105 STi 10sp Cable broke, nobble jammed

Aidanw
Aidanw Posts: 449
edited November 2010 in Workshop
Hi,
My gear cable snapped through and I could not work out how to re-sit and fit the new cable so in laziness took it to Condor to let the experts deal with it.

They are telling me that the nobble is jammed in such a way as to be irreparable and I need new shifters...

Has anyone had any luck in getting the broken end of a gear cable out of the housing, or taking apart the shifter to gain access to the internals? It seems insane to me that it should be possible for the broken end of a gear cable to cause such havoc, surely it must be a fairly common failure mechanism!

Thanks

Comments

  • Aidanw
    Aidanw Posts: 449
    Gulp!
    Seems like others have struggled with this and resorted to drilling the lever!

    http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.ph ... ost9048387

    http://gallery.me.com/donlutkus#100162/ ... olor=black
  • Monty Dog
    Monty Dog Posts: 20,614
    It's a common failure mode, but most find it possible to remove the nipple-head from the housing.
    Make mine an Italian, with Campagnolo on the side..
  • desweller
    desweller Posts: 5,175
    Hang on...aren't the barrels removable? Or at least fully articulating? You should either be able to spin them round and poke the nipple out with a screwdriver, or remove the barrel altogether and get it out.

    I can have a butcher's at it if you're anywhere near Acton (or even if you're not that near), not got much on this weekend!
    - - - - - - - - - -
    On Strava.{/url}
  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    Happened to me recently, had to buy new shifters.
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • paultheparaglider
    paultheparaglider Posts: 123
    This happened to me with a 10 speed Ultegra shifter last year. The LBS said the shifter needed replacing.
    I carefully pulled back the rubber hood and could see the broken cable wires in the shifter mechanism. It took a lot of effort to hook each strand out and straighten them enough to keep working back up and down through the gears until I finally got the cable end out. It was a fiddly job, but the price of a new shifter mechanism was a good incentive to put the effort in.
    My guess is you can get the cable out if you have the patience. Good luck.
  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    Not if you can't see it you can't.

    Are you a paraglider pilot by any chance?
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • paultheparaglider
    paultheparaglider Posts: 123
    antfly wrote:
    Are you a paraglider pilot by any chance?

    Yes. How did you guess that? :)
  • antfly
    antfly Posts: 3,276
    Just a stab in the dark.. Me too, i've been doing it for years though not much recently. Where do you do your flying?
    Smarter than the average bear.
  • Aidanw
    Aidanw Posts: 449
    Thanks guys
    Maybe a reason to get Campag next time ;)

    Anyway I found a rh shifter for £70 so I am gonna get that for expediency and will have a go fishing around in the shifter when I get it back from the shop. If I can free it I will e-bay... it is pleasant just to be able to throw money at problems to make them go away!
  • andy_wrx
    andy_wrx Posts: 3,396
    I bought some 2nd hand shifters off eBay for the Winter bike a few years ago and found that the previous owner had obviously removed them by simply cutting-through the cable where it entered the shifter, and had then worked the shifter up and down the gears a few times.

    This had resulted in the cut-off inch or so of cable being pulled into the mechanism and the individual strands separating and fraying and getting into a knotty mess...

    It took me about an hour with two watchmaker's screwdrivers, needlenose pliers and WD40, lots of fiddling and swearing, but I did manage to get the noddle/plum to a position where I could grab it and pull it out.

    And then sent a seriously snotty email to the seller...
  • Mootsboy
    Mootsboy Posts: 10
    Hi

    I offer a rebuild service for all Shimano STI levers.
    Just finished a complete strip and rebuild of Dura Ace 7400 sti with forty moving parts.
    Usually the factory grease clogs them up with years of use but broken cable strands is also a commom ptoblem.
    PM me if you are interested and I will send you details.
  • Hugues
    Hugues Posts: 115
    I've had to deal with two instances of this recently. Here's what's worked for me (all tools are available from Maplins). First remove the shifter from the bars, pull the brake lever back to reveal the innards and wedge it open with a piece of dowel, elastic band or whatever works for you.

    If you can see any strand(s) of wire (pressing the down-shift lever as far as it will go may help) then try and get hold of it/them with either some forceps or electronics tweezers (both are easier and narrower than needle nose pliers), then whilst gently pulling on the wire press the down-shift lever and continue to do so as you pull on the wire. If you're lucky then the "cable barrel" should rotate, you'll see more wire and be able to continue with the process until the barrel is at the top-most point and you can remove the cable nipple.

    If you can't see any strand(s) of wire then press the down-shift lever as far as you can (if you're lucky you may get ~3 clicks movement) and release, then it's a matter of trial and error to fashion a suitable profile hook from a steel probe / spring hook & pick set which you then need to get around the cable barrel and into the nipple wire hole (no easy task), if you succeed then whilst gently pulling on the hook press the down-shift lever and continue to do so as you pull on the pick. If you're lucky then the "cable barrel" should rotate, you'll see some wire/be able to reposition the pick and be able to continue with the process until the barrel is at the top-most point and you can remove the cable nipple.

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