Shimano RSX 7speed triple

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I have a bike with Shimano RSX levers. the number is ST-A410. It was my
brother in laws bike and he never got into cycling. I got it from him and
the LH shifter doesn't work. The inner lever couldn't engage and shift. I
opened it a bit and found there is a small spring loaded lever that had
become gummed up presumably through lack of use and the lubricant drying
out.

Is the RH lever prone to similar problems? What are other common problems
with these levers. I am reluctant to go touring with these if they have a
reputation for unreliable service. My old downtube levers have never let me
down on my other tourer.

I have noticed on EBAY other 7 speed triple levers numbered ST-A416 and
ST-A417. How do these differ from the ST-A410?

If I want to go back to my Retro comfort zone with down tube levers, what
should I look for?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Hi Wilfred (another Aussie)

I also have these RSX STI levers on both my wifes bike and my own tourer.

As others have said, they do dry out or otherwise get full of rubbish and
jam up, but can be easily fixed.

Mine did not like a tour of NZ South Island, where I finally understood
what heavy rain is like. Symptoms on my RSX were missed shifts.

On return, I exposed the mechanism barrel (the front cover screw) but did
not dismantle. I used cotton buds, moistened with WD40 to clean away all
exterior grit and grime, then flushed the insides with WD40, while
operating the levers continuously. I let them drain dry for a while,
then gave them a shot of good synthetic spray lube (a high tech version
of WD40 to leave a better lube film). I have done another 7000 Km on
those shifters with no problems.

Good luck - Bruce Graham

On 23 Jan 2006 01:51:56 -0800, "john" wrote:

Aren't Campy brifters mo reliable than Shimano?
If not more reliable @ least they're rebuildable, no? Of course Campy's
could appear to be mo reliable cuz there are so few around to fail.

I'm a Campy fan but the word 'reliable' makes your question difficult
to answer. Being reparable doesn't mean more reliable to me. I've
seen the mouse ear break off Campy levers several times. Shimano
levers just stop indexing. I'd say the 2 brands are equally reliable.
Barend or downtube friction shifters are likely the most reliable.

John wrote:
Aren't Campy brifters mo reliable than Shimano?
If not more reliable @ least they're rebuildable, no? Of course Campy's
could appear to be mo reliable cuz there are so few around to fail.

Paul wrote:
I'm a Campy fan but the word 'reliable' makes your question difficult
to answer. Being reparable doesn't mean more reliable to me. I've
seen the mouse ear break off Campy levers several times. Shimano
levers just stop indexing. I'd say the 2 brands are equally reliable.
Barend or downtube friction shifters are likely the most reliable.

Thanks to all who answered.
After reading the answers, I'm left w/ the impression that they are
about equal when it comes to reliability, but because of the far
greater # of Shimano units out there, I hear more about their brakeage.
It's just that here @ rbt, I've read so much about Ultegra brifters
breaking down & / or being a defective design from the get-go. Aren't
buying Ultegra brifters a bit of a crapshoot if they fail after the
warrantee expires?

I quote Paul again

Being reparable doesn't mean more reliable to me.

When I first posted, I hadn't fully realized my line of thinking. My
thinking goes like this; after a few years of use, & the brifters are
no longer shifting properly, I would rather spend $100 to repair them,
than to fork over $250 to replace a pair. So my not fully developed
question was more of a 'what is the long term cost of ownership?' Which
means that I just answered my own question ; ) I will be buying Campy
cheaper than the Chorus line,

I've always said that if one can figure out the right question to ask,
they can often answer it themselves, John

John wrote:
Aren't Campy brifters mo reliable than Shimano?
If not more reliable @ least they're rebuildable, no? Of course Campy's
could appear to be mo reliable cuz there are so few around to fail.

Paul wrote:
I'm a Campy fan but the word 'reliable' makes your question difficult
to answer. Being reparable doesn't mean more reliable to me. I've
seen the mouse ear break off Campy levers several times. Shimano
levers just stop indexing. I'd say the 2 brands are equally reliable.
Barend or downtube friction shifters are likely the most reliable.

Thanks to all who answered.
After reading the answers, I'm left w/ the impression that they are
about equal when it comes to reliability, but because of the far
greater # of Shimano units out there, I hear more about their brakeage.
It's just that here @ rbt, I've read so much about Ultegra brifters
breaking down & / or being a defective design from the get-go. Aren't
buying Ultegra brifters a bit of a crapshoot if they fail after the
warrantee expires?

I quote Paul again

Being reparable doesn't mean more reliable to me.

When I first posted, I hadn't fully realized my line of thinking. My
thinking goes like this; after a few years of use, & the brifters are
no longer shifting properly, I would rather spend $100 to repair them,
than to fork over $250 to replace a pair. So my not fully developed
question was more of a 'what is the long term cost of ownership?' Which
means that I just answered my own question ; ) I will be buying Campy
cheaper than the Chorus line,

I've always said that if one can figure out the right question to ask,
they can often answer it themselves, John