My Ultegra rear shifter has stopped engaging intermittantly, and only shifts up (to lower gear) if the brake lever is pulled in at the same time. Does anyone know if it is repairable or is it simply worn out? (its several years old) I'm reluctant to open it up and watch all the springs etc drop through the floor boards 😥

V

Just worn out. If you take it apart you will not get it back together again sadly!

They're designed to be sealed units. You can just replace the 'shifter unit' part, rather than buying a complete set, but I found it cheaper to buy a complete set of (Dura Ace 7800) STIs than it was to buy one RH shifter!

Shi*mano. I have repaired STi's before but you'll generally need a donor unit and possibly to adapt some tools to get them apart. And it is a living nightmare once you're in!
As njee says, the spares prices are prohibitive, it's probably new lever time 🙁

Flush it with some squirty stuff. Often the ratchets become gummed up.

If you push the brake lever over and in at the same time you should see the guts.

I have got through 2 LH 105 STI's in 13 months. They must be made of cheese as they haven't been abused!!

How old is several. Road parts should pretty much last forever. I've replaced my LX shifters once on my mountain bike after 4 years of use. My Road Sora is going strong after 4 and shows no sign of wear.

bikewhisperer – Member
Flush it with some squirty stuff. Often the ratchets become gummed up.

If you push the brake lever over and in at the same time you should see the guts

+1, I ressurected an LX pod shifter that was truly on its last legs by blasting it through with GT85 then a slightly heavier lube, been fine since.

pair of ultegra SLs over at on-one/planet x for 149.99

suspect if these are worn out that they are 9speed ?

Hold off with the squirting with lube business….

Take it off, drop it in a sink of hot water and washing up liquid, agitate it for a while, then dry off on a radiator.

Re-assemble and try it out. If it works ok, give it a little squirt of something light.

Too much lube in STI units is as bad as too little.

I took a truly worn set of Ultegras apart out of curiosity, they didn't seem to be at all rebuild friendly. And finding the right parts is a no go.
Re building some campag Ergos wasn't easy either but well doable and backed up by loads of spares.
Do you need anything as good as Ultegra? if not Sora is nine speed now.
My oldest STIs are 2004 105's and are still sweet after going through road training and a season of cross. I don't know if using a close ratio block and keeping the whole drivetrain clean has helped.

On the age thing, I've got a set of Dura ace shifters from '99 that have been transfered between about eight bikes (now get the s**t kicked out of them on my crossbike) and are still great.
I think Vaders maybe just quite unlucky, perhaps the rebel alliance have managed to find a weakness in the Imperial defences? 😉