Hood maintenance.

[Mike 820]

Hi guys,

Just wondering what you use to keep your road bike shifters/brakes in good working order. More specifically the inner handles and pivots of the shifters/brake levers.
I recently gave them a light spray of GT85 but I got a lot of excess spray dripping down onto the drops.


I found this guide online but it doesnt go into a lot of detail.
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/maximise-you...

Any suggestions for a good oil to use instead?

[Jimbo.]

GT85 can drive out the grease within the shifters, pivots, springs etc. I've always left them. Any apparent "dryness" is more often than not within the cables, which is easily fixed.

If your shifters really do feel that bad, then they're probably goosed. Campagnolo could/can (?) be rebuilt. Shimano and SRAM cannot.

[thiscocks]

Shouldn't need to lube them. My campag ergos have been perfect since I bought them in 2003. Just a bit of soap and water on the outside!

[Mike 820]

Thanks for the replies guys.

There is nothing wrong with them I was just trying to keep the cables nice and smooth. (They are 105 shifters)

[Rouleur]

I've always given the brake lever pivots a light spray of GT 85 and a tiny bit into the mechanism. I get the idea of not blasting the grease out but I only use the smallest amount possible, not enough to result in it dripping out!

My winter hack has mid 1990s 105 on it and still works okay.