My shifters suck

Title says it all. My shifters are so bad, I can't believe how bad they are.
I have to push and push on the thing to make it change gears. I go to a different gear, and hear a bunch of rattling. I take the bike in for a tune-up, it shifts like crap. I leave the bike alone for six months, it shifts fine.

They're some kind of SRAM mountain bike, trigger shifters. Given the fact that the whole bike, a Specialized P series All Mountain bike, only costs $600 total, it may have just come with very cheap shifters.

That being said, I really don't need $300 shifters, that's unreasonable. What is a good mid-range priced shifter that shifts smoothly, and responds well?

It could be a problem with one or both derailleurs rather than the shifters.

I had lots of problems with the front derailleur on my old road bike. It constantly needed adjusting and never shifted smoothly. Eventually it broke while the LBS mechanic was adjusting it, and he felt responsible so he replaced it, but the only one they had in the shop was a better quality one so that's what he gave me. After that the bike shifted much better and only needed adjustments once or twice a year to keep things working well.

How old are the shifters? Trigger shifters can get gunked up and stop working, or simply wear out or break. Though perhaps your rattling noises after a shift are poor gear adjustment. If you simply can't push the lever in one direction, or if you can push it far enough for a shift but it doesn't stay there, then the problem is the lever. Have your mechanic flush it with solvent overnight and see if it improves.

I had an issue with a shifter that turned out to be a kink in the cable!

The whole bike is only two years old. I'm going to have to go to the LBS when taxes come in and tell them do what it takes. Go over the whole thing tire-to-tire and find out what the problem is, derailler, shifter, or cables.
It's so bad I feel like I'm going to be stranded in the woods because my bike won't shift.

You could throw some grease in there for free and see if it improves. Gunk is a problem...

Grease won't help remove gunk (actually, it will attract more). I second a trial of solvent. What you might could do at home if you don't want to try disassembling anything, is to hang a pan underneath the shifter and flush it with WD-40. (As always when working with solvents, wear nitrile gloves and make sure there's plenty of ventilation.) Possibly worth a try anyway.

I'm thinking cables/housing. Two years of mountain biking...makes sense this would be the issue. I would wager on the 8"-10" of housing right by the rear deraileur as the culprit.
+1 Melalvai on the kinked cable too.

Well, the bike is shifting fine now, but I'm going to take it in to the bike shop next weekend. I just want to upgrade the shifters and deraillers, I'll tell them throw in some new cables too.
Then, the drivetrain will be upgraded, and I shouldn't have any more problems. *touch wood*

If you are going to replace your shifters, then they will come with new cables and housing. I would definitely ask that the LBS installs BOTH!


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Originally Posted by Seajay

I'm thinking cables/housing. Two years of mountain biking...makes sense this would be the issue. I would wager on the 8"-10" of housing right by the rear deraileur as the culprit.
+1 Melalvai on the kinked cable too.

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+1 on this and the other suggestion by Melavai!

My Jamis had this very problem. I thought it was the STI shifters but it just needed new cables. Whoever had originally installed them, sucked at it. (I had picked that bike up cheap off eBay.)

So, check the cables out first. It wasn't something I noticed with my naked-eye. Let the pros have a look at it.