Hand strength and shifting

[tulip]

Can you try another bike with the same components to see if it's as hard to shift? That might clarify if their is an adjustment issue or not.

[Roadtrip]

The shop that simply says to strengthen your hands, is this the same shop you bought the Ruby at, not that it should matter at all I'm just curious?

I hate the "that's the way it is" mentality from some of the bike shop dudes.

If you bought the bike there AND they treat you this way, I'd have a talk with the manager or owner and if that dosnt get some reaction, go elsewhere. You don't want to deal with or trust your Ruby to a shop like that anyhow

[nscrbug]

I have the exact same issue right now, only my shifters are the new Ultegra 6700. I was told something similar by my LBS - the whole "oh just do some hand strengthening exercises and it'll be fine"...yeah, right. At 5'6" & 153lbs, I'm not a small, frail woman. So for me to find it nearly impossible to move my left shift lever means there is definitely something wrong. Even the techs in the shop think it's hard to move the shift lever. I can't even recall how many times I've had the bike back in the shop for adjustments. Not to mention having had both shifters replaced under warranty...still no improvement. I've also had the chain and cassette replaced and the bike was not even a year old. The only thing I haven't tried replacing yet, are the chainrings...and that might be next (if I don't just break down and buy a new bike by then).

Anyways...I can totally relate to what the OP is experiencing. When your bike is not shifting properly, it really does take the joy out of riding (at least for me it does).

[jessmarimba]

(I think I've only used my left shifter once, when I was hung over and didn't want to go up the hills to work. Maybe I should set my bike up as a 1x9...)

[dravens]

Went back to bike shop again and this time the cable and housing was replaced. This resulted in a big improvement. I was very pleased with the service this time. I still think it is a hard movement for my hand to make so I am going to work with some exercise putty to improve the strength of my left hand.

[Hi Ho Silver]

Glad the shop got it fixed for you. My experience has been that the left shifter itself got less stiff over time. At this point, mine is fairly easy to shift.

Happy riding and shifting!

[Kathi]

I'm small but not "frail" woman with small hands! My fingers aren't long enough to push the lever far enough to engage the big ring. I slide my hand to the side of the hood so my fingers have enough reach to shift to my big ring. My fingers go pretty far underneath the hood before the chain engages.

I, too, had problems with my brake levers and it was just a matter of loosening the brake cables. Makes the reach a lot easier too.

[dravens]

I contacted Specialized customer service and they emailed me:

" Sorry to hear about your shifter situation. I am not aware of any of our women’s bikes (or really any of our bikes) having excessively ‘heavy’ shifters. This is the first that I have heard of a shifter being too hard to push, unless the shifter was broken. The fact that you have tried two separate shifters and had the same experience with both can only lead me to believe that the problem is with your hand strength. Sorry… but your hand strength is the only common denominator left on this one… If there is anything I can do to be of assistance, please let me know…."

So when are women's specific design bicycles going to have a shifter and brake that belongs on a woman's bike?

The bike store fixed the shifter but it is still takes quite a bit of force to operate.