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What are other people finding with the shimano clutch mechanism.
I’m running SLX 11speed on two separate bikes. From new the clutch works great for about 2-3 months, all brand new, chain,cassette, cable, mech hanger, mech. Riding 1-2 a week for 2-3 hours and clean my bike and drivetrain after every ride.
After 2-3 months it doesn’t like changing gear unless I turn the clutch off. Then it works flawlessly for months until I need a new chain. If I put a new inner cable in it will get better for 1-2 months, if I put new inner and outer it’s good for 2-3 months. Is this expected?
It’s the same on both bikes and doesn’t seem to matter if I do it (I’ve been riding and maintaining my bike for 25 years) or my mechanic ( who is very good ). I’ve even cleaned the mechanism on one of them even though it was spotless. I’ve tried adjusting the clutch but it’s at the point there’s no point having it on if you just slacken it off.
Only issues I ever had were fixed by maintenance
Just needs a bit of grease in the right place of the clutch (the barrel). Easy job. I use a thin smear of marine grease that lasts much better than the original stuff. Plenty of YouTube tutorials.
As above, you need to grease the clutch every 3-6 months. It's a minor pain, but I prefer it this way than SRAM clutches which just go sloppy and aren't serviceable.