# 2008 Shimano 105 shifter failure(s)



## MoonHowl (Oct 5, 2008)

I purchased a bike in September 2008 that has a 105 shifter for a compact crank; I believe the shifter would also be compatible with a triple. My first shifter failed in November 2008 The internal shifting mechanism jammed and broke when attempting to down shift. The LBS replaced it and the replacement is also sticking when attempting to down shift and I think it is only a matter of time before it fails. Has anyone else had this problem and if so what have you done about it?


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## -dustin (Jan 11, 2009)

i'm willing to bet that your FD cable tension is too low and you're inadvertently jamming it into the 3rd position in order to get the chain into the big ring...as such, putting too much stress on the shifter as the cable is then way too tight.


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## MoonHowl (Oct 5, 2008)

Thanks for the reply, it does seem to get in the third position quite a bit; sometimes it will click down to second and then shift to first position with no problem then other times it seems to jam.


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## MoonHowl (Oct 5, 2008)

PS on my previous bike I had an older set of 105s and a triple crank and the shifter was trouble free.


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## jetdog9 (Jul 12, 2007)

My gf and I were test-riding bikes at a LBS this week and on a 105-equipped bike with a compact the bike had the exact same problem you described. They couldn't fix it and had to replace the shifter. So at least one other bike out there had the problem.


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## trekbiking (May 18, 2009)

hello,i need help too. i just bought a new bike which is 105 equipped but during test ride i noticed that i had to swing the FD shifter level very far when shifting to the bigger ring. The store rep said that it is normal that when shifting from smaller ring to bigger ring you have to swing it the shift lever kinda of far kinda' have to hold it until it shift and kinda make a loud thugging sound too, do you agree? 

Also as far as rear shifting, when i shift from smaller cog to bigger cog the shifting is rough and make the same thugging sound, especially when i'm shifting uphill. is that normal also.

If above are normal, does upgrading to ultegra makes a big difference. Thanks for the input.


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## albert owen (Jul 7, 2008)

I have had this happen to me twice on a bike with less than 500 miles on it. The shifter jams solid and it takes a bit of effort to get it working again and then all seems fine.


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## BikeFixer (May 19, 2009)

Shimano is making double and triple specific shifters now to replace these.


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