As per the title, I know it’s not the cables / outers / etc. It’s my fault for washing the bike upside down, leaving it to dry in said position, allowing all the crud to run in to them and settle there.

How easy are these to take to bit’s and clean?! I remember a similar thread a while ago where some one was was warned about springs pinging out and it being a bit of a nightmare.

Any tips?

You could remove the covers and clean/regrease the mechanism; or you could just blast some WD40 into the cable hole and work back and forth through the gears a few times. There’s also the possibility that the mechanism is just starting to fail, although it’s certainly worth giving them some lube first.

I took apart some deore shifters awhile ago – some re-assembly instructions here – last post

Three_Fish – Member
You could remove the covers and clean/regrease the mechanism; or you could just blast some WD40 into the cable hole and work back and forth through the gears a few times. There’s also the possibility that the mechanism is just starting to fail, although it’s certainly worth giving them some lube first.

I did this to some older Deore shifters at the end of last year, got me another 9 months but the sticky one has now died a death. Bought an XT from CRC for £33 to replace it.

Once the WD40/GT85 has been used it can be worth using a slightly heavier lube to replace the grease as you work the levers back & forth.