I have an old awesome Sears and Roebuck city bike I’m trying to restore. It’s fully rideable now and works and shifts the only problem is the shifting lever will never stay in place.
I know there used to be a part on the top that would keep the lever in its respective gear you’ve selected but that is long gone.
Without buying a new part ( since I wanna keep it as original as possible ) are there any solutions you guys have to keep the lever from drifting?
My pops had a wire wrapped about it to make it stay in 1st but I want to be able to shift this beauty.
by z2yzx
2 Comments
If the ratcheting mechanism has failed, you should be able to turn it into a friction shifter that holds its position just by tightening the screw on top very slightly. (test before tightening more).
Very few of these old shifters were indexed, they were mostly just held in gear by friction.
This forum some photos of how these work, the part you are missing is just a plastic cover for the shift lever. It should not affect the function of the shifter.
[https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1175347-need-help-vintage-shimano-3-speed-shifter.html](https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1175347-need-help-vintage-shimano-3-speed-shifter.html)
Shimano 333 shifter and hub are long out of production. A replacement shifter is stupid expensive considering the value of these bikes.
[https://www.ebay.com/itm/306788902314](https://www.ebay.com/itm/306788902314)