JRA SRAM carnage (these are repairable, right?)

[exapkib]

Riding home in the cold today (nowhere near as cold as some of you are experiencing, but morning temperatures below 20 still feel cold), and I feel the right shifter get 'tight' on a shift. Everything seems OK, so I keep riding.

A little while later, I'm downshifting as I approach a red light--

SNAP



I thought maybe the cable had snapped. I was wrong--the shifter broke right off in my hand.





These are repairable, right?

I was not planning on replacing the drivetrain on this bike, but do I stick with a SRAM setup after this? I've got one bike with Campy 10, and another with Campy 11, but it would be a substantial investment to bring this one to that level of functionality.

[ElHardeen]

Did that on a customer's bike during a post tune test ride. Rather awkward phone call...

Have seen these repaired, but you're better off calling Sram and trying to scam a warranty, or having a local shop do it for you.

Its a small part that totally should be easily replaceable, but different design goals than Campy unfortunately. Pull and replace is the American way unfortunately.

[batman1425]

Common problem. Never seen Sram not honor a replacement for that kind of failure - mine included, which was a year out of warranty.

[saab2000]

Stamped pot metal.

[dddd]

Which exact lever model is this? I have a few dead levers to pick from that might have that part still extant.

[chiasticon]

yeah I've never heard of Sram not replacing these, no questions asked, regardless of warranty or where/how you purchased it. you just need to go hit up a shop.

you could also find the guts from someone and replace 'em if you want, but if you can get a brand new one for free, why not? guessing that's Sram's outlook too: why pay a wrench to do an intricate and more time-consuming job when replacing the whole thing is cheaper? which I get, but it still kinda sucks wasting stuff.

out of curiosity, what era of Sram was it (10 or 11) and how old was the cable? when it happened to me, the cable was super old and gritty, so I wasn't totally surprised. and I haven't heard many reports of these for 11 speed groups.

[echappist]

wait what? Sram replaces these?

in 2016 i got into the break of the day with the hard hitters at the local training crit. No way i could have stayed with the leaders, but i'd have finished top five. 3-4 laps into the break, my right paddle shifter just sheared off. That was a real bummer. No luck, my shop said re: warranty replacement...

Funny enough, this was on a 2013 Sram Red. My 2010 Sram Red has held up quite well, OTOH.

[exapkib]

Thanks for the support--I'll try the LBS route before I do anything drastic.

Well, actually, since this is my primary means of transportation, I will be riding this to work tomorrow.

That's not drastic, though, is it? It's like the opposite of a 1x drivetrain, right? Maybe this is the next big thing--singlespeed in the back and gears up front.

Maybe.

[Gummee]

Sram should warranty that. It seems to be a manufacturing defect.

M

[JDino]

honestly the warranty depends on the relationship you have with your LBS...if you just walk in there with a broken shifter and ask them to do a bunch of legwork to get you a free replacement, you may piss them off. Also, they're going to ask you how old the shifter is so if it's over a year old, you may be SOL.

If a customer we didnt know walked into the shop with a bike we didnt sell them and asked us to do a warranty, we probably would tell them SRAM wouldn't do anything and just order a replacement for them.

also, you can buy replacement parts for sram shifters but by the time you get the thing apart and try to replace a paddle, you're going to wish you just bought a new shifter, which can probably be replaced for $100 or less.

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by saab2000

Stamped pot metal.

Ya probably not cold forged

[batman1425]

Originally Posted by JDino

honestly the warranty depends on the relationship you have with your LBS...if you just walk in there with a broken shifter and ask them to do a bunch of legwork to get you a free replacement, you may piss them off. Also, they're going to ask you how old the shifter is so if it's over a year old, you may be SOL.

I agree, probably a shop related issue. That said, for this particular failure mode, IME, Sram is very liberal with the warranty and it doesn't take much prodding on the LBS end.

[Cicli]

Originally Posted by JDino

If a customer we didnt know walked into the shop with a bike we didnt sell them and asked us to do a warranty, we probably would tell them SRAM wouldn't do anything and just order a replacement for them.

So, let me get this straight. A customer walks in and you dont know them, (happens to me every day) and you lie to them right off the bat?
I run a Kenworth truck dealership. I see customers I dont know every day and if there is warranty to be had it is the customers right for you as a dealer to honor the warranty. It is likely in your dealer agreement that you do your due diligence to honor the warranty. I love how people act that honoring the warranty is a perk of freindship with the shop. It is actually a legal contract that a dealer is required to honor. Yes, legal.
Now, goodwill policy. Replacement after the warranty contract is expired. Thats another story and is at the discretion of the person giving the goodwill policy. I always work for any customer to get “goodwill” help from a manufacturer. Now, Wheather or not that is paid really comes down to the dealer and their relationship with the manufacturer. Good dealers that are honest get more goodwill policy. I know this from experience. I probably policy tens of thousands of dollars in parts and service a month. Dosent cost me a dime and makes me the hero to the customer. We get them back running at a reduced cost.
Now, warranty and policy are different in another way.
You as a dealer cant charge a customer for short paid warranty from the factory. However, with policy, we require the cutomer to pay the bill then when policy is paid out we refund the reimbursement paid back to us. Is may be part of or the entire original repair.

So, ramble off. Dont lie to customers and do the right thing. Bike shops are a dying breed and customer service is going to keep the good ones in business. The others are going to disappear.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by exapkib

Riding home in the cold today (nowhere near as cold as some of you are experiencing, but morning temperatures below 20 still feel cold), and I feel the right shifter get 'tight' on a shift. Everything seems OK, so I keep riding.

A little while later, I'm downshifting as I approach a red light--

SNAP



I thought maybe the cable had snapped. I was wrong--the shifter broke right off in my hand.



These are repairable, right?

I was not planning on replacing the drivetrain on this bike, but do I stick with a SRAM setup after this? I've got one bike with Campy 10, and another with Campy 11, but it would be a substantial investment to bring this one to that level of functionality.

Repairable, yes and no..yes, you can take apart and replace things like the shift blade, no, sram doesn't provide any small parts for their levers.

Not uncommon..when sram stuff was brand new to cycling world, I warrantied about a dozen for this.

Call sram..if 10s, you may be SOL.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by JDino

honestly the warranty depends on the relationship you have with your LBS...if you just walk in there with a broken shifter and ask them to do a bunch of legwork to get you a free replacement, you may piss them off. Also, they're going to ask you how old the shifter is so if it's over a year old, you may be SOL.

If a customer we didnt know walked into the shop with a bike we didnt sell them and asked us to do a warranty, we probably would tell them SRAM wouldn't do anything and just order a replacement for them.

also, you can buy replacement parts for sram shifters but by the time you get the thing apart and try to replace a paddle, you're going to wish you just bought a new shifter, which can probably be replaced for $100 or less.

Really? Business reduction program at work. Why not say, sure, we;ll call, do the leg work, get a new warranty lever, install(for a fee, of course) and GAIN a customer..I hope your shop doesn't wonder why your biz is down...

PLUS, sram doesn't offer small lever replacement parts in spite of what they 'claimed' when these first came out.