SDHawk

I bought a 1993 bike with a 105 brifter. The right 8-speed wouldn't shift and further inspection showed that the cable head is not in the proper spot. It's "overshot" the spot and is "stuck" within the shifter. I've tried jiggling and twisting, mostly in the highest gear (least tension, where the install hole lines up) but I cant get it out. There IS some play, so it's not jammed stuck.... more like blocked from coming out.

Any tips on other things to try? As I said, I've mostly tried in the high gear position since that brings the head closest to the opening.

mpetry912 

you "might consider" a new cable.

Cut the old cable with about 2-3 inches left as a tail. then you are going to have to push the stuck head out of its recess in the winding drum

use pliers, you can wiggle it around until it comes loose.

make sure that the shifter is in the "relaxed" position with no tension on the spring.

and when you put the new one in, wipe some grease on the end !

/markp

roadcrankr

Looks to me like somebody attempted to remove the cable from the entry point.
Makes me think if you can re-insert it so it comes out the left side of the shifter.
Then pull on the cable until the head returns to its starting position.
If that fails, cut the cable two millimeters from the head and hope for the best when you shift to high gear.

oldbobcat

I like your understatement.

An awl or dental pic might help to push it through, too, and remove any stray strands. An old spoke sharpened on a bench grinder makes a dandy dental pick.

SDHawk

Ha, yah that cable was already cut in the pic. I more or less tried what you suggest, but will keep trying. I *think* the head is free but is just obstructed from coming out.

Yes, I pulled through the cut cable so that I could have a more direct path to the head and hopefully wiggle it out. I tried to pull it out when it had been routed through normally and it seemed less promising than current configuration. It def doesn't pull to the normal position. As I said, I think it somehow became pushed past that and is blocked from getting back to that spot.

I don't love the idea of leaving the head bit in there.... seems like it will screw up sooner or later?

Thanks. I will try a few things.

SDHawk

Here's an update. I wiggled, jiggled, poked and prodded for a loooong time but that thing was NOT coming out. My last shot was to disassemble the brifter, which I had no experience doing. I found this video from RJ the Bike Guy and gave it a shot.


Once I had the shifter off the bike and the big shift lever removed, it was easy to take out the end with the head. Putting it back onto the bike was challenging, especially getting the tension spring to stay put and in the right position. I am nothing if not perseverant. Happy to report that I installed a new cable and the shifting is great!

Not the first time that RJ's videos have come to the rescue, props to him.

Here is a pic of the bike. 1993 Trek 2200. Yes, I need to rotate the HBs downward a bit