D.J.M.

So I just tore the shifter cable inside my 105 shifter.

Now.. is there something I would need to do for the shifter to start moving the wire?

I've inserted a new wire while at the lowest/smallest cog setting, and nothing happens to the wire if I pull it in place and try to upshift. The shifter isn't pulling the cable in.

What do I need to do?


Thanks for reading :-)

D.J.M.

Looking at the shifter now there seems to perhaps be some cable rolled up inside the shifter, I can only make 2-3 shifts up and down.

How do I extract this end of the cable?

DrPete 

That sucks. I've not opened up a pair of Shimano levers, but you probably need to open them up to get that piece of cable out...

ok_commuter

I just watched a mech fix that same problem at a race last night with the 10 speed Dura-Ace. It seemed a lot easier than it is with my 9 speed DA, which you have to open up as DrPete suggests to replace the cable. It's not that big a deal, but you DO want to know what you're about to see before you start unscrewing things.

If you have to take out the tiny screws to remove some trashed wire, I recommend the Shimano website. Their technical manuals are online as PDFs and are extremely detailed and clear.

D.J.M.

Thanks. Uhm... dang.

So.. is that an uncomplicated or complicated affair? How is it best done without risking to ruin the shifter? I'm NO mechanical wiz.

And why ON EARTH isn't there a better design to allow for this NOT to happen..

rankin116

I don't understand.

If you replaced the old cable with a new one and it still doesn't shift, I would say your shifter is done. If there is still cable stuck in there, you will have to find a creative way to get it out.

How did you do this is the first place? Tearing a cable is serious business, I can't imagine that happening outside of a serious crash.

D.J.M.

There is cable left inside.

The shifter refuses to shift down all the way because there is nothing pulling the old, residual cable out from inside the shifter...

Seems my shifter virtually CUT the cable inside the shifter. There was no cable sticking out of it.
This has happened once on each of my bikes, both with 105.

Why did it happen? No idea. I was in my LBS getting the cassette fastened on my new wheel and downshifted to more easily take off the rear wheel. On my way out and up a hill I had to downshift from the heaviest gear, *CLICK* and no action. Cable torn off.

55/Rad

I had a similar situation earlier this week...

https://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=540698

D.J.M.

55/Rad, sounds like the same thing happening here.

I can see the frayed end from the outside of the shifter when I pull it inwards.. But haven't got any tool to grab hold of it though..

D.J.M.

Well well.. Off for some vacation soon. Thought I would be able to squeeze in a bike ride first, no luck though..

Thankfully my holiday bike is waiting for me back home, hopefully trouble free.. and I'll get my LBS to get that cable with head out once I get back..

ok_commuter

Nah, cables wear out eventually. The one I saw last night looked horrendous, but no crash was involved. It was still shifting, but inconsistently and sloppily.

umd

You've never broken a shift cable?

ericm979

Cables wear out. When they do, the individual strands start breaking. They break where they are bent. Tighter bends means they break quicker.

Shimano STI shifters have a small diameter pulley in the shifter that the cable bends over. So that's where they break. I recommend replacing the cables at least once a year... Twice if you ride a lot. I replace the housing every other cable replacement.

With some Shimano shifters such as 7800 there is an access hole in the cover over the shifting mechanism. You can shift to a low gear, pull the lever and look in the access hole to inspect the condition of the cable.

When the shifting starts getting inconsistent that often means that there's a few strands broken and they are hanging the mechanism up.

rankin116

No I haven't. But from reading this thread I guess I'm due.

umd

I've broken a bunch with Shimano 9-speed 105... Actually had lots problems with that junk... But only once with SRAM and it was because I messed up the Nokon inner liner, caused a sharp bend under the tape with a gap between the metal segments and the cable sawed through the opening until it broke

aicabsolut

I've gotten a piece of cable stuck in the shifter. It is a huge pain, but with some tweezers, a piece of old cable, and a lot of WD-40, it is possible to get it out of there. Try shifting the lever (with no new cable in there) to get the barrel thing to rotate around, exposing the caught piece of cable. It may not shift far in the right direction (b/c it's stuck), but get it as close as you can. Then use the old cable (such as an unfrayed bit of that broken cable) to try to poke it out from the other side. Grab exposed bit with tweezers. Flushing all parts of the mechanism with WD-40 may help.

I thought I was going to have to buy a new shifter (you can't really dismantle and re-assemble a Shimano shifter so well), but eventually the thing came loose. It's probably the little knobbed end that's making it get stuck.

D.J.M.

I'd say don't flush with WD-40... that would probably flush the grease that lubricates the mechanical innards of the shifter. Probably not a good idea?

Anyway, thanks for your input everyone.

I'll let my shop take care of it :-)

Grumpy McTrumpy

why not use compressed air?

mindundi

I had the same problem and I resolved it just inserting a plastic cap between the wire and the lever, a similar cap that you can see between the cable and the cable tension adjuster, so the cable tip doesn't touch the lever.

D.J.M.

Thanks for the input.. I came to my LBS the other day for my frame swap and mentioned the wire problem. I got a silly look, and the guy at the LBS fixed it in less than five seconds. Downshifting and luring the stuck head with wire out using a simple flathead screwdriver.