Help!!! With Shifter cable

Picked up my buddy and headed to Oaks. We get to the trail head and I go to shift gears but nothing happens.

I look down to find the shifter cable housing slightly pulled away from the barrel. In my attempt to shift, the cable is now a tangled mess inside the shifter which also popped the cable replacement screw dust cover off.

I think I know how this happened. I hang my bike from the rear wheel. It hangs right over the kids bikes. They don't care what their handlebars snag, they just yank harder to get their bike free!!! Love my kids.

I've watched videos on how to replace the cable. Apparently I need to shift to the lowest cog before I remove the old cable, otherwise there is no clear path to insert the new one. I CAN'T SHIFT SH!T!!!!

What do I do? Take it to the bike shop and hope they can figure this out before Friday? I leave for Mammoth Friday morning. GRRRRR!

 

If you are uncertain about what you're doing (and working on a tight timeline) I'd take it to the pros. A few extra bucks for piece of mind - and to save a trip to Mammoth!

 

1) Release the cable at the derailleur and then cut it right there.
2) Now you separate the shifter cable from the shifter housing, so pull the cable all the way out of the cable housing.
3) Shift the shifter to the fastest cog setting.
4) Remove the shifter cover (if you haven't already) and cable routing hole nut (if the shifter has one) and then back the old cable out. You may need to use a pick tool or a small flat screw driver to guide the cable end out of the shifter body in the beginning.

 

What snake said. Or...

Considering the circumstances I might replace the shifter and fix the old one if possible at leisure for a spare for next time it happens. (If it’s dirt-cheap 11-sp and/or the shifter is down the road.)

 

Could I have damaged the shifter? It’s a 12 speed.

 

I think it’s possible. I don’t know a lot about shifters. Just that they are precise gear that the dumb derailleur takes orders from.

My shifter was on the fritz. The action became ridiculous. I almost threw it out but a small chunk of metal eventually fell out of it, now it works well again.

My guess is your shifter will be fine once you get the cable out.

 

Time for a new bike...

SRAM AXS this time.


Sorry for the smartass response. Do what they said above. Cut the cable at the derailleur. It will automatically move to the lowest - most outboard position. Disconnect it at the shifter and pull it out from the shifter end of the cable. Hopefully, you will be able to snake the new cable in through the internal cable routing without issue. DO NOT pull the cable housing out of the frame! Then make sure you release the trigger shifter all the way (little trigger) before you try to reattach it to the shifter.

Then punish your children.

PS: You should use cable cutters designed for the task rather than run of the mill dykes or wire cutters. You probably know this already.

 

DO NOT......and I REPEAT.....DO NOT pull the the cable housing out of the frame.

I take it we are talking about Shimano?

Like others have said, loosen the cable clamp at the RD.

Pull the housing away from the shifter.

You should now be able to click the shifter back down to the first gear. If not, pull on the cable a little bit just to give it some resistance.

Pull the cable out of the housing. Push the cable out of the shifter. Replace by going the opposite.

Don't worry about the dust cover. They fall out all the time.


If you don't wanna deal with this....take it to the shop you bought it from and have them sort it out.

 

Thanks guys! I bought it from Jenson and it’s a longer drive than I’d like to take, I’m in Cerritos. I’ll try and have it fixed locally or just source a cable and try it myself.

should I stick with optislick cables or does it not matter?

@mtnbikej yes, shimano xt 12 speed

 

Sorry I have no idea where Cerritos is but if your not far from Mission Viejo then you are more than welcome to bring your bike and a replacement cable round to mine. I've got a stand etc and the tools you need. More than happy to show you how to fix it up

 

If you have the time @solislbc I would jump at this. Bike shops are booked 1-2 weeks out right now.

 

Thanks everyone. Especially Lost Kiwi for offering.

I was able to get it taken care of immediately at my local shop, 3H cycling in Artesia.

Explained my dilemma to the owner and he hooked me up in 15 minutes at a very reasonable price!

 

Sweet! It’s awesome when a shop will do that for you!

 

Awesome. Did you get the chance to "see" them fix it? Be great to learn something out of the experience...

 

I did. It was a bit more complicated than we all thought it would be. I had problems with the lower gears from the very beginning that the barrel adjuster would not resolve. He put an alignment tool on the derailleur to see if it was cocked and the cause of the skipping. Sure enough, is was a bit off angle.

My guess is Jenson, like any other shop right now is just throwing bikes together and not really checking proper adjustments before they release to customers. In their defense, Jenson did offer to help fix the bike, however, I would loose at least 3 hours that I don’t have right now. It would have been a real inconvenience to drive 45 minutes to Corona on Thursday and hope they could fix it that day while I wait.

bike has never been dropped or crashed, it was off from day one when I was riding the neighborhood with my kids. I just dealt with it. Maybe it wasn’t my kids that snagged the cable???

 

Btw...has anyone used top tube adapters to transport their bikes? I’m looking at the Yakima for my upcoming trip. How sturdy are these with a bike that has a dropper post? I’m thinking I can clamp it below the collar. There is about an inch and a half or two between the seatpost collar and the frame.

would you trust the weight of the bike on the seatpost?

 

I used to have to use a faux top tube for my rack. They hold the bike under the stem and under the saddle. Though not ideal, they work fine. Watch that your tire doesn’t hang in front of the exhaust pipe. You won’t like the result.

 

Especially if you have carbon rims....