Author Topic: Rattling hydraulic shifters  (Read 2920 times)

Rattling hydraulic shifters
« on: 16 May, 2019, 11:26:38 am »
I'm currently using Shimano R7020 hydraulic shifters - but they rattle. Lots. Round here I'm not blessed with the smoothest of roads, so this is getting a bit annoying.

Has anyone experienced similar, and if so, are there any suggestions for ways to silence them?!

FifeingEejit

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Re: Rattling hydraulic shifters
« Reply #1 on: 16 May, 2019, 11:56:53 am »
hm, mine are silent.

Is the noise definitley in the shifters or is the cable routing rattly?
And/Or if you give bits of the shifter a wiggle can you find the bits that are rattling?

Not got the best roads up here either and the only noises I've not resolved yet are the guards chirping as they bounce off the tyre sidewalls.

Re: Rattling hydraulic shifters
« Reply #2 on: 16 May, 2019, 12:59:31 pm »
best to track down the rattle exactly and say which model of STI you have.

BITD some of my chums fixed rattly STIs on their training bikes by using a strategically placed piece of old inner tube.  This was a pragmatic approach on some models of STI when a (badly designed) rubber stop fell off.

cheers

Re: Rattling hydraulic shifters
« Reply #3 on: 16 May, 2019, 01:01:19 pm »
The first gen of di2 hydro shifters were notoriously rattly

Re: Rattling hydraulic shifters
« Reply #4 on: 16 May, 2019, 01:16:49 pm »
These are R7020, so not first gen (I've got the older 105 ones on another bike, and they don't rattle!).

As far as I can tell, the rattle is coming from the bit circled in red on this pic (I think it's the hinge where the plastic bit attaches) - this isn't my bike, just a random image I found, but it's the same shifter.



Re: Rattling hydraulic shifters
« Reply #5 on: 16 May, 2019, 01:28:05 pm »
mad thought; if your drops are flared like the ones in the picture, the levers are seeing vibrations that are not in the plane of the lever. This would be exactly the kind of thing that might cause the upshift lever to flap about more than normal.

Have you tried (using an elastic band) lashing the upshift lever to the main lever temporarily?

FWIW the main pivot shaft in such levers is either secured using a snap ring or a grub screw. If there is a grub screw and this comes loose, everything can rattle.

cheers

Re: Rattling hydraulic shifters
« Reply #6 on: 16 May, 2019, 07:41:37 pm »
Hmm, just been having a closer look. I think it's the main lever rather than the upshift lever that's causing the rattle; there doesn't seem to be any obvious screw to tighten. Drops aren't flared, they're just standard (compact) drops.

Re: Rattling hydraulic shifters
« Reply #7 on: 17 May, 2019, 11:41:13 am »
hmm. I've not had those STIs in pieces and the EV techdoc isn't at all helpful

https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/ev/EV-ST-R7020-4341B.pdf

But if you assume that the main pivot is built the same way as other recent STIs then it is retained by a snap ring (actually what is often known as an 'E' clip). This is usually silver coloured, in contrast to everything else in the pivot assy, and is usually positioned on the inboard end of the pivot. Normally the pivot is a sod to reassemble (there are springs....), but everything pivots on two Delrin bushings. I have occasionally bothered to replace worn bushings with some from a dead lever.  Oddly enough if mineral oil leaks from the brake circuit or is spilt on the pivot, this can accelerate wear in the bushings.

But before delving into that, it should be noted that in most recent STIs both upshift and downshift levers couple with the index mechanism via two steel prongs just behind the levers. Normally there is about 1mm clearance between the levers and the prongs, so that there is some dead travel in the levers before the levers hit the prongs and initiate any movement in the index mechanism.   Both levers are fitted with bias springs (near the top, hidden behind a small plastic cover) so that they are sprung (biased) outwards. If these springs fail to do their job, then the lever(s) are no longer biased outwards and there will be a terrible rattling sound as the levers bounce off the prongs as you ride down the road.

Thus I'd check very carefully that the bias springs are intact and working; compare with another 'good' lever.

cheers