I am replacing an STI shifter cable for the first time. I am glad I finally tried this because it occurred to me that while I have always carried a replacement on tour, I have never actually replaced one.

It is probably good to do this now when it is to cold to ride and I have a lot of really smart people at my finger tips.. And if all else fails the LBS is just up the street to bail me out.

Anyway I have removed the old housing and cable. I have cut the housing to the size of the old housing and have started to thread the cable from the shifter to the place where the cable feeds attached to the steering tube.

I was thinking that I should be able to test if things were seated correctly in my shifter so I used the inner shifter to release all the tension on the cable. I took up any slack by pulling slightly on the cable.

I expected the cable to be taken up. I can see some movement but it barely moves at all. How much should the able move then not connected to the derailler?


2nd question

I have inline adjusters. My handlebar bag sometimes interferes with the adjusters. I thought I would flip the whole housing to the adjusters are down near the steering tube. Other than the inconvenience of having to reach down for the adjuster, would I have any problems in this configuration? The adjusters are away from the bike and do not appear to bind in anyway.

1) Each click pulls 1-3mm of cable depending on the exact STI model you have and the # of speeds.
2) Then it's fine

If you can see and feel movement in the cable, you are good. Make sure you return the shifters to neurtral -- i.e. release cable as far as you can (so low gear for front, high gear for rear) before attaching to derailleurs.

If your down tube cable stops have barrel adjusters, the in-line ones are redundant and unnecessary. I have in-line adjusters on two of my bikes only because the downtuibe stops don't accomodate adjusters. So yes, it sounds like you can ditch the in-line ones on your bike.

edited to add: Just reread the op and misunderstood the adjuster question. So no dt barrel adjusters; you just want to relocate the inline ones. You can put the in-line adjusters anywhere along the housing you want.

Sounds like you're doing everything right so far. The cut ends of the housings should be flared enough to eliminate any possible friction from burrs. All of the cable needs to be out of the shifter at the time you attach the cable to the derailleur. I see no reason you can't flip the housing around to move the inline barrel adjuster as long as there is enough space around the barrel adjuster, but I've never worked with an inline adjuster. I wouldn't worry about the amount of cable pull you can see at this point. Everything needs to be in place to realize the correct cable pull. Be sure your handlebar bag does not cause any bends in the shift cables. This use to be a big problem with Backroads' touring bicycles equipped with STI.

Al

Thanks. So 9 clicks is around .35 inches. No way is it moving that far. Should I see the cable being taken up with it not connected to the shifter? Or do I have the cable fed wrong?

It just occred to me that I could go ahead and feed the whole cable and connect it to the derailer, just as long as I don't cut the cable until I know it works.

Do you have 10-speed or 9-speed shifters. A 9-speed shifter only clicks 8 times.

Just take a small file to the housing???

I do have the end caps for the housing, do I still need to flare the housing?

OOps that's right 8 times.

I use an old ice pick to round out the housing ends. The just need to be free of anything that would create extra friction on the cable.

You say in the original post "so I used the inner shifter to release all the tension on the cable".

If you did this after you threaded cable -- i.e. the shifter was not set this way when you threaded the cable -- then the cable could be threaded incorrectly. The shifter needs to be in neutral for cable to thread through and set properly. When cable is at maximum slack, you should be able to see the cable end inside the shifter seated in a cylindrical notch. Another way to test is visually. Compress the brake a bit as you shift and you should see the cable end within this cylinder begin to move towards you within the shifter.

Thanks. What is meant by "neutral" ? Do I start to thread with all of the slack out? All of the slack in? Or somewhere inbetween?

Sorry, the shifter is set at neutral when it is set so maximum amount of cable is released. Basically, for SIS, on both shifters, click the lever behind the brake lever until you can't click anymore (that would mean low gear for front derailleur and high gear for rear). When you, per your original post, "used the inner shifter to release all the tension on the cable", you set the shifter to neutral.

OK I tried it with the maximum released and it still does not seem to be working.

I have Integra shifters. Basically what I did was to let all of the slack out and fed it through the hole and pulled it through. Is there a trick seating the cable?

This is a spare cable that has been hanfing around for a while. I also have a spare for my hybrid. Could I have gotten them mixed up? I compared to the old cable and they look the same to me.

This theoretical argument is space and time wasting. Hook up the cable and adjust the rear gears. If the shifter isn't shifting properly it will show up as you're trying to do the setup. If the cable head was not engaged into the slot it will either pull no cable as you shift, or it will jam after 1 or 2 runs of shifting up and down.

I did hook everything up. How do I get the head to seat properly????

Is there a difference between a hybrid shift cable and an STI shift cable or is that only just in the brakes?

Derailluer cable is standard. If it looks like this, you are good.

https://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...ar+Cables.aspx

There is no trick to seating the cable. As long as shifter was set properly, it should slide in easily once you pull cable through. You need also to make sure the cable routes to the derailluer properly and that all the housing is seating into the various stops securely. Then pull the cable taught and attach to the pich bolt onthe derailleur.

That looks like what I have.

And that is pretty much what I have done but it is still not working.

Just can't figure this one out.

Be sure the cable is routed and attached correctly at the derailleur. When you push the brake lever to the side it should pull cable.
Find the instructions for derailleur adjustments at the Park Tool site: https://www.parktool.com.
Follow the instructions precisely, do each step in proper order leaving nothing out.
If you still have problems come back here.
Are the shifters new or used? Have you used them successfully before?

Al

This is EXACTLY the type of problem for which Co-ops exist. You can go in and talk to ACTUAL PEOPLE, and bring your ACTUAL BIKE, and get this ACTUALLY FIXED yourself for a relatively small fee without any more drama.

You're lucky enough to live in a town with a bike co-op, take advantage of it - https://freeridepgh.org/

(For everybody else reading, here's the list of bike co-ops - https://www.bikecollectives.org/wiki/..._Organizations )

Lets start from scratch:

1. Remove the cable from the bike and put it aside.

Note: if step 1 is ignored then the rest will not work.

2. Remove your housing and any ferules for the ends of the housing.

3. shift your shift levers so that if the cable was hooked up the derailleur would shift the chain to the smallest cog in the back.

Note: This step is vital...so make sure to double check the small lever behind the brake lever will not shift anymore.

4. Thread the cable into the sti shifter. Visually make sure the button on the end of the cable is seated in the little round slot in the shifter mechanism.

5. slide the piece of housing the extends between the lever and the frame stop onto the cable. Be sure to install any ferules onto the ends of the housing if they are needed.

Note: if you cut the housing you may have cut a preinstalled ferule off with the chunck of housing you cut away. You may need to replace that preinstalled ferule with one that slides over the end of the housing.

6. Route the cable as appropriate for your frame. Usually this means the cable will run along the underside of the downtube and through a plastic guide under the bottom bracket shell.

note: install any other housing bits and ferules as appropriate. On most bikes the only other housing for a derailleur cable will extend between a cable stop on the right chainstay and the adjusting barrel on the rear derailleur. You will normally need a ferrule on each end of this piece of housing.

7. Run the cable through the deraileur's adjusting barrel.

8. recheck the ends of the housing to make sure they are seated in their respective stops.

9. Pull the cable tight and secure it to the derailleur with the cable fixing bolt.

10. Check that the shift lever functions correctly by turning the pedals and pivoting the brake lever to shift through the larger cogs.

11. email me for my phone number if you continue to have problems. (jffgreenfield<at>gmail<dot>com)

-j

Hey!!! I think I finally got it! I can see the cable moving now. I am not 100% positive that it will work because I did not completely run the cable. I need to hit the sack.

I think the issue is that it was not seated properly. I am not exactly sure what I did to make to work or why it was failing to seat before.

Things look a lot more promising now.

Thanks everyone!