Yokozuna reaction blowup

[rule5]

So, as I roll out today to go for a quick training ride I go to shift up into the big ring and... nothing happens! I pulled over and inspected the FD and cable under the down tube and notice the cable is exceptionally loose. I just installed these cables a few days ago and was expecting some stretch so I just headed back to my apartment to make some adjustments. When I got the bike on the work stand I inspected the entire cable and noticed to my surprise that the front shifter cable had sort of exploded! Right by the stem where all the cables are routed. This was the first time I had installed my own cables and I was wondering if this was my fault? if maybe I had the tension too high or if the way I had the cables themselves routed caused excessive friction to cause this . I will post pictures as soon as I can, so you can see what I'm talking about. I'm actually really hoping this was my fault because the improvement over the stock Sram cables I had was huge! I hope this isn't something the reactions are know for. Also does anyone know if it is possible to purchase single reaction cables/housings? all I have been able to find is the full kits and I'd love it if I didn't have to spend the extra money just for one shifter cable. Again I'll post some photos in a little bit

[etownfwd]

I know that www.competitivecyclist.com has replacement yokozuna reaction cable inners.

I'd be interested to see the pictures since I've been running the same cables on my race bike for the past year without incident.

Good luck and glad to hear that it was just the inconvenience of a derailleur cable and not the scare of a brake cable!

-efwd

[rule5]

So here are some pictures of the shifter housing. Sorry, I know they are crappy phone quality, but its the best I can do for now. And after further inspection, it was just the housing that seemed to "pop" like it was too long (possibly) and under too much pressure and kinked up on it self and blew. i dont know if thats exactly what happened, but in the end I still need a new front shifter cable/housing... dang

[rule5]

I know that http://www.competitivecyclist.com has replacement yokozuna reaction cable inners.

I'd be interested to see the pictures since I've been running the same cables on my race bike for the past year without incident.

Good luck and glad to hear that it was just the inconvenience of a derailleur cable and not the scare of a brake cable!

-efwd

Thanks for the link. And, yeah I'm glad it was the derailleur too, and I was only a few blocks from home, so it wasn't a big deal, but its just a pain. Especially since they are less than a week old. Oh well, I reckon thats just part of the game...

[Doolop]

I think yokozuna reaction cables are cheap and poorly made. I prefer standard shimano/jagwire shift with some sort of compressionless brake housing. I was highly disappointed with my yokozunas.

[Mr.Gib]

That's really strange. That housing is tough stuff. Take a piece in your hand and try to break it - not easy. My guess is there was some damage before installation that failed during use. I was once rear ended and my RD cable housing loop cracked where in enters the RD - more of a clean break, not a lengthwise failure like yours.

[lancejohnson]

I think yokozuna reaction cables are cheap and poorly made. I prefer standard shimano/jagwire shift with some sort of compressionless brake housing. I was highly disappointed with my yokozunas.

Funny... Shimano's shift cables are made for them by Yokozuna...

[Doolop]

Funny... Shimano's shift cables are made for them by Yokozuna...

Doesn't make them the same as the reaction cables.

[Arky]

may be a combination of tight bend and too high front derailleur tension.

[Rippin]

I have also noticed that my set of Yokozuna shifter housings have small cracks on the outer sleeve. I think that the outer plastic sleeve is too brittle and not flexible enough, thus the cracking. I don't think this was purposely engineered this way. Hopefully, in the long-run, the cracking + UV exposure won't mean an early demise of the housings.

To the OP, the failure of the cable could be a combination of brittle sleeve + tight bend + previous damage?
Have you tried to get this warrantied?

[CharlesM]

I can't tell a thing from the pictures...

I googled and searched a bunch and I can't find a single failure like this anywhere... Theres zero to suggest Yokozuna have an ongoing issue.

Given the material, and location, theres virtually no way this happens from simple compression or normal use if installed correctly. There is very little compression between the lever and the cable stop.

I don't think I could do this without effort.

[Zigmeister]

What does Yoko have to say? Or haven't got that far yet to see if they got some ideas, or will just send you a replacement?

[rule5]

What does Yoko have to say? Or haven't got that far yet to see if they got some ideas, or will just send you a replacement?

Yeah, I havent gotten that far yet, I have a race this weekend and I'm just trying to make sure I'll have a a functional bike to ride. But I will probably try to contact them today and see if they will replace them for me. If they don't, I have been looking at the alligator ilinks as a replacement. Whats the word or these? worth it? Whats the difference between the mini ilinks and the regular ones? I don't really want to spend a lot of money on this but I did notice a pretty big improvement in shifting over the stock cables with these and don't really want to go back.

[PainfulChafe]

Funny... Shimano's shift cables are made for them by Yokozuna...

Doesn't make them the same as the reaction cables.

I'm sure they aren't using inferior cables as their name brand offering. You think they are shipping higher quality cables to Shimano and skimping on the ones with their name on it? Perhaps I'm wrong, it just sounds strange when you think about it.

[Arky]

I spoke with a colleague that designs cables and applications for cables. The bottom line is he thought that the cable was kinked. When long lay cable is kinked like this and under load, the strands tend to want to flatten out and burst open the plastic that is extruded over the strands. From the photos, he hypothesized that there is not enough housing between the two ends where it is constrained. When the handlebars were turned during handling the bike, the housing was kinked.