Internal cables and planet x

[BigAl68]

What a waste of time and energy planet x put me through yesterday..

I have an RT58 and had decided that I was going to have to change the rear mech cable as it had frayed and was holding on, just. I decided that whilst doing this I would fit a lovely set of red jagwire cables and housings at the same time. Purchased the set, checked online for advice and was worried about internal cable guides etc so contacted planet x for advice.

Sorry sir that frame doesn't have internal guides so be careful how you go about doing this. YouTube suggested getting some cable liner and then carefully thread this back over the old cables then things are fairly easy. After numerous calls to bike shops no luck so plan b was to go to a fishing shop to buy similar rig tubing.

After a whole heap of running around to get the tubing and then carefully trying to thread this it turns out the frame does have internal guides. So if you ever need to do the same just ignore the useless advice from planet x and don't waste any time or money on stuff you don't need.

Bike looks lovely with the new red bling and shifts are silky.

 

[youngoldbloke]

Not trying to give PX any excuses but maybe not all RT58 frames are the same? For example Ribble winter bike frames appear to come in a number of different varieties, depending on age, the only thing in common being the colour

 

[cyberknight]

My rear brake on the baordman has internal routing and theplan is let the LBS sort that one out , not enough time in the day to ride let alone fiddle about.
I do nearly all my repairs etc including cables,BBs etc but i dont intend to feck about .

 

[BigAl68]

Not trying to give PX any excuses but maybe not all RT58 frames are the same? For example Ribble winter bike frames appear to come in a number of different varieties, depending on age, the only thing in common being the colour

I told them how old the bike was and they specifically put me on hold and checked with the mechanics who told him no they come with a piece of string threaded through the frame that they use when initially setting the bike up. I didn't have issue with this as some frames do and some don't have internal routing and I was happy either way. The issue is being given duff information and the bike not having an owners manual or an online pdf version to refer to and then the subsequent waste of my time, effort and cash.

 

[antnee]

I have the same problem as the first post a Planet X RT 58 Ultegra on this thread and wish I'd read it before starting on fitting new cable I carelessly started to remove the rear Internal derailleur cable and suddenly thought how am I to thread the new one through, I quickly pushed it back and of course because the cable is frayed It won't push right out though the exit in the chain stay Will post some pics And hope some one can offer some sound advice
Many thanks
And why ever did I think that internal cabling looked the bees knees! as It seems a pain to replace as mine seems to have an inner plastic tube it runs through which makes it awkward

 

[Ajax Bay]

of course because the cable is frayed It won't push right out though the exit in the chain stay

But your new ie replacement cable wont be frayed.

 

[antnee]

Yes Ajax your right of course. I have now got it all treaded through After trials and tribulations The worst part was trying to remove the nipple end from the ST-6800 lever assembly as that was on its last legs too as the old cable was badly frayed were it wraps around circular channelled disc, Plus bits of the old cable that had frayed and become detached were still lodged in the outer black housing so it was difficult to push the new one through were it channels under the handle bar tape As to the main down tube outer cable it was attached so it was just a case of pushing it though still all I have to do now is tighten it up to the RD mechanism and hopefully that will be dare I say it "simple"
Oh I found I was unable to do some of it on my own some of it was far easier with two of us
It has taken me about three hours so far I do find it hard to believe that only after about 3,000 the cable had frayed so badly at the Lever end

 

[antnee]

Cheers. Here's what the Shifter cable looked like I couldn't believe it. Bike is only just barely 13 months old Now having mess about With the Front Derailleur as had to release it to see up into down tube Before I found out about the inner plastic tube (which the shifter cable runs in seems to be attached ) making it dare I say it relatively easy to thread through I wouldn't have thought the cable would be this mangled after 13 months. the one I put in was a stainless Clarks one which I did lube up with silicon juice

 

[Ajax Bay]

That's appalling and atypical. It'd be worth seeing if you can examine the inside of the ST-6800 to see what might have caused that wear (can't have been good for smooth shifting either). I'd understand if you were now reluctant to pull the cable out again to do that, but at the least put a mark in your diary for September (say, YMMV) to release both cables, pull the nipple well out, check for wear, lube and refit/index. Take it you're comfortable that the outer is properly housed in the STI - the fraying looks that sort of distance away from the nipple.

 

[migrantwing]

Take it you're comfortable that the outer is properly housed in the STI - the fraying looks that sort of distance away from the nipple.

Most definitely.

I had a similar problem with my rear DR cable last week. The nipple that sits inside the STI had actual moved from inside the channel where it is supposed to sit. The rear DR locked up, couldn't move the STI at all and actually thought I'd broken it somehow. The only fix was to cut the RD cable and carefully thread the cable back out with some needle nosed pliers.

The little plastic cover that is (supposed to be) held place by a little screw had come away, so nothing was covering the cable channel to hold the nipple in place. I understand it's not the same exact issue that the OP'er has/had, just a heads up to everyone to check STI's regularly to make sure all is sound and correct.

 

[antnee]

Yes I am reluctant to pull cable out after the performance fitting it But will be sure to check in in a couple of months , as to the were being some way from the nipple Perhaps it was due to not being seated correctly in that plastic runner but there didnt appear to be any damage to it plus to shred the cable like that It must have been something much harder When fitting the cable we did trace the route of the cable as at first we couldn't even see where nipple housing was located It was only after going on line and seeing one being stripped down did we see it Ok I know stuff today is more technical but these Levers are quite complex

 

[Tojo]

I've had to replace cables on two of my mates bikes with exactly the same cable failure in the shifter, when I took a closer look it seemed that the coating on the shimano cable had frayed and restricted the routing, after that I replaced my own ones with stainless cables......
I think, if I remember correctly that there has been posts before on here about the same shimano coating fraying and gumming things up....

 

[antnee]

Yes I as I said I put a stainless cable in now and checked the front FD lever shifter wire which looked ok so Lets hope thats the last of it for a while but will be sure and check both Shifter cables later in the year !

 

[Tojo]

Just replaced another shimano RD cable yesterday, same as others, snapped in shifter and outers gummed up with coating from cable......

 

[antnee]

apparently the Shimano 6800 Ultegra cable is Stainless steel wound with a polymer wrapped strands for smooth shifting "supposedly better" see http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-ultegra-6800-road-gear-cable-set/rp-prod127586
I wonder if this is the stuff that I had to clear out ( sort of a woolly stranded stuff ) prior to fitting the Clarke's stainless Cable