it's been a helluva day. about a week ago, in three nice old bikes i bought in a group (two of them, columbus frames), i started with three stuck stems, a stuck seatpost bolt, stuck crank bolt, and these two stuck shift cables. today, i finally freed the seatpost bolt and last of the stems. it took all the strength i had to get that last cinelli stem out of the trek 930 steerer. whew... i'm nearly spent.

so now i'm dealing with the last of the stuck ****. i tried freeze off in the shifters, but it ain't happ'nin'. guess i'll turn to the drill. if you've tried this yourself, fill me in on the how-to, if you please.



it was the left shift cable on both that was stuck.

It's lead.....get a soldering iron up in there to help you clear it out but dont get the alloy to hot. But that may be a last resort.

Just carefully drill it out. Looks like someone used Shimano cable ends on Campy Shifters.

Cut the cable off flush, then use a punch (or nail) equal to or smaller than the diameter of the cable to drive it out. Worked for me.

A soldering iron can't possibly get the alloy too hot.

Yes. Try a punch. The cable was stuck in the brake lever of my Phillips. I gently held the lever in a vice (actually a wood vice), and used a punch and a hammer. Worked great.

+1 on the small nail and hammer.

ooh, i didn't think about a little nail punch. thanks. will do.

Well there ya go then!

I would grab that 15.00 needle-ended kind from radio shack (before it closes). I have one and why it came to mind. This would be one of those "err on the side of caution" posts for me.

Makes me want to check my NR shifters, now.

I had the same problem with the as me suntour shifter. That's a cyclone I believe? I tried all but in the end I had to drill it out. I used a small drill bit first, then a step up making sure not to drift off and hit the inside of the shifter. It will want to do this as you will hit the cable end in the barrel end. Good luck. Cyclones are just so cool.

Two years ago I picked up a cheap Simplex levers described as having a stuck cable end.The PO had mangled the cable before breaking it off just enough to make access to the end itself impossible. I tried punching it out then drilling it out. No go. Didn't try heat lest it melt off the plastic coating on the lever. I gave up.

The one on the left looks like an add-on Sunrace and the righty looks Campy NR.

+1 on Cyclone.

Drill a 1/16" pilot hole. Then increase to just under the size of the actual hole.

Oops. Lefty is indeed Suntour.

I've done it both ways: drill into the little lead knobbie until it sort of falls apart, or cut the cable flush on the other side and use a really skinny nail to push it out.

Nowadays I'm careful to sand down the molding marks on new cable ends so they don't jam into the hole that holds them, but rather fit loosely.

tried the nail bit, but no go ... at least for the campy shifter. i think i did more damage to my thumb than the cable.

ridin' down to harbor freight tomorrow to buy my first rotary tool and drill bits. can't beat $10 for an 80-piece rotary set with polishing fittings too.

I suspect that at some point, all of today's cable vendors have switched from lead to a zinc-based "pot metal" alloy.

I have filed many of them down, and the rate of cut along with the coloration says zinc to me.

It might take a lot of heat to melt these ends, but can't hurt to apply a soldering tip, with perhaps a bit of flux and solder to transmit heat initially.
The heat may loosen the grip on the cable end even if it doesn't melt, and a penetrant can be applied while the parts are still warm.

I usually just use a penetrant before struggling further with stuck cable ends, as often the cable end is inside of an integrated shifter.