SRAM rival hydro when I bought it. Any idea what's going on?

[prototoast]

Is the cable still disconnected? Sram needs tension on the cable to shift.

[weisan]

Is the cable still disconnected? Sram needs tension on the cable to shift.

Yes it's disconnected but when I applied tension or pulled the cable using my hand while clicking the lever, nothing happens, it won't shift. I don't see how connecting the cable back to the derailleur would make a difference.

[prototoast]

Yes it's disconnected but when I applied tension or pulled the cable using my hand while clicking the lever, nothing happens, it won't shift. I don't see how connecting the cable back to the derailleur would make a difference.

Then you've probably got a little slack in the cable jamming things up. While pulling on the cable, haphazardly mash the paddle until it starts working again. Sounds stupid, but I've experienced this issue on multiple occasions and have yet to come up with a more elegant solution.

[weisan]

I will give it a shot, thanks for your response.

[TBLS]

Good luck. A friend is on her second rival shifter that had the same issue. She procrastinated dealing with so went outside of warranty and shop installed a new shifter, etc at her expense

Issue has recurred so interested if you find a solution.

[dddd]

How are the hoods sitting with all of this fiddling going on?

I've noticed that Shimano STI levers seem not to want to shift at all while the hood is rolled forward, suspecting that it might be a similar situation with SRAM(?).

And, if you got the cable installed, can I assume then that the spool position is with the cable tension fully released? And from there, that the spool won't rotate in a direction so as to take up slack?

Can you confirm that the cable was fed in through the tiny hole in the spool catch?
Or that perhaps the cable has remained in the shift lever the whole time, from when the shifter was still working?

The WD40 wouldn't have screwed anything up, but the cable must be routed correctly through and around the features of the spool.

Observe the area where the lever pivots. I have known of a tiny circlip jumping ship in that area, causing the end of a pivot pin to drift loose and result in a no-shift condition.
Good news is that this was easily fixable.

[johnmdesigner]

At least you are having problems at home.
I've had 3 of these explode in the last 2 years. Total garbage. The paddle snaps off 30 miles from home.
Rival sucks. Throw it in the trash and move on.

[oldpotatoe]

Not sure if I'm still blocked but:eek:..there's a little lever in there that engages a toothed 'disc'..the 'disc' breaks or the little lever mech. breaks and the result is no shift. Once upon a time, sram offered small parts ala Campag, but no mas..'maybe' a new lever for parts, pretty easy to take apart and fix. Tried to find a parts diagram but couldn't..

[Schredder]

Hey Weisan, please let us know what you find.

Thanks

Chris

[nortx-Dave]

I had a right side Rival lever do the same thing after about 17,000 miles. I needed a new lever. I'd had the bike only about 18 months and when I went to my LBS to get their opinion, I left with a new lever - warrantied by SRAM.

And for what it's worth, despite all the hate leveled at this group-set, I've got 48,000 + miles on my replacement lever to date.

[charliedid]

I had a right side Rival lever do the same thing after about 17,000 miles. I needed a new lever. I'd had the bike only about 18 months and when I went to my LBS to get their opinion, I left with a new lever - warrantied by SRAM.

And for what it's worth, despite all the hate leveled at this group-set, I've got 48,000 + miles on my replacement lever to date.

That is a lot of the miles! :hello:

[oldpotatoe]

I had a right side Rival lever do the same thing after about 17,000 miles. I needed a new lever. I'd had the bike only about 18 months and when I went to my LBS to get their opinion, I left with a new lever - warrantied by SRAM.

And for what it's worth, despite all the hate leveled at this group-set, I've got 48,000 + miles on my replacement lever to date.

17,000 miles in 18 months..not bad. 33-35 every day..gee, wish I had that kinda time..

It's unfortunate that sram initially was all about rebuildability..I was at the tech rollout here in the republic and a big part was Taco Ed doing a tear down and rebuild..BUT that went away..a LOT of first gen levers and rear ders broke.
I think they realized it was less expensive to replace rather than have a ton of SKUs for parts. sram official response was that they were 'worried' about rival and force 'guts' in Red levers...

I had a customer with RED lever, shift lever blade broke..called sram, they were out of RED RH levers..asked about a warranty return where I could 'cannibalize' a RH shift lever blade...gent said he had none..I asked about warranty returns, 'we just throw them away'....yikes..

[unterhausen]

wasn't it true that they were rebuildable but they had no parts? I think you can still take them apart, but no parts are available

[oldpotatoe]

wasn't it true that they were rebuildable but they had no parts? I think you can still take them apart, but no parts are available

See above..yup, initially designed to be rebuildable 'just like Campag', but they found it cheaper to replace the whole shifter(and then into trash) rather than have a bunch of SKUs for small parts.

[TimD]

At least you are having problems at home.
I've had 3 of these explode in the last 2 years. Total garbage. The paddle snaps off 30 miles from home.
Rival sucks. Throw it in the trash and move on.
This.

[weisan]

I am still trying to figure this out.

There's no such thing as "it just broke down for no reason."

In my case, I had a slow crash at the last gravel ride which might have contributed to this.

I am gonna look at it more closely after I come back from my bike ride...

[sonicCows]

Then you've probably got a little slack in the cable jamming things up. While pulling on the cable, haphazardly mash the paddle until it starts working again. Sounds stupid, but I've experienced this issue on multiple occasions and have yet to come up with a more elegant solution.

My first gut instinct is this. Shift the lever to the highest gear/smallest cog and give the derailleur end of the cable a nice tug, it should reseat itself and work again.

If not prototoast's suggestion, then it really could just break down for no reason. Check to see if the shift lever is actually held in place. Many have had the square steel bracket holding the shift lever actually break from mechanical wear and tear.

[weisan]

Thank you. I was out the whole day, will try some of the suggestions tomorrow.

[weisan]

So...here's what I found so far.

When I swipe the lever, (while the cable is off) it now only clicks once, no more doubletap. The cable still doesn't move.

[oldpotatoe]

So...here's what I found so far.

When I swipe the lever, (while the cable is off) it now only clicks once, no more doubletap. The cable still doesn't move.

The little 'arm' is broken or the toothed disc is broken...take it apart..lots of videos show how. Betting the 'arm or the linkage to the shifter, for the 'arm'..see time 3:10, that assembly.

That's the LH shifter but mtrror image.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=video+to+disassemble+sram+shifter&view=detail&mid=B7B3561F00B594F4D2DDB7B3561F00B594F4D2DD&FORM=VIRE

[unterhausen]

I have a rival that is sometimes reluctant to shift. I really should take it apart.

[weisan]

Problem fixed.

I took off the side panel plate to gain easy access to the innards and to better see what's going on inside.

Apparently, when I took off the cable and released the tension while I shift, I have jammed up the cable around the red circular guider.

I untangled the mess and everything went back to normal.

One challenge I did encounter along the way.

I ended up putting in new cable. But it took me a while before I was able to get it through the cable guide. I have to do it with the side panel off...it won't just feed through the hole and go around like a lot of YouTube videos show. It wasn't as straightforward as it seemed. That's a bummer. The design could be better. It shouldn't be that hard.

Also, with the panel off, I took the opportunity to clean up a lot of the sand and grit buildup....there were a lot in there. I can't imagine what they will do to wear and tear over time, not mentioning clogging up the shifting.

[dddd]

Good investigative effort!

I know what you mean about forcing in the cables. I use a plier and pre-curve the leading 1/4" of cable before forcing it in with the trap door left in place, this way it finds it's way around the tight bend inside.
I then re-straighten the tip of the cable before proceeding with the rest of the cable routing.

Thinner 1.1mm cable is easier to insert, and is also less likely to jump out of the spool groove if/when the cable tension is lost momentarily.

I had one cable where the welded tip ended up too big to fit through the hole in the spool catch, so I have been using the 1.1mm cables all along in these in the belief that 1.2mm cable wouldn't even fit through certain of these levers.

[weisan]

d pal, you are able to articulate much better than I could. Thanks for throwing more light into this.

[oldpotatoe]

Good investigative effort!

I know what you mean about forcing in the cables. I use a plier and pre-curve the leading 1/4" of cable before forcing it in with the trap door left in place, this way it finds it's way around the tight bend inside.
I then re-straighten the tip of the cable before proceeding with the rest of the cable routing.

Thinner 1.1mm cable is easier to insert, and is also less likely to jump out of the spool groove if/when the cable tension is lost momentarily.

I had one cable where the welded tip ended up too big to fit through the hole in the spool catch, so I have been using the 1.1mm cables all along in these in the belief that 1.2mm cable wouldn't even fit through certain of these levers.

I've found when wrangling these things, the BEST way to string the cable is to take the side plate off...BUT, the wee screw scream 'lose me'..

[simonov]

If you apply a little bit of pressure to the shift paddle while feeding in the cable the spool is at a better angle to accept the cable through the hole. You shouldn't need to take the door/cover off.