Notices
General Cycling Discussion Have a cycling related question or comment that doesn't fit in one of the other specialty forums? Drop on in and post in here! When possible, please select the forum above that most fits your post!

Shifter worries

Old 12-02-22, 11:20 AM
  #101  
prj71
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: North Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,601
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2965 Post(s)
Liked 1,167 Times in 763 Posts
Originally Posted by Lombard
To be fair, age of the bikes mean nothing unless the bike is stored exposed to the elements. As KerryIrons says, how long is a piece of string? Mileage on each of these bikes would be a better indicator of what kind of maintenance needs to be done.



Conspiracy theory noted. cxwrench mostly sees bikes that rack up thousands of miles in a year. If you have bikes that only log 500 miles in a year, then every year would be excessive. If 2000 miles or more, cables once a year would be prudent. 5000 miles a year or more and you should probably replace housings as well as inspect under bar tape for handlebar corrosion. You don't want this to happen to you:
Bikes are always stored in a garage. Since I live an an area that has a winter season and snow on the ground ~November thru April each year...What bike I ride depends on the weather/season. ~April - October my hardtail, full suspension MTBs and road bikes are used. ~November - March is strictly fat bike. Between all of them I average about 4000/miles a year biking.
prj71 is offline  
Old 12-02-22, 02:17 PM
  #102  
Lombard
Sock Puppet
 
Lombard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 1,701

Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Synapse Carbon, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit and too many others to mention.

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1031 Post(s)
Liked 863 Times in 573 Posts
Originally Posted by prj71
The oldest bike, the 2016 hard tail mountain bike, has over 4000 miles on it right now.

The road bike (the one you indicated that I should be having problems with annually because of notorious cable problems with Shimano shifiters) has around ~2900 miles.

Neither are a problem at the moment so I'll keep riding them as is. The obvious part is that I recognize that I don't need to change my cables and housing on an annual basis based on what some guy on the internet says. And as a bonus I keep more money in bank account.
Reading between the lines, the rest of your bikes have much less mileage.

Mountain bike shifters don't have the cable eating problem. Shimano STI shifters of the 5700/6700/7900 generation and beyond have the problem. 2900 miles with no problems? You're very lucky or on borrowed time.
Lombard is offline  
Old 12-02-22, 03:47 PM
  #103  
prj71
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: North Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,601
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2965 Post(s)
Liked 1,167 Times in 763 Posts
Originally Posted by Lombard
2900 miles with no problems? You're very lucky or on borrowed time.
Yup. ~2900 on my 2021 Trek Domane. ~3500 on my girls 2020 Trek Domane. Zero shifting or shifter cable issues. And because of this thread I went out and checked them last night. Nothing wrong.

Also have a friend with the same bike...with even more miles than ours...Same deal...no shifter cable issue.
prj71 is offline  
Old 12-02-22, 05:33 PM
  #104  
Koyote
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 7,767
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6882 Post(s)
Liked 10,873 Times in 4,637 Posts
Originally Posted by prj71
The oldest bike, the 2016 hard tail mountain bike, has over 4000 miles on it right now.

The road bike (the one you indicated that I should be having problems with annually because of notorious cable problems with Shimano shifiters) has around ~2900 miles.
.
As cxwrench and others have noted, mileage (rather than chronological age) is the key variable. Since I'm more into riding bikes than collecting them, my most ridden bikes get more miles per year than your bikes have gotten ever. Hence the yearly (or more frequent) cable replacement.

Garage queens don't need much maintenance.
Koyote is offline  
Old 12-02-22, 05:46 PM
  #105  
Lombard
Sock Puppet
 
Lombard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 1,701

Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Synapse Carbon, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit and too many others to mention.

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1031 Post(s)
Liked 863 Times in 573 Posts
Originally Posted by Koyote
As cxwrench and others have noted, mileage (rather than chronological age) is the key variable. Since I'm more into riding bikes than collecting them, my most ridden bikes get more miles per year than your bikes have gotten ever. Hence the yearly (or more frequent) cable replacement.

Garage queens don't need much maintenance.
Yup. Of my 7 bikes, 2 of them get the vast majority of use.

2000+ per year on my 2014 Synapse Carbon road bike which now has over 16K miles.

1000+ per year on my 2017 Jamis Renegade gravel bike which now has almost 6K miles.

Two of my mountain bikes each get less than 100 miles per year - both purchased used.

The other 3 are gathering dust right now.
Lombard is offline  
Likes For Lombard:
Old 12-03-22, 06:07 AM
  #106  
billyymc2
Newbie
 
Join Date: Dec 2022
Posts: 3
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times in 0 Posts
Originally Posted by Milton Keynes
How often do brifters just "crap out?" Twist shifters on cheap Walmart bikes, yeah, I've seen those crap out and not keep friction or hold their position, but brifters and trigger type shifters are a different matter.
I had one rear brifter "crap out" a few years ago on a ride. Not sure of the right terminology but the ratchet mechanism (I guess pawls?) was worn down so it wouldn't shift or stay in gear. I guess it had about 20,000 miles on it. Probably more frequent cleaning would have helped it last longer.

Last edited by billyymc2; 12-04-22 at 04:04 AM.
billyymc2 is offline  
Old 12-03-22, 06:55 AM
  #107  
dedhed
SE Wis
 
dedhed's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 10,516

Bikes: '68 Raleigh Sprite, '02 Raleigh C500, '84 Raleigh Gran Prix, '91 Trek 400, 2013 Novara Randonee, 1990 Trek 970

Mentioned: 40 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2731 Post(s)
Liked 3,361 Times in 2,034 Posts
When I commuted regularly before retiring it didn't take long to add replace cable when replacing chain annually. 6600 Ultegra


cable frayed at shifter won't allow the cable to release.
dedhed is offline  
Old 12-03-22, 08:40 AM
  #108  
Lombard
Sock Puppet
 
Lombard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 1,701

Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Synapse Carbon, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit and too many others to mention.

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1031 Post(s)
Liked 863 Times in 573 Posts
Originally Posted by billyymc2
I had one rear brighter "crap out" a few years ago on a ride. Not sure of the right terminology but the ratchet mechanism (I guess pawls?) was worn down so it wouldn't shift or stay in gear. I guess it had about 20,000 miles on it. Probably more frequent cleaning would have helped it last longer.
I'd say 20K miles is a good run. I had a 6800 rim brake shifter crap out at 10K miles and a 5800 hydraulic disc brake shifter crap out at only 5K miles. Pawls were toast. Neither was a jam, shift levers moved all the way without clicking.

The 6800 shifter bike has internal cable routing and I was sick and tired of replacing cables every 1500-2000 miles. I switched to SRAM Force 22 which so far as about 2000 miles. Other than a "user error" incident of forgetting a ferrule on the initial installation and having to do-over rear shifter cable after 500 miles, no problems so far.

I couldn't find a matching 5800 disc shifter, so I replaced the pair with used 6800 hydraulic shifters. Since this bike has external routing, changing cables is a breeze, so I stuck with Shimano.
Lombard is offline  
Old 12-03-22, 08:42 AM
  #109  
Lombard
Sock Puppet
 
Lombard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 1,701

Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Synapse Carbon, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit and too many others to mention.

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1031 Post(s)
Liked 863 Times in 573 Posts
Originally Posted by dedhed
When I commuted regularly before retiring it didn't take long to add replace cable when replacing chain annually. 6600 Ultegra


cable frayed at shifter won't allow the cable to release.
Yup! Very common sight! 6600 were some of the less troublesome regarding this problem. Later generations were worse.

Unfortunately, cable fragments often get stuck inside the shifter. There is no way to open up the shifter and remove them. They aren't serviceable.
Lombard is offline  
Old 12-03-22, 09:02 AM
  #110  
dedhed
SE Wis
 
dedhed's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Milwaukee, WI
Posts: 10,516

Bikes: '68 Raleigh Sprite, '02 Raleigh C500, '84 Raleigh Gran Prix, '91 Trek 400, 2013 Novara Randonee, 1990 Trek 970

Mentioned: 40 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2731 Post(s)
Liked 3,361 Times in 2,034 Posts
Originally Posted by Lombard
Yup! Very common sight! 6600 were some of the less troublesome regarding this problem. Later generations were worse.

Unfortunately, cable fragments often get stuck inside the shifter. There is no way to open up the shifter and remove them. They aren't serviceable.
Anything put together can be taken apart. It does take meticulous care and patience. I don't recommend it, but isn't impossible and parts are NA.
It's why I bought an extra set when 6700 came out and they went on clearance many places.

dedhed is offline  
Old 12-03-22, 12:13 PM
  #111  
Lombard
Sock Puppet
 
Lombard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 1,701

Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Synapse Carbon, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit and too many others to mention.

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1031 Post(s)
Liked 863 Times in 573 Posts
Originally Posted by dedhed
Anything put together can be taken apart. It does take meticulous care and patience. I don't recommend it, but isn't impossible and parts are NA.
It's why I bought an extra set when 6700 came out and they went on clearance many places.

https://youtu.be/wJj6dASBMN0
Hmmm. Maybe I'll try this on the set I took out just for S&G's. That way if I eff it up, I won't care.
Lombard is offline  
Likes For Lombard:
Old 12-05-22, 08:38 AM
  #112  
prj71
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: North Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,601
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2965 Post(s)
Liked 1,167 Times in 763 Posts
Originally Posted by Koyote
As cxwrench and others have noted, mileage (rather than chronological age) is the key variable.
So what's the magic mileage that my road bike cables should be experiencing problems?

Since I'm more into riding bikes than collecting them, my most ridden bikes get more miles per year than your bikes have gotten ever. Hence the yearly (or more frequent) cable replacement.

Garage queens don't need much maintenance.
Not even sure what this is supposed to mean. Different bikes for different disciplines. I prefer off road when riding. Road bikes are just a filler because it's easy to ride from the doorstep instead of hauling the bike to the trail.

Last edited by prj71; 12-05-22 at 08:49 AM.
prj71 is offline  
Old 12-05-22, 09:24 AM
  #113  
Koyote
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 7,767
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6882 Post(s)
Liked 10,873 Times in 4,637 Posts
Originally Posted by prj71
So what's the magic mileage that my road bike cables should be experiencing problems?
Sigh. You've apparently been following the thread; can you really not understand this? There is no "magic mileage" since it also depends on how frequently you shift (i.e., whether you live in a flatter or hillier area), luck, etc. This has all been discussed repeatedly. Try to pay attention.

Originally Posted by prj71
Not even sure what this is supposed to mean. Different bikes for different disciplines. I prefer off road when riding. Road bikes are just a filler because it's easy to ride from the doorstep instead of hauling the bike to the trail.
You don't seem to ride any one bike very heavily -- esp your road bikes, which have the types of shifters we're discussing. Again, this has all been discussed repeatedly in this thread. Are you really this obtuse, or are you pulling our chains?
Koyote is offline  
Likes For Koyote:
Old 12-05-22, 09:43 AM
  #114  
Schweinhund
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2022
Posts: 1,393

Bikes: a couple

Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 562 Post(s)
Liked 862 Times in 455 Posts
Originally Posted by cxwrench
. The main reason you replace the cables is because you're replacing the housing. That's where all of the wear that impacts shifting performance takes place.
That explains why I don't break cables or replace housing often, I don't ride the same bike every day.
I also have about the most boneheadedly simple method of lubing the housing and cable without removing the cable. With your bike on the stand, shift into the lowest gear. Pedal so the derailleur aligns with the biggest cog in the rear. shift back to the smallest cog without pedaling. you now have enough slack to pop the housing out of the cable guides and lube the housing and cable, reverse to reinstall.. Do it once a week and your cables and housing will last longer.
Schweinhund is offline  
Old 12-05-22, 09:53 AM
  #115  
prj71
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: North Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,601
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2965 Post(s)
Liked 1,167 Times in 763 Posts
Well This thread has gone all over the place. First I've been told I need to change the cable and housing annually no matter what according to cxwrench. Which is complete bunk.

Then you say "mileage is a key variable" - To a degree this would be correct.

And now we have drifted to "it depends on how frequently you shift and whether you live in a flatter or hillier area - This is probably the biggest key variable.

Seems to be a lack of consistency here is all I am saying.

You don't seem to ride any one bike very heavily -- esp your road bikes, which have the types of shifters we're discussing.
Mountain bikes get used the most, but the road bikes have more mileage on them. I take longer rides on the road bikes than I do on the mountain bikes.

We've come to an impasse and will have to agree to disagree. When and if I start to notice poor shifting, I'll change the cables and housing. But I know with 100% certainty that it doesn't need to be done on an annual basis or biennial basis in my case. That's just throwing money away.
prj71 is offline  
Likes For prj71:
Old 12-05-22, 10:22 AM
  #116  
Koyote
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 7,767
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6882 Post(s)
Liked 10,873 Times in 4,637 Posts
Originally Posted by prj71
Mountain bikes get used the most, but the road bikes have more mileage on them. I take longer rides on the road bikes than I do on the mountain bikes.
You don't make sense. If "the road bikes have more mileage on them," that means that they "get used the most." Mileage is pretty much all that matter for shift cable wear and tear. But wait, you also wrote this, which directly contradicts your above statement:

Originally Posted by prj71
The oldest bike, the 2016 hard tail mountain bike, has over 4000 miles on it right now. The road bike (the one you indicated that I should be having problems with annually because of notorious cable problems with Shimano shifiters) has around ~2900 miles.
So, the road bikes have more mileage on them...except that the mountain bike has more mileage on it.


And you think that the rest of us are "all over the place"? Yikes.
Koyote is offline  
Likes For Koyote:
Old 12-05-22, 11:39 AM
  #117  
prj71
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: North Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,601
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2965 Post(s)
Liked 1,167 Times in 763 Posts
Originally Posted by Koyote
You don't make sense. If "the road bikes have more mileage on them," that means that they "get used the most." Mileage is pretty much all that matter for shift cable wear and tear. But wait, you also wrote this, which directly contradicts your above statement:



So, the road bikes have more mileage on them...except that the mountain bike has more mileage on it.


And you think that the rest of us are "all over the place"? Yikes.
Sorry I wasn't clear. But I ride (use) the road bike once...maybe twice per week. The mountain bike gets used 3-4 days per week. That's what I was trying to say.

Besides...Everyone knows that 10 mountain bike miles is roughly the equivalent of riding 25 road bike miles.

Last edited by prj71; 12-05-22 at 11:43 AM.
prj71 is offline  
Old 12-05-22, 12:07 PM
  #118  
Koyote
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 7,767
Mentioned: 37 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6882 Post(s)
Liked 10,873 Times in 4,637 Posts
Originally Posted by prj71
Sorry I wasn't clear. But I ride (use) the road bike once...maybe twice per week. The mountain bike gets used 3-4 days per week. That's what I was trying to say.
Again, frequency of use isn't relevant to this discussion. Not. At. All.

I think this is why the conversation is so difficult. You aren't even understanding some of the basics, though they've been thoroughly explained.
Koyote is offline  
Old 12-05-22, 01:27 PM
  #119  
prj71
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: North Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,601
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2965 Post(s)
Liked 1,167 Times in 763 Posts
I fully understand the basics. I even fully understand that some of you like throwing away money on unnecessary maintenance.

But hey...You do you and I'll do me.
prj71 is offline  
Old 12-05-22, 05:24 PM
  #120  
Lombard
Sock Puppet
 
Lombard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 1,701

Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Synapse Carbon, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit and too many others to mention.

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1031 Post(s)
Liked 863 Times in 573 Posts
Originally Posted by prj71
Sorry I wasn't clear. But I ride (use) the road bike once...maybe twice per week. The mountain bike gets used 3-4 days per week. That's what I was trying to say.

Besides...Everyone knows that 10 mountain bike miles is roughly the equivalent of riding 25 road bike miles.
Does that mean you do the same amount of shifting during both of these types of rides?
Lombard is offline  
Old 12-05-22, 06:27 PM
  #121  
Lombard
Sock Puppet
 
Lombard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 1,701

Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Synapse Carbon, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit and too many others to mention.

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1031 Post(s)
Liked 863 Times in 573 Posts
Originally Posted by prj71
So what's the magic mileage that my road bike cables should be experiencing problems?
As I and others have already stated, it all depends on how much shifting you do. There is no "magic mileage". I am happy for you that you haven't had any problems with STI shifters eating cables............yet. Which generation of shifters do you have?

And as I have mentioned, if you haven't replaced your housings in some time, it's probably a good idea to at least unwrap your bar tape and check for corrosion - especially if you sweat a lot. This is not something you want to find out about while you're riding - much worse than having a shifter cable break.
Lombard is offline  
Old 12-06-22, 09:29 AM
  #122  
prj71
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: North Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,601
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2965 Post(s)
Liked 1,167 Times in 763 Posts
Originally Posted by Lombard
As I and others have already stated, it all depends on how much shifting you do. There is no "magic mileage". I am happy for you that you haven't had any problems with STI shifters eating cables............yet. Which generation of shifters do you have?

And as I have mentioned, if you haven't replaced your housings in some time, it's probably a good idea to at least unwrap your bar tape and check for corrosion - especially if you sweat a lot. This is not something you want to find out about while you're riding - much worse than having a shifter cable break.
We both have these bikes. Hers is 2020 and mine is a 2021.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...-sl-5/p/28311/

Shimano 105 R7025 and Shimano 105 R7020

We are planning to upgrade the bar tape next summer and I will look at the cable housing then. Being that the bikes are fairly new-ish, I'm not expecting to find any corrosion.
prj71 is offline  
Old 12-06-22, 11:01 AM
  #123  
Lombard
Sock Puppet
 
Lombard's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2022
Location: Planet Earth
Posts: 1,701

Bikes: 2014 Cannondale Synapse Carbon, 2017 Jamis Renegade Exploit and too many others to mention.

Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1031 Post(s)
Liked 863 Times in 573 Posts
Originally Posted by prj71
We both have these bikes. Hers is 2020 and mine is a 2021.

https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/b...-sl-5/p/28311/

Shimano 105 R7025 and Shimano 105 R7020

We are planning to upgrade the bar tape next summer and I will look at the cable housing then. Being that the bikes are fairly new-ish, I'm not expecting to find any corrosion.
Possibly Shimano solved the problem with the 7000/8000/9100 generation? Mine were 5800 and 6800.

Checking under bar tape next summer would be prudent.
Lombard is offline  
Old 12-06-22, 12:10 PM
  #124  
prj71
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2015
Location: North Central Wisconsin
Posts: 4,601
Mentioned: 14 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2965 Post(s)
Liked 1,167 Times in 763 Posts
Originally Posted by Lombard
Possibly Shimano solved the problem with the 7000/8000/9100 generation? Mine were 5800 and 6800.
I mentioned that earlier in this thread but was shot down and told "they all do it"
prj71 is offline  
Old 12-06-22, 04:49 PM
  #125  
cxwrench
Senior Member
 
cxwrench's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Nor-Cal
Posts: 3,767

Bikes: lots

Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1958 Post(s)
Liked 2,932 Times in 1,489 Posts
Originally Posted by prj71
I mentioned that earlier in this thread but was shot down and told "they all do it"
Of course you were shot down because they do 'all do it'. So much that Shimano made it easier to get into the bottom of the shifter to remove the broken cable on 8000/9100. Shimano and Campy shifters have frayed and broken cables since they started making Ergo/Sti levers. I've never had to pull a frayed or broken cable out of a SRAM or mountain bike shifter, and I worked for the first road team in the country that used SRAM, so that goes back to '06.
cxwrench is offline  

Thread Tools
Search this Thread

Contact Us - Archive - Advertising - Cookie Policy - Privacy Statement - Terms of Service -

Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.