info; dysfunctional shimano exage 400 lx front shifter.. alternatives?
No Body
got me around in college that i've dug back out to start getting my
widening ass back into shape. the shifter compoenents are shimano exage
400lx (at least the front). the index shifter for the front derailluer
only shifts over 2 of the three front sprockets. it won't move the
derailluer to the large sprocket. feels like it doesn't catch some
toggle in the lever area... on a rare occasion, it will snag something
inside the lever and move the final part of the range. i'm wondering two
things..
a) is it worthwhile to tear apart and try to fix it? or will i likely
make matters worse?
b) if the answer to a is 'no,' anyone have a suggestion of a suitable
replacement? if so, i will probably want to replace BOTH shifters. the
rear is a 7-gear sprocket set but the only ones i could find these days
handle 9-sprocket cassettes.
c) yay, i'm kinda stupid.. can you use a 9-gear cassette shifter with a
7-gear cassette?
it's been a while since i paid attention to these kinda things.. i'd
appreciate any/all assistance.
thx,
-r
JeffWills
This is a common problem on older "Rapidfire" shifters. The lubricant
inside gets old and gummy (particularly if left to sit) and the
shifter ratchets won't catch. So:
a: Don't try to tear it apart. They're not designed to be
dissassembled, and spare parts aren't available anyway. Spray the
insides with a de-gummer (WD-40 works great), followed by a light oil.
It worked for me. Lubing the cables helps, too.
b: 7-speed index shifters are rare and hard to find. Here's a couple:
http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?d=single&item_id=SU-217-7
http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?&d=single&item_id=SU-225-7
Indexing is not really necessary, though. Very cheap shifters are
available that are friction-only:
http://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?d=single&item_id=SU-105
c: No.
Jeff