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I have an old Shimano STX integrated shifter/brake. The shifter part is broken.

Can I separate the shifter part, with reasonable effort, so I use only the brake and get a new shifter?

From what I could see, it is a single piece of plastic housing (I am not sure if there are tiny screws or rivets, perhaps hidden; I do not have access to the bike right now), so I would say no, but suggestions are always welcome.... Who knows. This shows the picture below.

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EDIT: This question is related to Suitable Shimano integrated shifter/brake replacement for old STX

EDIT2: I found a couple of related posts

http://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/679944-can-you-remove-brake-levers-shimano-ef-50-integrated-shift-levers.html

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12966554

http://ridemonkey.bikemag.com/threads/can-i-separate-my-shimano-shifter-and-brake-lever.165662/

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2 Answers 2

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You can use the brake lever without the shift portion just by disconnecting the shift cable. Then, you can attach a bar end shifter or a downtube shifter or similar to shift instead.

You won't be able to replace just the shifter portion of the brifter (without probably canabalizing another brifter anyway and actually manage to put the old one together).

You can also buy a 7 speed or so brifter from Microshift still which is Shimano compatible, or the Shimano Tourney 7 speed brifter.

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  • Regarding your three options: 1) I think that if I do not remove the shifting part, a new separate shifter will not fit in the handlebar, or at least it will be quite inconvenient to operate. 2) I do not mean to reconstruct a brifter, but to have separate brake lever and shifter. 3) This is part of the very complete answer from you for another question. As said, alternatives are always interesting, but I was also aiming specifically at my original question: "Can I separate the shifter part, so I use only the brake and get a new shifter?" Thanks!
    – sancho.s ReinstateMonicaCellio
    Apr 11, 2016 at 8:35
  • @sanchos that is why Batman suggests mounting the new shifters elsewhere.
    – Aron
    Apr 11, 2016 at 17:59
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Do you just need a brake lever? Then don't fit a shifting cable and you're sorted. The brake action and the gear change are different mechanisms inside. You could even remove the gear changing gubbins for weight.

How do you change gear? Is the bike now a fixed speed by accident? Refurbishing a brifter's shifting mech is not hard.

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  • I think that if I do not remove the shifting part, a new separate shifter will not fit in the handlebar, or at least it will be quite inconvenient to operate. I do not have access to the bike right now, but I think I will have to remove completely the shifting part (including housing), to be able to reasonably use a replacement shifter. Not sure, but... See edited post, with pic, etc. This is the subject of the repair... it is apparently not easy to get the replacement part. Work should not be hard.
    – sancho.s ReinstateMonicaCellio
    Apr 11, 2016 at 9:02
  • Ahhh I see - my answer was based around a brifter, which is for road bikes. What you have there is a single mounting clamp shared by two different units. So if you can unbolt the shifter, the brake will work fine. If you have to cut it off, do so in such a way to leave as much "meat" on the brake lever as possible. You'll have to buy a 3 or 7 position shifter with its own mounting. These are not overly expensive, and will clamp on the handlebar beside the brake lever clamp.
    – Criggie ♦
    Apr 11, 2016 at 9:14

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