Ultegra 6800 frayed cable

[mvcap]

Please help! Had the rear shifter cable break inside the shifter, it was a bird's nest. Finally got the cable head removed + remaining strands that I could find/see.

Problem is I think Something is still caught in there even though I cannot see it. I went to compressed air trying to blow anything loose that might still be in there through the teardrop opening that the cable enters, as well as underneath. The issue is the large shift lever will still produce a click everytime I depress it but the small lever only catches some of the time. If I bump the hood it will then catch! Any thoughts on how to proceed?

[alcatraz]

Are you sure the hood is not just blocking the shift lever? It happens to me sometimes.

Have you tried to insert a new cable? Does it go through or not?

you could maybe try a new brake cable with a soldered end and see if you can push it through a bit. That is 1.5mm while a shift cable is 1.1-1.2mm. Might give a bit extra pressure. Also try running a cable through the exit hole and see if you can get anything out.

Someone else probably has some suggestions.

[goodboyr]

If you remove the lever from the bars, there is usually a lower access plate that you can remove to reveal the insides. You probably have more remnants to remove and this might expose them. Clicking while doing this will rotate the mechanism to show any wires too. Good luck. As a mtce guy this is probably the job I hate the most.

Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

[mvcap]

Thanks very much for the ideas!

Yes, a new cable does go through without a hitch. Perhaps it is the hood, I will check that as it is definitely not entirely out of the way.

Maybe removing it from the bar will do it, that's a great idea I actually didn't even consider. I saw that plate underneath and will look into that as well.

I swore last time (~2500 miles ago?) I wouldn't wait until it was frayed again, but somehow did. Motivation once I get this sorted out to replace the currently-working cable on my other bike with the same 6800 groupset before I'm back in the same boat!

Thanks again and I will aim to report back once I find the cause

[mvcap]

Ok I think all is fixed. Ran cable and indexed gears and seems (fingers crossed) to be working well.

As an aside, I have previously used basic cables but went with a Shimano Optislick this time at the reco of my lbs. Hopefully it lasts longer, but these shifters just eat cables so it's questionable. Had to give it a shot.

Embarrassed that I think it was indeed the hood in the way, but something that obvious to @alcatraz I had overlooked! Forums are awesome because of the people on them - thank you!

[alcatraz]

Grease works quite well to keep water away. You can try to put a thin coat on your cables before installing them next time.

I'm sure someone has an opinion on what's best. I never had to worry anout corrosion but I have had friction issues.

Is it possible your cleaning products or sweat are finding their way into the shifter body? I'm wondering how a cable can shear after 2500miles.

/a

[jekyll man]

Grease works quite well to keep water away. You can try to put a thin coat on your cables before installing them next time.

I'm sure someone has an opinion on what's best. I never had to worry anout corrosion but I have had friction issues.

Is it possible your cleaning products or sweat are finding their way into the shifter body? I'm wondering how a cable can shear after 2500miles.

/a

Obviously you've never comes across later shimano shifters or the many threads regarding them snapping cables in the shifter....

[vejnemojnen]

AFAIK, concealed cable routing shimano shifters prone to fray cable ends. Therefore, some recommend prophylactic cable changes on a regular basis

[alcatraz]

I thought sram shifters were prone to screw up the cables with their finicky turns they take in the shifter before exiting.

The ultegra 6800 shifters are maybe exempt from this problem are they. I serviced a friends bike and the install was a breeze, went around 10kkm on the old cables I think.

Thanks for the warning though. Didn't know shimano had this tendency.

/a

[Caadnme]

I thought sram shifters were prone to screw up the cables with their finicky turns they take in the shifter before exiting.

The ultegra 6800 shifters are maybe exempt from this problem are they. I serviced a friends bike and the install was a breeze, went around 10kkm on the old cables I think.

Thanks for the warning though. Didn't know shimano had this tendency.

/a

Late Shimano shifters are known for this issue. You can blame SRAM for some noize or whatever, but I have many bikes built with SRAM 10s and 11s, never had an issue with frayed cables. I only replace cables when outer liners get worn out and shifting gets less sharp. My CAAD9 commuter has 10s Red that I shift constantly in city traffic for 40 km each day, every day. The cables are there since at least 3 years, more than 15 000 km on this bike. No sign of cable damage yet, shifting as good as it gets. My foul weather SuperX single shift cable gets replaced more often because it gets exposed to more contamination, but that is an other story.

[alcatraz]

Cool. I also use mostly sram on my bikes.

/a

[NickJHP]

All modern shifters eat cables. Here's the original cable from a Chorus Ergopower 11s shifter of mine after less than a year of use:



And I have another bike with SRAM Force 22 shifters and found those starting to fray after about the same length of time. A far cry from the days of DT and barend shifters, where the cables seemed to last almost indefinitely.

[kman]

The first generation of hidden-cable STI levers from Shimano are by far the worst I have come across.

For comparison, I cabled up a set of 9s Ultegra levers the other day for an old CX bike - both gear and brake cables were absolutely simple to slide through the shifters.

[Dan512]

The first generation of hidden-cable STI levers from Shimano are by far the worst I have come across.

For comparison, I cabled up a set of 9s Ultegra levers the other day for an old CX bike - both gear and brake cables were absolutely simple to slide through the shifters.

Agreed! I run 3x9 STI Ultegra on my winter bike, I think it must have at least 15 years oon them by now. Never have changed the shifter cables. I grease them once a year and roll on.

[Bigger Gear]

The 7900/6700 shifters were very hard on cables, I had to extract a broken rear cable out of 7900 shifters on multiple occasions. Things are better with the new gen 9000/6800 and 9100/8000 in terms of the force imparted on the cable as it is wound in the shifter. However, Shimano also changed to the polymer coated cables at the same time, and these cables are definitely more fragile than a traditional cable. One local shop says ~3000 km is a good time to replace the polymer inner wire for the rear shifting.

I'm going to test 9100 shifters using a Yokozuna stainless inner cable. These are not coated but have very good finishing and with a bit of Shimano SP cable grease they slide very well in SP-41 housing. I"ve used them on 7900 with better cable life, so I'll see how they work on 9100. Also, Jagwire makes its Pro and Elite super slick inner cables that high polish with no coatings. They might also be a good choice but I"ve never tested them.