Shimano 10s brifters stopped in the cold ...

pjbaz · #1 10-28-2017, 05:16 PM

Tried to take a ride early today (after a really crappy start to my morning) and my Shimano DA 7800 brifters stopped shifting. I looped it home and took out a different bike without those issues.

I tossed the offending bike on the stand this afternoon and all is good, no problems at all. SO, I figure they were too cold to work ... but I've never experienced that and I try to ride (usually once a week) all year long up here in CT.

Shifters or cables? What's my issue?

Thanks,
J

zzy · #2 10-28-2017, 05:37 PM

The old grease has seized up. Flush them out with WD40/Beoshield/etc.

pjbaz · #3 10-28-2017, 06:00 PM

Do I replace the grease in some fashion?

I ask bc my 6500 Ultegra gear just keeps on trucking without issue. Amazing stuff that

fa63 · #4 10-28-2017, 06:04 PM

You can flush it out with WD40 as previously suggested. Then lubricate with Tri-Flow.

pjbaz · #5 10-28-2017, 06:10 PM

Flush and refill in the future then ... hate when things break

Dead Man · #6 10-28-2017, 06:20 PM

7800 shifters seem to be especially prone to this... have had several sets go boink in the dark/cold on me, over the years... to include my first frosty CX race this year with some NOS 7800 shifters. WD40 soak overnite fixt it. But that didn't help me not DNF that day.... first ever DNF.

I DNF'd because of double flats... but I feel like had I not been beating on my damn shifter with frozen hands, spinning furiously at like 130rpm stuck in a low gear trying to hold the lead, I wouldn't have hit that rock pile that blew both my tires out instantaneously.

Woulda been a two-peat at that race for me, too.. I catch the podium from time to time, but that remains my only WIN at a CX race

dddd · #7 10-28-2017, 08:18 PM

One trick to making one of these shifters work that has "caught a cold" is to move the lever very slowly. The gummed pawl pivot will work but not if it is expected to snap quickly under it's own meager spring tension.

The lube I use frees and lubricates at the same time, it is Liquid Wrench Lubricating Oil in an aerosol can, so it foams up enough to reach all the interior nooks and crannies in the "barrel" or spool section of the shifter. I introduce the oil up in where the smaller lever disappears into the lever body.

The bike needs to be pointing downhill a full 30 degrees when lubing the shifter, and with a catch can under the lever to collect all of the oil that drips out.
Doing this on level ground will result in oil running down and between the hood and the lever body, and the hood will never be the same (will slip around and become stretched in use).

Severely gummed shifters as with those that have sat unused in a hot garage for 15 years may require use of an aggressive degreaser for the first spray-a-thon.
I've used Finish-Line Citrus Degreaser in these rare cases, it is petro-based (no water or ionic ingredients). This isn't needed though if the shifters still work either at room temperature or when the lever is moved very slowly.

Bob Ross · #8 10-29-2017, 08:29 AM

Just to pile on the datapoints: My old Cannondale with Ultegra 6600 levers had this same problem every winter: At some point when temps got below 32°F the small paddle stopped working. Just seemed like it wouldn't grab (release?) any cable when you moved it. Take it inside, wait a couple hours, and everything worked fine.

The Flush-It-With-WD40 approach would cure it temporarily -- by which I mean, for most of the rest of that winter -- but by the next year it would crop up again, especially if temps got down into the low 20s.

My permanent solution was to send that bike down to my parents' house in the Arizona desert.

pjbaz · #9 10-29-2017, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

Just to pile on the datapoints: My old Cannondale with Ultegra 6600 levers had this same problem every winter: At some point when temps got below 32°F the small paddle stopped working. Just seemed like it wouldn't grab (release?) any cable when you moved it. Take it inside, wait a couple hours, and everything worked fine.

The Flush-It-With-WD40 approach would cure it temporarily -- by which I mean, for most of the rest of that winter -- but by the next year it would crop up again, especially if temps got down into the low 20s.

My permanent solution was to send that bike down to my parents' house in the Arizona desert.

I'm fortunate I have a few bikes as well LOL
Flush and fill coming soon

54ny77 · #10 10-29-2017, 10:38 AM

As recommended by the fine folks here, the wd-40 flush, then lube with something else, works wonders . It's also less expensive than moving to FL or southern California.