TallRider

I'm working on a bike with newer 8-speed Sora STI shifters, and I think the bracket piece that holds the cable-head may be broken.

I feed the cable in correctly and it sits where it's supposed to, but the cable head slips out when I wind the shifter to pull cable.

Here are some pictures, with varying degrees of zoom, of the bracket that is supposed to hold the cable head. Does it look to be broken?



EDIT: Here are some pictures with the shifter cable installed.



I insert the cable when the shifter is fully released, and the cable head sits where it is supposed to, against that plastic "wall" and the cable goes through that notch. But sometimes the cable head slides up and over as I move the shift lever to wind the rachet mechanism (so that the chain would move onto larger rear sprockets).

I've seen more coverage (above where the cable head sits) in other STI shifters, so I wondered if some plastic tab broke off, thus allowing the cable head to slide out vertically.

If the cable-head holder part is broken, is there any way to salvage the shifter (which is otherwise quite new and works fine)? Perhaps super-glue the cable head into place, and at least use the shifter until a cable needs to be replaced.
If it is not broken, I may be doing something wrong that the cable keeps slipping out (but I've never had this problem before with STI shifters)

e_guevara

The cable goes in between the notch and the head should stop there. From the pictures, it looks like that the head went behind the notch/stops.

Did you apply tension (pull) on the cable when you test shift (wind) the shifter? Since the cable stop is like a fork, it is the tension from the derailleur spring that holds it against the stop.

Using superglue on the cable head might drip some into the mechanisms inside giving you more trouble.

Edit: Is the shifter full released? Click on the thumb shifter several times to make sure that the gear mechanism has been fully released before inserting the cable.

TallRider

@e_guevara, thanks for your post. I edited the original post to be more clear on the points you raised, and added a couple photos with the cable head installed.
Super-glue might actually do the trick, if I'm able to drip it only onto the area that I want.

dsbrantjr

Super glue does not stick well to many plastics because the plasticizers added to prevent brittleness also interfere with glue sticking. It also needs to be deprived of oxygen in order to cure which implies tight-fitting joints which are not the case here. Maybe some JB Weld might be more suitable but I think it is going to be a long shot getting it to work.

TallRider

Thanks for the tip on super glue. I will use epoxy. The adhesive actually won't be under substantial stress - when there is tension on the cable, the cable head sits tight against the plastic surface. It's only when there is cable slack that the cable head can pop up, so I think the epoxy should be enough to hold.

dsbrantjr

A dab of silicone caulk might work as well and is more easily removed than epoxy.

e_guevara

As I've said before in my previous post, upon installation the RD's return spring puts the cable under tension which seats the cable head onto the holder.

It does seem from the pics that the cable holder in the shifter is pretty scratched up. My old Sora shifters doesn't have this part fully exposed. The cable head goes thru a hole on the side with cable holder behind it, preventing it from slipping out when there is no tension on the cable.

Install the shifter, thread the cable, route it all the way to the RD, and clamp the cable on the mounting bolt. Keep the cable under a slight tension so the head doesn't slip off. Report back on what happens.

dsbrantjr

The last two photos show pretty clearly that something has fractured off of the dark grey plastic parts above and to the right of the cable head, likely the pieces which used to form the "pocket" that the head is supposed to nestle into. I think that the shifter unfortunately may be a goner.

TallRider

I'd tried the route that e_guevara mentions, keeping the cable under tension. (I think I'd mentioned this in post #5 as well - when there is tension on the cable, the cable head stays where it is supposed to.)
However, the cable head can pop out with any slack in the cable, and I thought it better to get a new cable that's plenty long, and use epoxy to hold the cable head in the broken shifter slot. Everything works fine and hopefully will for a few years.

Andrew R Stewart 

Using epoxy or some other glue to secure the cable end into the shifter's spool is not a correct fix in my world. Cables and their ends go through a bit of flex and movement during use. If this movement isn't allowed for (and epoxy/super glue doesn't usually like a bunch of flex) the the "fix" will likely fail.

Have you tried to put this in front of a pro mechanic? If you can bring the bike/shifter to the Franklin Street Clean Machine location they will give you their advice. All Star Bicycles is another good shop to seek help from.

But in the end I suspect you'll be replacing this shifter on your/the rider's dime. Andy.

reptilezs

the cable cradle is broken

bd772

Hello, I'm experiencing same issue so googling landed me here. What solution worked for this? I have a SRAM Red shifter from 2013. There's a thin slit/gap where on the cable drum(?) where the cable head is supposed to rest in. So when the cable is tight, it stays on there, but when on gear that provides slack on the shifter cable, the cable pops out of the "home". I'd post some pics but the forum won't allow it until I have more posts :/

dedhed

If you could access it, you could drill a very small hole across the slot and insert a pin to hold the cable head

bd772

Good idea. I'll take a look again but it's really tight in there. I don't have such a thing drill piece though. I thought about the JB weld option as well. Will it be strong enough to hold the cable head in place?

dedhed

Don't think drill, think heated paper clip. I've often reinforced JB weld with wire strands (copper or bread bag ties). maybe small holes and small piece of thin wire melted into the breaks to loop across and reinforce and anchor the JB weld

bd772

Ahh I really appreciate this. Thank you for taking the time to share your input. I'll post some pics as soon as I hit 10 forum posts.