ST Ultegra Shifter repair attempt 6501 failed - possible other options?

[Spacer]

Hi,

There were warnings not to expect success in servicing this brifter beyond injecting WD40 and hoping it degunks..But I went for it and followed a very good video to take apart, clean et put back together my Ultegra 9 speed brifter from my 2000 Cannondale R1000.

As exepected the reassembly is not working. Subtle loading of spings,/alignments/ holding stuff in place are proving too challenging despite this great video
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PDGHoUZ38M


So what would be possible options? A SORA new brifter (looks like Shimano doesn't make 9 speed shiters above the Sora line..)? Another brand? Any suggestions appreciated.
I'll keep trying to re-assemble my brifter, but I doubt it'll work...

Thanks,

Peter

 

[fossyant]

Ebay used, or new 9 speed shifters. Microshift do shimano compatible shifters.

 

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T

Ebay used, or new 9 speed shifters. Microshift do shimano compatible shifters.

Thanks!

 

[T4tomo]

buy a pair as mismatched different shaped shifter hoods will look and feel weird.

 

[Spacer]

After 2 days attempting the repair, I give up. Impossible to seat the mech with springs loaded, and never sure if some micro wear had just made them useless. The assumption was than a "good cleaning" would do, but impossible to know unless one is very experienced with these mechs, I suppose. So, I just ordered a pair of Microshifts. There is a fellow in the USA who repairs Shimano shifters, but not 9 speed he told me, as he never succeeds with those...I guess they aren't designed to be fixed. I hate to throw the old ones away, though. I guess they'll get 'archived'..

 

[T4tomo]

I guess they aren't designed to be fixed

correct, otherwise we'd all be repairing them, rather than buying new ones when they fail, and shimano would make less profit!

You can do minor disassembly to clear out frayed cable gubbins from the under the bar tape exit route, that are inherently prone to fraying & jamming the shift, I've done that successfully, although its better to change the gear cable before it frays!!. 9 speed is washing line exit I think so you don't have that issue. Superficially less neat but, mechanically superior.

 

[Spacer]

correct, otherwise we'd all be repairing them, rather than buying new ones when they fail, and shimano would make less profit!

You can do minor disassembly to clear out frayed cable gubbins from the under the bar tape exit route, that are inherently prone to fraying & jamming the shift, I've done that successfully, although its better to change the gear cable before it frays!!. 9 speed is washing line exit I think so you don't have that issue. Superficially less neat but, mechanically superior.

thanks for the confirmation. my obstinacy did not pay off except to learn..which is not bad. I'll have a right side Ultegra ST 6501 shifter for sale for parts, as a result- or give away.

Of course a company should earn some money. I guess for me the question of durability/ repair-ability needs to be tempered by realism..but I sure am going to look into shifters for future builds to understand what trade-offs will get me something which can be repaired. The complex but super comfortable/efficient/safe ST shifters for my road bike used locally versus a high quality friction shifter which I am looking at for a touring bike build i am planning. I have learned for example that this kind of shifter -besides being very simple mechanically- so less failure- also adapts to different drive trains - useful if in a place where a change is required in a cassette and to avoid needing new shifters. I suppose (besides electronic) those are the two extremes in shifting - at least that's my understanding for now. I'd love to find discussions which lay out these issues- how mechanical complexity leads to innovation and performance, but starts to preclude longevity. Since I want to buy or build a touring bike, I am pondering all this. I want a bike to be very long lasting. I've read the term "future proof" also, which sounds like a very interesting and useful term because it has to do with ideals, I suppose, and their limits as well as production and marketing: as in people buying components for future swaps knowing that manufacturers change models regularly...I guess a new thread on shifters may be in order, but being a mechanical newbie, I am researching more first.

 

[Spacer]

T


Thanks!

Ebay used, or new 9 speed shifters. Microshift do shimano compatible shifters.

Fossyant,

I ordered the pair of Microshift 3/9s shifters, do you think i should switch out the left side as well even though it still works? Or go with, "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" wisdom?

Thanks

 

[fossyant]

Fossyant,

I ordered the pair of Microshift 3/9s shifters, do you think i should switch out the left side as well even though it still works? Or go with, "if it ain't broken, don't fix it" wisdom?

Thanks

Switch both out as they will feel weird not having both the same, and, of course, not match ! Can't be having that.

 

[scotsbikester]

I'm not a bike mechanic guru, by any means. But Shimano nine speed triple is something I do know a fair bit about.

I started off with Sora, the current version, and it's fine. But it's a different brake cable pull to the Ultegras you've got. I went "backwards" from Sora to Ultegra nine speed, and the braking improved dramatically.

Shimano ST-6510s come up on ebay fairly often. Very occasionally they come up NOS (New Old Stock), but at a price. And NOS don't come up very often anymore, because I've bought the last of them, from anywhere in the world. There might actually not be any left anywhere. There is a decent used pair in the post to me now. The levers often suffer from "crazing", but I think it's just what happened to the finish over time. The things that I think are more worth looking at are the amount of crash damage you can see, if the rubber thing around the down shift lever (the small one) has split, and if the hood doesn't sit tight to the main body. All or any of these things might indicate high usage, so potential problems. Although it seems to be thought that STIs with side entry gear cables are more robust than under tape ones.. And my first set had a split rubber buffer, but worked fine. Some clever work with the right diameter rubber bands would replace that thing.

One of the beauties about Shimano nine speed triple from that era is that you have a lot of choice. Ultegra, 105 and Tiagra in nine speed are, I believe, largely interchangeable. The left shifters are usually double and triple (in the same lever), the front derailleurs are all designed around the same crankset. So you have a lot of choice in terms of replacements.

If you go here:

https://productinfo.shimano.com/#/archive

You will find a complete list, arranged by year, for Shimano products.
Choose 2006-2007, and click the PDF in the "Compatibility" column and you will get a download. Go to "Front Drivetrain Interchangeability" (page 165) and you will see what works with what. You can see that ST-6510 (ultegra), ST-5510 (105), and ST-4400 (Tiagra) are pretty much compatible, as are their front derailleurs. The ones that are different are the Dura Ace - I narrowly escaped making a fantastically expensive mistake on a pair of NOS Dura Ace shifters.

Also nine speed road and mountain derailleurs work the same. That's what I've got. Ultegra shifters (road), XT rear derailleur (mountain bike). It works perfectly.

PS, the plastic cover on ST-6510s is the most horribly fragile thing. They work fine without it, but are easy to break. Hence you will see plenty being sold without. They look horrible, but work. It also accounts for the extremely high price that some people are asking for replacements, and a cottage industry in 3D printed ones. Also, don't expect to be able to replace the hoods if they're worn, on any of the nine speed shifters. I don't think there are any available.

 

[scotsbikester]

Oh, I see you've ordered Microshift. My only experience of Microshift shifters is some for a Alfine 8 (I think that's who made them). They're a bit "meh".

I wouldn't worry too much about Sora being "low quality". The general opinion seems to be that Shimano tech trickles down - "last year's Ultegra is this year's 105", or something like that. I don't suppose that gets as far as "this year's Sora is last decade's Dura Ace", but you get the idea.

Regarding downtube shifters, the nice ones (Dura Ace SL7700) are out of production, I think. The right hand, rear derailleur is brilliant in that it can be 9 speed indexed, or switch to friction. Best of both worlds. But again you'll either pay a huge amount for a pair, or have to get used ones.

 

[Spacer]

The Microshift shifters I put on are indeed, "meh"..but I guess they do the job. Most importantly I am back riding again!