rumrunn6

changed the rear derailer cable on my road bike. This is not a "how-to" post. don't ask me how to do it I can't tell you. well maybe I can

I’ve done this on several older bikes but never on a bike with brifters aka integrated brake shift levers. My downfall was not knowing how to spot the proper positioning of the internal pawls & slot for the cable end. Wound up getting the cable jammed in the mechanism for a little while. Good thing I bought two cables, cuz the first one got a little mangled. Did not damage the mechanism so I went on a 34 mile test ride afterwards. The shifting is definitely more snappy than before the replacement. The cable I took out was not damaged or near breaking but it did have a kink in it. I guess from when the last person installed it, maybe during manufacturing in 2009? I bought the bike used a bunch of years ago & doubt the original owner replaced any parts. He was here temporarily from China for college or an advanced degree & was moving back home so was eager to sell the bike at a good price (for me)

Watched a cpl Youtube videos so I would know what I needed, what to do & what to expect. Some videos are better than others. Some have better videography. Some have a better script & presenter. I think it’s easy to take these videos for granted.

It helps to have a local bike shop nearby in case you have to run out for parts or advice. It helps not to do anything else while you do this. I was constantly interrupting myself to wash/dry our comforter & a cpl pillows at the laundromat in our town. Then also had to help Wifey find her keys because she was panicking, but ultimately found them in her pocketbook. Seriously ;-(

Replaced 1 ferrule cuz it was cracked. Replaced the small section of cable housing at the derailer but not because it was necessary. Wound up removing the two barrel adjusters cuz I unscrewed one & it flew off the bike. Don’t know how all three of the little parts landed together on the floor next to me. That was a close call. But a good opportunity to clean & lube them

Wound up doing a fair bit of cleaning of pretty much everything I touched & was glad to have a full roll of paper towels, windex, WD40, silicone lube & teflon lube & dawn dish soap for my hands. I thought I would use my disposable gloves but wound up not

Thought I was clever using a cell phone bike mount mounted to a nearby bike rack leaning on some snow tires so I could watch my video step by step slowly over & over to be sure I didn’t miss a step. used my clean pinky to activate it

Unfortunately the video did not show a closeup view of how the mechanism should look when inserting the cable & I neglected to take closeup notice before removing the old cable

I found three allen wrenches the correct size for the binding bolt, but one had less play than the others. I’ve been getting the best use out of this little Bell brand tool

I’m always interested in those binding bolts & clamps. There isn’t much to them, but on close inspection there is design to them, so that they work. The little right angle tab is not for holding the cable, it’s positioning the tab on the derailer mount

Interesting how some barrel adjusters work

rumrunn6

rumrunn6

rumrunn6

meanwhile, a year later, I asked my LBS to do the front derailer cable. not feeling guilty. or at least I'm telling myself that

Troul 

Recently did the cabling for the brifters. The shifting slowly gets sluggish from the factory coating in the housing degrading & caking within the housing, followed by the cable itself wearing off its factory coating & corroding. The cable tends to tarnish before it corrodes in the housing, increasing the friction imo.

If I am doing general maintenance that includes the cables, I replace the housings. If it's to get back on the road in a timely manner, only that cable is replaced with a planned maintenance soon after, that will involve replacing the both, the recently replaced cable, & the rest of the other cables with new housings. It may cost a redundant cable, but it provides the reassurance that it will not be a new problem shortly after.

Plus, I look forward to testing out/adjusting the shifting parameters when everything is new for my personal bicycle. For other's bicycles, I dread it... There hardware is mainly the reason as the owner's of those bicycles tend to have inbetweener sized hardware from using wrongfully fitting tooling ie: allen bolts used with torx, metric nuts wrenched on with SAE sockets or sloppy adjustable wrench.

rumrunn6

I was losing strands as it came up from under the BB

rumrunn6

was glad to have my LBS change the front derailleur cable, but not glad I didn't check it, before leaving the shop

looking at it last night, I think I remember putting the rear derailleur in the middle of the cassette, but the chain rubs the cage when it's on the middle & large chain rings up front. so I think I have to adjust the front derailleur cable index setting. I don't think my bike has a front derailleur barrel adjuster so I'll have to adjust the cable length manually at the pinch bolt ... grrr

the whole point of hiring a pro & being lazy, is not having to do this ... oh well

EDIT, yes I do have shift barrel adjusters. I think that's what these are on my Bottecchia 2009 Road Racing Bike Shimano 105, Simano Dura-ace Shift/Brake levers

terrymorse 

This is why I don't like coated cables or housings. The coating always comes off.

I only use high quality, uncoated and un-lubricated, cables and housing. Stainless only.

rumrunn6

Landry's did a rather quick adjustment & all is well with the road bike. funny thing is, I'm getting some significant work done on an old hybrid I was gonna sell. guess I'll be riding it more than expected now