Are your 1998-2000 Ultegra or 1999-2001 '105 STI levers making noise?
Buzzing or rattling sounds when you ride over bumps or bounce your
front wheel on the ground?
Probably two things going on here. First, check your gear
cables...as they head from the levers to the stops on the frame,
the left and right cables frequently touch each other, and even
the slightest bump can make them clang against each other.
Best fix we've found in such cases is to tie them together loosely
with a zip tie.
But even more likely you've got loose plastic nameplates on each
of your levers. You can test this by bouncing your front
wheel from a distance of an inch or so and note the noise you get.
Next, grab the front of the brake levers and try it again.
If the noise goes away, it's those darned plastic nameplates.
Here's the fix!
Pull the brake lever forward as if applying
the brake. You'll notice a gap at the top of the front
plastic nameplate...you need to insert a very thin screwdriver
here and pry it off by popping it forward. The first time
you do this you'll think you're going to break it, and you just
might. In the event you do, these overpriced pieces of
plastic sell for about $8 each.
Here's what the lever looks like with the
plastic nameplate removed. Please note that it's perfectly
functional; the nameplate is mostly decoration and a dust shield,
but doesn't directly effect the operation of the lever.
Make sure the screw underneath the plastic
nameplate is fully tightened before proceeding.
Here's the secret to removing the noise.
Simple silicon sealant, available at any hardware store and many
supermarkets. You can substitute bathtub caulk if need be.
Apply a small amount at the top and bottom of the plastic
nameplate.
Now snap the nameplate back on, placing it
first on the bottom and then pushing it up over the top snap.
You may ride the bike immediately and you'll quickly notice how much
quieter it is!
We're
famous in Finland! Below is something I found
that links to this page of our site. I don't read Fin, so I
really have no idea what it says (for all I know it might make fun
of our site!).
Use
Powerlube (available at finer Autoparts stores everywhere!) to flush the guts of the
lever, as shown in the photo. The results are amazing; we've
brought many dead shifters back to life. But please, don't do this directly over
carpet. It's going to drip for a bit.
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