Alfine 8/Versa 8

[boblo]

Looking for a bit of advice from anyone who uses an 8 speed Alfine with Versa shifters.

I have one with approx 1500 miles on it. Only used high days and holidays, never raced or rallied etc. It's a couple of years old and on original cables and it's had one ATF bath/service in that period.

The changing is upside down vs 'normal' STI's in that the big paddle = higher gears and smaller one = lower ones. The changes to higher gears are fine though I very occasionally get a very minor glitch (slip or 'false neutral) the changes to lower gears are odd. If the bikes been stood unused for a while the lever seems to release all its gears at once and it goes from 8 to 1 or more usually, 5 or 4 to one or two. It's as if the single shift ratchet isn't clicking in to stop at each gear change increment (if that makes sense?). I it's a bit hit and miss as it doesn't do it all the time and I've given it a goodly splurge of GT85/fettling/swearing.

Any ideas please?

[Brucey]

I think your diagnosis is correct, i.e. that the shifter isn't latching properly. Whether you can do much more about it I am not sure. Often it takes a while for a thin lube to soften a dried lube. I would suggest that you use an aerosol semi-fluid grease to lube the shifter.

BTW I would avoid using ATF in an Alfine hub; it seems it can make the seal ring (in the RH cover) swell up horribly.

cheers

[boblo]

Aye the ATF option seems a bit Marmite.

Not sure how I'll go about disassembling that pesky shifter to see what's going on. I'll need the digits of a murine gynaecologist to get in there...

[rfryer]

I have a Versa 11 shifter, and concluded that this type of behaviour is a bit of a"feature".

It can normally be made to work OK with a positive push, but a squeeze often causes the ratchet to slip.

[boblo]

That's interesting. I suspected being a bit agricultural with it was a bit more reliable than my usual finesse...

[Brucey]

I have not had this particular model of shifter in bits so I cannot say for sure, but very many work on an 'escapement' principle.

It seems it is difficult to design a simple, swift-acting escapement that also is not vulnerable to slippage if you are not positive with the lever/button on shifts that pay out cable (downshifts on older model A8, upshifts on newer A8 and all A11). It also doesn't help if the mechanism (including the cable and the cassette joint) is in any way sticky; the escapement often won't latch properly unless cable tension is maintained and the parts are free to move.

Most Shimano STIs are comparatively complicated inside; they have lots of additional features that are intended to prevent such issues as these.

cheers