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I have recently replaced shifter cable and reset the pulleys so that they are in line with the cogs. I've set the high and low limits and have the gears shifting nicely upward & have fine tuned with the barrel adjuster. When shifting back down the gears just jump from 1st almost straight down to 7 & 8th cog after only just one click of the shifter!!

Help....any recommendations on how to fix please? Cheers

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  • How many gears does your bike have? How many cogs on your casette/freewheel? When you say the chain jumps down to 7th and 8th gear after one click of the shifter do you mean you start on the biggest rear cog and when you shift once the chain moves two gears instead of one? Did you have this same problem before replacing the cable?
    – Maarten -Monica for president
    Feb 28, 2020 at 0:26
  • I suspect that your cable is sticking.
    – Daniel R Hicks
    Feb 28, 2020 at 0:44
  • Hi Thanks for help. 8 speed cassette. I have replaced the cassette & chain and degreased & lubed sti shifter. After I shift once when on the 1st sprocket is jumps down to either the 7th or 8th sprocket.
    – Brendan
    Feb 28, 2020 at 0:46
  • Thanks Daniel. That makes sense. I might check the cable housing incase the cable is getting stick in it.
    – Brendan
    Feb 28, 2020 at 0:50

1 Answer 1

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My first thought is you need to clean your shifter. There is a ratcheting mechanism in there which is the thing that makes the distinct clicks when you shift. When the grease is old the little pawl (the thing that locks into the teeth of the ratchet wheel) will sometimes not want to rotate properly which can cause your shifter to skip gears. Removing the shifter cover, spraying it with plenty of wd-40 or a similar product and shifting up and down a bunch of times should solve the problem in most cases. If that doesn't help you might have to clean it a bit better using for example cotton buds and a solvent or cotton buds sprayed with wd-40.

This phenomenon is called a 'sticky shifter' iirc. Here is a video on how to possibly solve it:

(Note: the issue shown in the video is not your exact issue but the video does show how the ratcheting mechanism works and following the steps in the video should probably solve your issue as well

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  • Thanks heaps for the recommendation. I might try and use a better degreaser.
    – Brendan
    Feb 28, 2020 at 0:48
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    @Brendan yes it's worth a try. Perhaps if you open up the shifter just far enough so your can see the ratchet mechanism in action you could shift down one click and see what is happening inside the shifter. Perhaps this way you could find out the reason why it's skipping so many gears.. perhaps the issue is not a sticky mechanism since you already degreased and lubed... But it's worth a look inside perhaps. Hoe used are your sti shifters? Are any of the ratchet teeth worn noticably?(rounded) is the spring that presses the pawl onto the ratchet teeth properly installed?
    – Maarten -Monica for president
    Feb 28, 2020 at 1:09
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    @brendan how many times do you have to press the shift down lever to get the "one click of the shifter" you mention in your answer? Does it make the "click" sound the first time you press the shift lever?
    – Maarten -Monica for president
    Feb 28, 2020 at 1:15
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    @brendan If you have to press it many times (enough times to be able to shift 6 or so gears) the issue might indeed be cable stick. Sometimes when the ratchet mechanism is very sticky it won't make a click sound each time you press the shift lever (only occasionally or on some gears it will make the click noise)
    – Maarten -Monica for president
    Feb 28, 2020 at 1:16
  • For fixing possible cable issues: check if cable is frayed or bent. Check if cable properly inserted into shifter. Check if housing bent or damaged otherwise. Check if cable ends are cut properly (Teflon liner properly 'opened up', cable section should be nice and round where it has been cut), check if end caps are in good shape (not bent or damaged in another way, make sure housing is not too short. Cables that look perfect at first glance can still sometimes cause issues similar to these.
    – Maarten -Monica for president
    Feb 28, 2020 at 1:22

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