Please help! When replacing a rear derailleur cable on Campagnolo bike, when I tried to pull the cable out of the recess on the shift lever I noticed that the cable head is stuck in the recess of the shift lever. I know to loosen the cable with the shifter and I am pretty sure that last time I replaced the cable I used a standard derailleur cable. I have heard that Campagnolo has their own cables with a slighly smaller head on the cable end.

Now it is stuck and I have tried using needle nose pliers to help push the cable out, but it is jammed tight. Has anyone ran into this problem before? What is the remedy? Does anyone have any suggestions?

Did you put a ferrule on it before installing? That'll prevent just such a problem. Ask for them at the bike shop when you get the thing apart. They'll either give it to you or charge you 15 cents or something.

unwrap the bar tape, remove gear cable housing, use needle nose tweezers and wiggle the cable around.

shifter is toast, buy a new one.......


























.... or keep wiggling it around. I find a set of dentist tools great for that kind of work, you can get them at some hardware stores, you should be able to pull the end out with that. I forget if there is a small groove in the recess that holds the cable, but I think there is. Just slide the pick in there, and pull. Dentist tools work great because they are very thin and very strong.

Be glad it is a Campy; In the worst case you can take it apart.

Friday night I spent 90 minutes struggling to get a cable out of an STI. I had just installed it and didn't take a good look to ensure the cable end was seated where it was supposed to be. I started pumping the larger lever and wondering why the cable wasn't being pulled. Then I peered into the side of the STI and saw the cable was wadded up inside.

I've had this problem with my FD shifter. I just yelled insults at it in Italian for about an hour before it gave up and came loose.

I just got into the same issue...I have no clue what the hell happened, but the head of the cable is either stuck somewhere or the shifter is dead because I can't get it to downshift enough...it only shifts like 4 out of the 7 times it should be...I'll try again later but I think that lever is toast..along with a brand new cable...I wouldn't care normally but Alligator I-link cables aren't the cheapest to replace...

^ That's happened to me too with an STI lever. Try putting some tension on the cable as you try and shift through (pull on it with your hand). That freed it up for me.

one of the most important tools in my tool box is a needle tool, basically just a long skinny pokey needle tool. sounds like what you need.

Last resort if the poke-and-pull methods don't work:

VERY small drill bit.
VERY steady hands.

Drill out the CENTER of the cable head. SLOWLY. The cable will push out pretty easily. Don't try to go too deep, and use a tool that you can control well. I've used a small Dremel with no problems. And go SLOWLY...

oh wow. bad advice.

First: no ferrules.
Second: the head didn't seat properly when first installed, this jammed it under pressure and the metal end is likely deformed and wedged.

Try: 1. shorten the cable to a 2 inches, try tapping the end of the cable with a plastic mallet.

2. Remove the ergolever, place in freezer for an hour, then heat it up slightly near a heating vent. Do this for a few cycles. The hot/cold cycles will expand the metals at different rates.

A bit of grease on the cable end when installing helps avoid this.

is this a Ergo lever, or an old school down tube shifter? The head on the cable is Solder. If you can get a solder iron into the head it will melt the solder, then the strands of wire can be removed. You need to insure that the melted solder doesn't go some where that will damage the lever if it is Ergo !!!!

The ends of cables are made of lead which is very soft and easily drilled...just get a bit smaller than the size of the hole and drill the head off. This is why you MUST use Campy cables. I have done this before when my LBS decided I didn't need real Campy cables...I was pissed and told them off. They now know to order the freaking cables and use the right ones on my bikes.

I've done this before. In the future, if you can't get Campy cables, file the sides of a normal/Shimano derailleur cable head down until it slides in and out of the shifter easily (test by sticking the cable in from the front, not from the normal side).

If you look at the spot where the cable head sits, it should be a cup like shape (filled by the cable head) with a small dip in the rim on the outside. Put a dental type tool there (I have some screwdriver which is simply a pointy tip, I think it's some electrical thing), stick the tip of it as far down the side of the cable head as possible and "lever" the head out just a bit. Repeat. It may help to drill a little hole in the side of the head (so the pointy thing has some traction), but I found that it isn't necessary all the time.

Good luck,
cdr

Not a good idea.

Jagwires come with Campy and Shimano ends, but really, any Campy user should have an extra set of real campy cables.

You're making an assumption that may not be true - that a Campy user can or wants to afford to use all Campy parts, especially in consumables. There were times when I couldn't afford to buy any Campy cables, and there are other times where I didn't have my cables with me, like at a race.

Yes, I think it would be a bad idea if someone filed too much of a cable head off, but I think that being able to adapt, say, a Shimano cable that is of otherwise high quality is not a bad thing to do. A rinky dink shop may not have a Campy cable in stock (or they may be asking an exorbitant amount of money for it) but they'll have tons of Shimano cables. Not all of us have a shop or wholesale connections.

For the record I've used a Shimano front derailleur for a very long time on my Campy drivetrain (most of the time, actually). Until recently I used Ultegra brake calipers (I like the QR on the calipers). I have a Miche cassette on one of my wheels. And I've been known to use a non-Campy front hub when building a wheel.

Having said that, I insist on having Campy chains, and yes, I have extra chains and I even have the chain tool. But in 8s, 9s, and 10s Ergo levers, I consider cables to be less critical. I regularly used Shimano cables for both brakes and derailleurs. If I went to 11s, I'd use Campy cables/housing for the derailleurs as that is part of their design upgrade for better shifting. For brakes? I'll use whatever I have when I build the bike.

Since the OP already used a non-Campy cable in an Ergo lever, there is no reason not to point out a way to make such a combination work effectively. This would save such users time and energy in the future.

cdr

Dental tools are really invaluable in a situation like this. My dentist keeps a supply of tools that are not serviceable anymore. He uses them for computer repairs and supplies me with any of them I need for bike repair. Ask your dentist for some of his old tools. He probably has a few hundred that he keeps around just for us. It is even better if he is a biker, because he knows what is needed to remedy the problem.