[tinball]

Sometimes when shifting from lower to higher gear (releasing tension on cable) the shifter will not return fully to the starting position and I have to pull it the final 1 cm or so to the starting/neutral position. This doesn't happen all the time and I have replaced the cable and housing and double checked for bad routing and excess friction.

When I replaced the cable and housing, I did notice some gunk in the shifter. I do wonder if that is a possibility or is the shifter just about to go? This is my 2nd shifter on this bike (my 4th Rival on 2 bikes) as they seem to go bad and the ratchet goes after 2 years in my experience. However this isn't like the 2 other failures where the ratchet just wouldn't catch. It's like the return spring might not be strong enough or there is something catching in the shifting mechanism.

I was wondering if anyone had seen this before and might have some insight into the issue before I once again order another shifter.

 

[Jay Strongbow]

You got me. But I'd say washing it out with WD40 is worth a try.

 

[9W9W]

I remember having my right Rival 10 shifter act this way over the course of weeks. Finally one day the shifting mechanism sheared in half and dropped to the ground. The rear slammed to 11T and I had a rotten ride home. SRAM gave me new shifters and cables and had a shop install it free of charge, outside of warranty.

I would check to see if your shifter is subject to recall.

 

[tinball]

Yikes! I hope it's not that. When it doesn't return to the full start/neutral position, it's a easy rightward tap with a finger for that last centimeter or so. Then it will work just fine and the ratchet engages quickly and easily. Also doesn't always happen on the same gear. Just kind of random.

I'll check with my LBS and see if there is a recall, but I haven't had the best of luck with SRAM and warranties in the past. A recall may be another story however.

 

[bvber]

This maybe?

 

[DaveG]

I remember having my right Rival 10 shifter act this way over the course of weeks. Finally one day the shifting mechanism sheared in half and dropped to the ground. The rear slammed to 11T and I had a rotten ride home. SRAM gave me new shifters and cables and had a shop install it free of charge, outside of warranty.

I would check to see if your shifter is subject to recall.

My Rival shifter failed suddenly as well, although nothing fell off. I replaced it with Campy shifters and never looked back

 

[9W9W]

I'll check with my LBS and see if there is a recall, but I haven't had the best of luck with SRAM and warranties in the past. A recall may be another story however.

a general feeling of lightness/looseness for a few days preceded the failure event. SRAM didn't care about warranty or serial numbers, seems like they knew what happened and had another set out asap. that LBS was a big/pricey shop though so maybe his clout helped.

there are threads on this site, complete with pictures, where folks compare their SRAM paddles and complain about them not staying flush, hit the search box (i'm at work now).

 

[tinball]

I would probably say the big shop helped you. The last issue I had was with a set of SRAM wheels (AL30? or something like that), and the LBS is a small one man shop. They stopped returning calls about the wheels from him. I even sent a certified letter regarding them to Stanley Day in their Chicago Headquarters and got zilch in response. So I pretty much consider SRAM disposable and they likely won't stand behind their product if you have a serious issue. Prior to that a Rival shifter failed after about 1.5 years and again didn't offer anything even though the shop thought they would. Didn't even try on the last shifter failure.

I don't think I will choose SRAM again if I can help it.

 

[aclinjury]

I would probably say the big shop helped you. The last issue I had was with a set of SRAM wheels (AL30? or something like that), and the LBS is a small one man shop. They stopped returning calls about the wheels from him. I even sent a certified letter regarding them to Stanley Day in their Chicago Headquarters and got zilch in response. So I pretty much consider SRAM disposable and they likely won't stand behind their product if you have a serious issue. Prior to that a Rival shifter failed after about 1.5 years and again didn't offer anything even though the shop thought they would. Didn't even try on the last shifter failure.

I don't think I will choose SRAM again if I can help it.

A big shop is definitely a factor when trying to get warranty. I know this first hand. One of my bikes, a Trek Madone, was involved in a tip-over where the paint was scratched a bit and that scratch pissed me off as it's a new bike. This was not Trek's fault of course. But I asked the LBS (a big one) to see if Trek would repaint the whole frame for me, but put use a different painting scheme. The LBS told me that it was unlikely that Trek would do such work (it's not considered warranty work). But the LBS rep had a GREAT raport with his Trek rep. The Trek rep said he would ask the paint department guy if he would something like this. Trek told the LBS rep that this was something Trek has never done before. Anyway, Trek ended up doing it for me at a cost of $800, which I absolutely didn't mind paying at all (because I got a new paint scheme which I liked anyway). Doubt that a small LBS can pull such thing off, even if I was willing to pay the money.

 

[cxwrench]

I would probably say the big shop helped you. The last issue I had was with a set of SRAM wheels (AL30? or something like that), and the LBS is a small one man shop. They stopped returning calls about the wheels from him. I even sent a certified letter regarding them to Stanley Day in their Chicago Headquarters and got zilch in response. So I pretty much consider SRAM disposable and they likely won't stand behind their product if you have a serious issue. Prior to that a Rival shifter failed after about 1.5 years and again didn't offer anything even though the shop thought they would. Didn't even try on the last shifter failure.

I don't think I will choose SRAM again if I can help it.

Something is not right with your story. SRAM has set the standard for customer service and they have never ever let me down, and we are not a 'big' shop. That should have nothing to do with it. As far as I'm concerned SRAM CS is so good that they single handedly pushed Shimano's hand and forced them to raise their game.

 

[cxwrench]

A big shop is definitely a factor when trying to get warranty. I know this first hand. One of my bikes, a Trek Madone, was involved in a tip-over where the paint was scratched a bit and that scratch pissed me off as it's a new bike. This was not Trek's fault of course. But I asked the LBS (a big one) to see if Trek would repaint the whole frame for me, but put use a different painting scheme. The LBS told me that it was unlikely that Trek would do such work (it's not considered warranty work). But the LBS rep had a GREAT raport with his Trek rep. The Trek rep said he would ask the paint department guy if he would something like this. Trek told the LBS rep that this was something Trek has never done before. Anyway, Trek ended up doing it for me at a cost of $800, which I absolutely didn't mind paying at all (because I got a new paint scheme which I liked anyway). Doubt that a small LBS can pull such thing off, even if I was willing to pay the money.

Again, the size of the shop shouldn't play into this at all.

 

[BCSaltchucker]

My Rival 10 didn't break, but always felt and operated poorly. I was going to put the group on my new frame (on order still), but disliked the Rival so much I ordered a new ultegra 6800 group. Meantime I replaced the brifters with a used Red10 lever set. vast improvement, infinitely better. Way more difference than I expected.

 

[cxwrench]

my rival 10 didn't break, but always felt and operated poorly. I was going to put the group on my new frame (on order still), but disliked the rival so much i ordered a new ultegra 6800 group. Meantime i replaced the shifters with a used red10 lever set. Vast improvement, infinitely better. Way more difference than i expected.

ftfy.

 

[tinball]

cxwrench, I don't doubt that you have gotten good CS from them. Many people have. Maybe I'm just an outlier. However, if you don't believe me I'll PM you the shop info (phone and website) and owner's name and you can verify it.

And I agree shop size should have nothing to do with it. But people are people and relationships are built when doing business. Someone who earns a company alot of money will probably have a rep more likely to go that extra mile like in aclinjury's case or is more willing to accept that "can you do me a favor" or "is it possible" request over one that doesn't. Not saying it's right or wrong, just human nature in many places.

Back on topic, I'm going to try cleaning the shifter with WD-40 and then some lithium grease on the ratchet assembly inside. thanks bvber for the Arts video.

9W9W, I saw a few hits but nothing that stood out. One was cleaning worked, others not definitive "that worked". One other hit was simply moving the shifters up on the bars fixed it - though I don't understand why unless it was a cable routing/length issue and by raising it, creating more slack in the cable and housing. Or a bend became not as sharp reducing cable friction.

 

[cxwrench]

cxwrench, I don't doubt that you have gotten good CS from them. Many people have. Maybe I'm just an outlier. However, if you don't believe me I'll PM you the shop info (phone and website) and owner's name and you can verify it.

And I agree shop size should have nothing to do with it. But people are people and relationships are built when doing business. Someone who earns a company alot of money will probably have a rep more likely to go that extra mile like in aclinjury's case or is more willing to accept that "can you do me a favor" or "is it possible" request over one that doesn't. Not saying it's right or wrong, just human nature in many places.

Back on topic, I'm going to try cleaning the shifter with WD-40 and then some lithium grease on the ratchet assembly inside. thanks bvber for the Arts video.

9W9W, I saw a few hits but nothing that stood out. One was cleaning worked, others not definitive "that worked". One other hit was simply moving the shifters up on the bars fixed it - though I don't understand why unless it was a cable routing/length issue and by raising it, creating more slack in the cable and housing. Or a bend became not as sharp reducing cable friction.

SRAM has absolutely no idea how 'big' or not our shop is. We don't buy anything directly from them. All we do is call when we have problems and they are always there for us. I hear this same thing from countless other shop mechanics. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I don't know what it would take to end up being one.

 

[tinball]

cxwrench, I definitely have no clue on my part about how SRAM deals with bike shops since I have never worked in one. I certainly trust your opinion and believe you and your experiences with them. I can only relay to you what the shop told me and then what I did to attempt to contact SRAM after 2 weeks + of waiting. Any reason as to why is guessing on my part.

 

[dracula]

Again, the size of the shop shouldn't play into this at all.

But it did.

The guy even wrote to SRAM and the wonkers didn't even bother to answer.

I would call this crappy customer service.

Btw: My left Rival shifter -- the ratchet mechanism -- stopped working. Was replaced by SRAM though.

 

[cxwrench]

But it did.

The guy even wrote to SRAM and the wonkers didn't even bother to answer.

I would call this crappy customer service.

Btw: My left Rival shifter -- the ratchet mechanism -- stopped working. Was replaced by SRAM though.

I would call this bullshit. We're not hearing the whole story...there is absolutely no reason for SRAM to do this. They don't want bad PR like this and they don't care how small the shop is.

 

[tinball]

cxwrench, it's cool. I totally see where you are coming from. I PM'd you the shop info for you to check for yourself. Give Craig a call and I'm sure he'll fill you in on the details. And if you want more details regarding specifics of the wheels themselves, I'll PM you my phone number and I'd be happy to discuss it in person.

Let me be clear to everyone - I'm not trying to stir up a hornets nest here or rail against SRAM even though it appears as though I am - and I will admit I'm a bit jaded by my experiences with them. I know my comments reflect that. Not everyone can be 100% of the time. Judging from the number of positive experiences others have had I would believe I'm in the minority. However based on my personal experiences, it also means I don't have much faith in them either.

On topic, I haven't had a chance to de-gunk the shifter. Hopefully I can tonight or tomorrow and report back if it worked or not after I get a chance to ride it. With all the rain in my area I may not get on that bike for a few days.

 

[dracula]

cxwrench, it's cool. ... Not everyone can be 100% of the time. Judging from the number of positive experiences others have had I would believe I'm in the minority. However based on my personal experiences, it also means I don't have much faith in them either.

Let's now take cxwrench's word for it. He should advise you what next steps to take.

cxwrench is the one calling everyone a bullshitter who is not subscribing to the 'alleged' great SRAM customer service experience after a faulty product.

What I always hate in this kind of threads in terms of attitude:

We know a-priori SRAM is a saint and received a Gold Award in customer satisfaction survey. And we therefore also know a-priori everyone who has had bad experience is a liar or a prick and hasn't told us the full story.

I hope cxwrench is right and it is bullshit what has been written here about SRAM because if SRAM would single out small shops this would and must reflect really badly on SRAM. But things have changed and SRAM was struggling financially recently (I read a random comment about that somewhere on the internet, where everything written is either wrong or right, who knows).