user2

I've been having trouble getting the rear derailleur indexing correct, and my shifter cable housing doesn't look right. Please see details below each of the photos below.

Bike: Kona Sutra 2021, 10 spd bar-end shifter. This is how the housing was installed when I received the brand new bike a few months ago. The housing is Jagwire lex xl housing


Pic #1: Cable is intentionally loose to show problem. Why is there a section of exposed wire on the end of the housing? Here I am pulling on the end of the barrel adjuster with needle nose pliers because I thought it may be a loose ferrule stuck inside the barrel adjuster, but it seems that the ferrule is built into the adjuster and is not removable.



Pic#2: Housing fully seated inside barrel adjuster. The plastic casing of the housing doesn't quite go inside the adjuster. As a result, a kink is created in the housing rather than a bend. Shifting performance is inconsistent.


How do I fix this so the housing is properly seated inside the adjuster? Do I need to cut the housing so that there is no exposed wire and it fits properly inside the adjuster?

My instinct here is to cut the housing, but I'm confused as to why the sheathing was stripped off the end to begin with. Thanks in advance.

dsbrantjr

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/cables.html#cutting

user2

Are you implying that the housing does indeed need to be cut?

I'm confused as to why the sheathing on the end of my housing appears to be "stripped" so I feel like I might be missing something here.

dsbrantjr

The housing needs to be cut, shifting will not be stable with those strands sticking out. It does not matter why the housing was stripped, it needs to be fixed.

bitpuddle

A contract assembler generally builds bikes for a manufacturer and ships them boxed to the bike shop. Unless the shop is very good, they often do very little prep on the bike, particularly on less expensive ones, leaving situations like this. I’ve seen even worse assembly on much more expensive bikes.

That housing needs to be re-cut.

dsbrantjr

You would do well to check all of the housing ends on the bike, brakes (assuming mechanical actuation) as well.

hokiefyd 

I've had lower end bikes shipped with cable ends cut like that. I'm guessing it's the result of some mass production cutting tool or process that leaves the cable end looking that way. In my case, it's a 7-speed bike and indexing is not negatively impacted, and I've never replaced the cable. But I could see how it could be a problem on a 10- or higher speed bike. I'm not sure that the housing would seat correctly in the barrel adjuster even after it's re-cut cleanly. I presume the barrel adjuster is small enough such that it wouldn't accept a small plastic end cap on the end of the cable housing? I think that'd help the cable seat correctly. Perhaps a different inline barrel adjuster that does support end caps would help things?

Inline Adjusters | Jagwire

It looks like you have the "Pro Mini Indexed" adjusters, which support 4.0mm housing with no end caps. The "Sport Indexed" adjusters support shift cable housing with end caps. Perhaps you could reconfigure the location of the adjusters to a straighter section of housing and use those slightly larger inline adjusters while you have everything apart.

thook

reason for exposed wire: my guess based on similar experience would be it's a problem with housing quality. in trying to build up several project bikes, i tried to save myself a lot of money and found a bunch of brake and shifter cables and housing in bulk lots on ebay. i didn't order anything out of china, but it's very likely that's where it was all made. anyway, point is, on the first or second bike i put together, i noticed after a few rides the rear brake started feeling rough when pulled. i took things apart to investigate and found what you see right there!! and, i always cut the ends nice and flat and dress them so they fit square in the ferrule. and, speaking of the ferrule, the hole end had started to collapse and deform, also. as they say, you get what you pay for sometimes.

blamester

Just cut it and if that doesn't work get a new outer.

Andrew R Stewart 

I've long thought that some casing plastic coating will shrink back over time. Andy

user2

I recut the housing and reassembled and shifting performance is excellent now. Thanks everyone for your help.

Sure enough, I checked the other sections of the rear mech cable and they were all "stripped" as well, although not quite as bad as the one at the barrel adjuster. Haven't checked the brake cable housing yet but I expect to find the same.

Thanks for this. Yeah, I don't think there is any room to fit an end cap on the end of the housing inside the barrel adjuster, but it seems to fit okay after re-cutting and re-inserting. If I have further issues down the road I think I'll do as you said and replace the adjuster and locate it in a straighter section. I have a feeling it might kink again over time.

dsbrantjr

Thanks for the feedback; so often we propose solutions and never hear back from the OP whether they resolved their issue or not.

JohnDThompson 

+1 this. And put a metal ferrule over the housing end to help prevent it from happening again.

dsbrantjr

In message number 11, the OP states that all of the housing ends were stripped this way, and that there is no room for a ferrule in the barrel adjuster.

cyccommute 

The sheathing may not have been stripped off. I’ve had that same question for ages from what I’ve seen at my local co-op. I thought it was something that was done at the factory. However, I found the same “stripping” on several bikes that I cut the cable for. I believe that the sheathing shrinks after cutting and when exposed to heat and time. I would assume that there is a limit to how much the sheathing shrinks after it’s been cut…it won’t shrink away to nothing…so cutting it again right behind the exposed wires may solve the problem although I haven’t tested that idea.

thook

it does shrink. as i suspect, may have to do with quality. however, last night working on a recent acquisition, i ran across spare sections of shifter housing and found at least one of them had recessed sheathing. and, it had merely been sitting in the bucket!! it has sram ferrules on it, which may or not be the brand of housing. nevertheless....