Rear mech cable replacement mileage

1964johnr

Having snapped a rear mech cable in the shifter under the mechanism which resulted in me buying a second hand tiagra shifter from ebay for £ 27 for my winter bike, I want to avoid the same problem on my carbon shimano 105 equipped summer bike. It has now completed 3000 miles and I am wondering if it's time to replace the rear mech cable. Any advice on what mileage to renew the cable would be appreciated. I have lubed the cable on a regular basis, but haven't touched the mechanism.

cooldad

As they cost pennies, if it bugs you change it.

I normally change mine when they start feeling gunky, and do inners and outers, but have had cables on some bikes for years and years without hassles.

redvee

It's usually the loop of outer at the mech that dictates the time for a new cable for me. I've had 5700 shifters and not had a cable fail yet despite knowing others having theirs fail in the shifter.

sgt.pepper

cooldad wrote:

As they cost pennies, if it bugs you change it.

I normally change mine when they start feeling gunky, and do inners and outers, but have had cables on some bikes for years and years without hassles.

This. I've only ever really needed to change cables once the ends have rusted and frayed. I think it depends quite a lot on the conditions you live in and how they're stored.

milemuncher1

I’ve had lots of cables fail inside Shimano Brifters. It’s a massive PITA, because you have to extract the bit that’s stuck in the Brifter before you can replace the cable. I’ve developed a cat like sense of when the cable feels like it’s about to give up the ghost now. If they last more than 5000 miles, it’s unusual, so if they make it to 5000 miles, I change them anyway.

cougie

Never had any cables fail. Usually I'll only replace them if I swap the kit around from one bike to another.

clickrumble

I had a cable fail on my 105 11 speed shifter after only about one year of use. Someone suggested that the shimano cables as originally supplied are coated with ptfe which eventually flakes off and causes the cable to bunch up. For the amount of effort versus the woe of having the cable fail on the road I change mine every year now.

robbo2011

Not much help to you but I have done over 40'000km using the OEM cables that came with my SRAM red groupset. Still working perfectly.

Seems like there is a weak spot with Shimano mechanical groupsets if the cables fail so quickly. If you are a Shimano user, regular replacement after 5000 miles seems like a good idea

milemuncher1

robbo2011 wrote:

Not much help to you but I have done over 40'000km using the OEM cables that came with my SRAM red groupset. Still working perfectly.

Seems like there is a weak spot with Shimano mechanical groupsets if the cables fail so quickly. If you are a Shimano user, regular replacement after 5000 miles seems like a good idea

Spot on. The Shimano Brifters seem to chew through cables much more readily than SRAM, in my experience. The 5700 10 speed are far worse for it as well, I’ve not had the same problems with the 6800 Ultegra, or the 4700 Tiagra set ups.

bondurant

Brifters?

cooldad

Brake levers and shifters combined.

veronese68

Only change mine when they feel bad. Originally built the CX bike I use most days with the cables that came with the 105 groupset. They felt horrible fairly quickly riding on and off road in all weather. Replaced them with XTR cables that have better sealing ferrules and haven’t replaced them since, probably about 8,000 miles on them.
I don’t lube my cables, I find it can attract dirt and make them stick more.

Matthewfalle

cooldad wrote:

Brake levers and shifters combined.

Also known as Shakes.