prj71

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.

Lombard

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.

prj71

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.

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.

Lombard

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.

billyymc2

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.

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.

Lombard

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

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.

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.

Lombard

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.

prj71

So what's the magic mileage that my road bike cables should be experiencing problems?

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.

Koyote

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.

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?

Schweinhund

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.

prj71

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.

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.

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.

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.

Koyote

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.

prj71

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.

Lombard

Does that mean you do the same amount of shifting during both of these types of rides?

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.

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.

Lombard

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.

prj71

I mentioned that earlier in this thread but was shot down and told "they all do it"

cxwrench

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.