Shimano Deore front shifter problem

[the_saucerer]

Hey guys

I have a problem with the front gear shifter on my Shimano Deore on mountain bike.

I first noticed there was a problem when the front gears refused to move. I went out and bought a new front derailleur as it seemed this was the problem.

After having fitted the new front derailleur I hooked everything back together and although the front gear shifter seemed to work at first and I thought I had fixed it, then the front shifter stopped clicking and stopped moving the cable, stuck in one position.

Is this the end of my front shifter or can it be fixed somehow?

Thanks in advance for you help guys!

Ben

[DaveM]

First step is tracking down what it stuck. Try detaching the cable from the derailleur, hold the cable by hand with a little tension on it, and try shifting through the range. If the shifter seems to work OK, it may be a problem somewhere else. Is the cable getting jammed anywhere? Is the cable housing splitting, bending, etc? Finally it could be an adjustment issue where you force the shifter into one position with too much force and it is hard for it to pop out of that "click". This sometimes happens if the limits and cable tension isn't set right.

[the_saucerer]

I tried holding the cable and the gear would still not shift nor "click"

The cable housing and the cable itself seem fine

I may have set the cable too tight however when i set it back up after fitting the new front derailleur, if that is the case is there a way of getting it back to normal?

Thanks for you reply

[DaveM]

Sorry, sounds like the shifter is kaput. Depending on what type it is, you may be able to open it up and take a look. Maybe something got jammed that can be freed up. Sometime even just flushing some chain lube through them helps. But these shifters aren't terribly "serviceable" for the most part.

[the_saucerer]

(03-22-2011, 07:39 PM)DaveM Wrote:  Sorry, sounds like the shifter is kaput. Depending on what type it is, you may be able to open it up and take a look. Maybe something got jammed that can be freed up. Sometime even just flushing some chain lube through them helps. But these shifters aren't terribly "serviceable" for the most part.

Oh well new shifter it is then, I thought it might be. Thanks for your help Dave I really appreciate it!
Best wishes
Ben

[seraphan6]

One of Alex's video tutorials (#41 - How To Recondition RapidFire Plus Shifters) might be of some help if you decide to try and fix your shifter. There's actually a link to it at the top of this page.