Here's how to fix scratched road bike shifters
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- In this one, I show you how to restore a set of crash-damaged Ultegra shift levers and make them look new again. I repair the damage, repaint the bodies and apply new clearcoat to the levers. While apart, I clean them out and regrease them too. I show you how to do all of it. Mine turn out great, I'm sure yours will too.
That’s a lot of detailed work for a lever but you’ve done a great job in restoring them, well done 👏🏼
Thanks! These are my favorite shifters and I'm always on the lookout for a cheap set. Who doesn't like sitting in the shop for an hour with a needle file?
This video is very soothing, and the end result is just so satisfying to see. Major props on on the craftsmanship and attention to detail, and for giving these levers a whole new lease on life.
Appreciate it. Thank you.
Great video! Love it that these could be restored instead of sending them to the landfill!
Sweet restoration. Nice air filtration helmet! In Jersey, we would just spray in the kitchen while making pasta!
Mmmm, pasta a la solvente. Just like nonna used to make. Tasty
Your engineering and handyman knowledge is truly incredible, love the dedication you put into these projects!
I like your approach! So much better than dumping working shifters..
Beautiful work. You make it look easy, but I can appreciate that there is a lot of careful work there to get the finish so clean.
I learned so much here in every part of this video. Thank you and great work!
It was a joy to watch, and the video editing is great! Thanks for sharing, it's truly inspirational!
Beautiful work! Respect for keeping the levers out of a landfill.
Love it. Very helpful thank you for taking the time to put this together and share.
This was satisfying to watch. The black nameplates make them look like a completely new generation!
At 2:34 you could have used the 2K clear to keep the aluminum from tarnishing over time. Back when Shimano had their silver polished cranksets that were clear coated, I would use a marine aluminum polish every so often when the clear coat wore away. Was a lot of work, but two part spray cans weren't really a thing back then and there was no practical way to clear them without paying an auto body shop.
What a great, thorough video in under seven minutes. I've watched a few of your videos in the past and TH-cam sent me this one just now. I guess I gotta subscribe :)
Awesome! Thank you.
good tour of the required materials, thankyou, i can adapt this to other repairs!
these look fabulous :)
(all greases trap dirt, but that's not the end of the world for shifter mechanisms. ime the 'cleanest anti-dirt lube' i've tested is the garage door spray from blaster. truly a dry lube and contains some pressure tolerant additives besides the silicone, safe for plastics and my guess is that it's not very water resistant.. it's not 'shop safe' meaning silicone overspray will contaminate surfaces creating issues for paiters )
I have a can of the garage door spray that I use for all sorts of stuff. It's great! Sometimes, I even sneak it on bike cables when nobody is looking.
@@RobertAdairWorkshop lols yes, the foamy spray works for flushing out cable dirt even w/o that cable lubricator tool that attaches to cable housings..
They look great. Well worth the effort.
Great video, thanks Rob!! I have a set of these on my Cannondale Slate, and whilst not as scratched up, I really like the black-on-black finished result!
Great craftsmanship!
Great workmanship
Great job! Thanks for the tips and techniques.
For the European viewers, 120°F is about 50°C.
I always forget to include alternate units. Good catch. Thank you.
(yes, keep track of temp when dealing w/ plastics and rubbers.
also, baking doesn't harden paints above their usual fully cured hardness but it accelerates the curing for the top layer PLUS in some cases forces the paint to 'reflow' becoming smoother and shinier. the old baking thing was introduced a while back and it applied to enamel paints. as enamel can take months to fully cure, the 'baked enamel' was being marketed as an extra though finish simply because 'new things' came w/ partially cured finises -w/o the baking)
*rest of the world
Awesome work, super interesting and well-shot as well! Why does silicone grease not attract dirt?
Great work!
Very inspiring!
R785 are sweet lever for custom project 🥰
Very nice job. Thanks
I have some R785 in good shape but I think I'll do the name plates in black, they look really sharp
That would look awesome! I never considered doing the 785's in another color. They're going on a red and white Diamondback. I am now considering painting the name plates and levers white. And it's your fault :)
Love it
The temperatures he says are in Fahrenheit? Otherwise it seems a bit too hot for me!
Yeah, good catch. 125F.
@@RobertAdairWorkshop Thanks, so about 50°C (52° C to be precise...)
What shifters are they?
Shimano RS685
Once you add up all the labour, time and equipment required it's cheaper to get a replacement brand new or mint used set.
🙄 ... totally missed the point...did you(?) This is not labor intensive, nor particularily involved... It doesn't require anything beyond paint & primer & a little time & attention. The cost is insignificant vs replacement levers. If you really think this requires significant cost, tooling, & materials... you may be commenting to the wrong video... Not for you...fine...continue on with your life.
I kinda agree. But, if you love working on your bike (like me), you won't mind spending time on it.
@@prowrench7989 Do you have an ultrasonic cleaner?
lols no. the labor and materials required are a fraction of the price difference, i'd argue a better return than for a car bumper and those also get fixed for obvious reasons, like how do you think a paint shop makes money? :)
@@prowrench7989 I didn't miss the point. It depends how much you value your time. You sound like a minimum wage kind of fella.
Fantastic job!