"half"- stuck 105 STI/brifter; possible cable issue

[mrfacetious]

I recently changed my gear and brake cables for generics, and managed a beautiful 1800km tour on them with no mechanicals - miracle. When I got home I noticed a bit of shoddiness in the shifting and saw that on the smallest rear cog there was no cable tension at all.

Re-tensioned the cables and was shifting perfectly in the stand, then took it out and within 1km the shifter got stuck, only able to shift between the two largest cogs. It seems to "almost" catch when trying to go further down, but falls short and won't click. I messed with the mech and cable by hand on the road and got it going again for a few hundred metres but the same thing happened and this time it's not giving up.

I have followed all the online guides on flooding with degreaser/WD/lube but the only result is the two available gears now shift better than ever.

My feeling is that the cheapo cable has come unseated at the end or frayed or something and is physically stopping the lever from clicking. But I can't get it out, because it's on the biggest/second biggest ring, so is almost maximally coiled within the lever. Is there any credibility in this theory?

If the cable is the issue, can I manually "unwind" the cable/get it out while it's in the "wrong" gear? It's a 2008 era 105 5600. Bonus points if I don't have to take it to the shop; bonus bonus points if I don't have to take my new bar tape off...

 

[Cycleops]

I should start off by replacing the cable and greasing it, yes you can remove and replace just the cable. Try that first. I’ve got a shifter from the same era and it’s shot but that’s because it was left out in all weathers.

 

[bikingdad90]

Unclamp at the mech to release the tension?

 

[Mr Celine]

There should be no / minimal tension on the gear cable on the smallest sprocket. Was there actually a problem?

Why would you need to unwrap the bars? Only the brake cable goes under the tape on 5600.

 

[raleighnut]

Yep could well be a frayed cable issue but changing the tension has no effect on the lever end of the cable.

 

[mrfacetious]

I've released the cable at the derailleur end, yes. Problem seems to be purely within the shifter.

Sorry - badly worded. There was definitely a problem, the mech wasn't shifting to the largest two rings easily. And by "no tension at all" I mean it was hanging off the frame, slack, so it certainly needed a bit of tightening, even just to take the slack out.

Re: unwrapping the bars, I mean to take the whole shifter off, which I assume would be the next step barring a quick fix

 

[raleighnut]

I've released the cable at the derailleur end, yes. Problem seems to be purely within the shifter.

Sorry - badly worded. There was definitely a problem, the mech wasn't shifting to the largest two rings easily. And by "no tension at all" I mean it was hanging off the frame, slack, so it certainly needed a bit of tightening, even just to take the slack out.

Re: unwrapping the bars, I mean to take the whole shifter off, which I assume would be the next step barring a quick fix

Nah just swap the inner

 

[mrfacetious]

Nah just swap the inner

As in the cable itself? My issue is how to take the cable out without being able to shift into the correct position to do so.

 

[raleighnut]

As in the cable itself? My issue is how to take the cable out without being able to shift into the correct position to do so.

Jer Jer Jiggle it a bit.

 

[mrfacetious]

Jer Jer Jiggle it a bit.

ha! I have a feeling the solution will end up looking something like this... but I've jiggled everything a lot with no luck. I think the ball end of the cable is stuck in its seat and can only be freed when it's clicked all the way down as you would for a standard cable change... but no click = no joy

 

[raleighnut]

ha! I have a feeling the solution will end up looking something like this... but I've jiggled everything a lot with no luck. I think the ball end of the cable is stuck in its seat and can only be freed when it's clicked all the way down as you would for a standard cable change... but no click = no joy

Whip the hood back or whatever it is on 'brifters ' to access the cable then snip the inner where you can see it vanishes into the outer then grab the end of what bit of cable is left and 'cycle*' the shifter to where it allows the nipple to come out.

* or operate if you like the term better, you need to pull on the bit of cable cos the shifter won't work without tension on it

 

[Ajax Bay]

Drown with WD40 (into every orifice of STI). Applying tension (by hand) to cable je-jer-jiggle it up and sooner or later down. Drown some more. Change inner cable to be on safe side. Change outer as well to do the job properly and mitigate future hazard of failure. I would leave cutting the cable (as per @raleighnut comment above) to a last resort.

 

[mrfacetious]

Thanks both, but re. cycling through gears to get the cable out - no matter how much I waggle/tug/grip/shove the cable it's only going between those two gears at the opposite end, leaving the nipple hidden somewhere inside the lever.

Re. drowning in WD40, I've tried for a good 30 minutes and it's vastly improved the two available gears, but done nothing to free the others. Given that the shifters worked perfectly and stopped suddenly I think it's not seized up but more being physically blocked by the offending cable somehow. If I'm right I just need to get the pest out of there without being able to shift

EDIT:
GOT IT! For some reason waggling the outer at the shifter end with a pair of pliers while flapping the lever got it into place long enough to shift down. Decathlon cable out, Shimano cable in...

 

[fossyant]

Never compromise on cables. False economy, especially with road STI due to cable angles.

My 10 speed SRAM equipped MTB wasn't shifting quite as perfectly as it should about 18 months ago, changed the cables and it was like new again. Any drop in performance is ususually cables.

 

[si_c]

If the cable gets stuck in the wrong place it can be a nightmare to get out - the only thing that works is persistence. Glad you got it sorted.