Shimano Deore thumbshifters are fabulous pieces of kit with
one drawback - they don't make them any more. So, if you want
to keep them going, you'd better look after them. On this
page, I'll describe taking one to bits, cleaning it up and
re-assembling it.
First of all, I made a mistake with the top cap - I levered it
off and snapped it. Doh. Luckily I had a spare one I bought
from ebay.
You don't need to take it off the bars, but I did
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The underside. Undo that big screw...
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There's another screw inside that hole. Undo that as
well.
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There it is...
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Don't do this! I didn't undo that wee screw inside the
big screw, I levered it off... snap.
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Now then, the wee screw's out and we have to undo the
lock nut on top. NOTE: It's reverse thread (clockwise off).
It's a 10mm.
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Now lift bits off, keeping them on a screwdriver to
retain order. Here we're down to the bearings which
actually do the indexing. They're just sitting there, be
careful not to drop them.
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The next plate is really tight. I used a Stanley knife
blade to lift it.
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Now then, there's the indexing plate. And it's filthy!
No wonder shifting's a bit crap. Let's clean it up.
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3 rings, lever them out with the Stanley blade from
the outside in. The indexing plate has a hole for the
spring so it can only go back on one way round. Good.
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We have to twist the sprung plate slightly pop it off
the spindle.
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Now the final plate pops off, the spring comes away
and the body seperates from the spindle.
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Ooh, nasty. This brass bushing is about as worn as it
could be, and still be a brass bushing. Clean it very very
carefully...
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... and put it back on the base of the spindle.
Everything else gets wire brush and dettol treatment...
well, toothbrush and WD-40.
You can see that I'm using a really handy little bag of Finish
Line lubricant for re-assembly. This is a good consistency and
the little bag is really convenient for this fiddly job. I
grabbed a handful of these at Sleepless in 2004, and I'm
down to my last one. I wish I could get some more...
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Putting it back together.
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The sprung plate goes on and needs twisted in the
direction to tighten the spring to pop it back on to the
spindle. I used these wire clippers. Whatever.
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Here's the lovely clean indexing plate. Count the
holes - 7.
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Putting the top plates back on. These only fit in one
orientation due to the splines on the spindle. This plate
is chamfered on one side - that's the top side. The ones
underneath need pushed firmly home, and go on inside-out.
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Here's all the rest from the side, so you can see how
it stacks up. The leaf spring sits in line with the lever, and
the plates sit tight on the bearings.
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Here it is from the top.
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And here it is fitted back on the bike.
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