Internal cables and planet x

[Tojo]

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

Yep, that's the stuff, I've replaced a few and they all snapped in the shifter and the cap ends of the outer cables were all choked up, after doing a couple I replaced my own which were new.....

 

[antnee]

Well perhaps this indicates that there is room for improvement in the polymer coating world , going back to CRC's blurb about them they give a 3 year warranty it seems ,though I haven't read any of the the reviews. But I will just get the stainless ones now

 

[antnee]

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.

Your right about this post of yours when you said make a note to look at the nipple end of the cable this month as didn't do it last year as hardley did ant riding due to injury Broken heel bone so any way on a ride last Sunday suddenly I can't get any rear gears so came back home 30 miles on two gears good job there were no hills to speak of so on checking the ST6800 lever find I'e got the same problem as in 2016 So am having to replace cable agian and I can't find a decent picture of how the cable nipple fixes in its housing in the shifting lever any body any ideas Thanks

 

[pawl]

I have a Planet X Ultegra geared bike.All cables are external thank goddess I had comments on CCthat it makes the bike look untidy and external cables affect the aerodynamics.

Personally I would not buy a bike with internal cables until someone comes up with a method of making the job easier Looks like I will be keeping my older bikes on the road until they nail the lid down on oak box

 

[antnee]

Well Replaced another Rear derailleur cable frayed badly at the nipple end though had no problem threading it through the frame there was some internal cable in the frame as it threaded straight through I was amazed as last time I did it, it took an age something I was doing right this time though did make sure new cable was well lubricated So does anyone else have this prolem with the cable fraying here at the Lever end?

 

[wonderloaf]

Well Replaced another Rear derailleur cable frayed badly at the nipple end though had no problem threading it through the frame there was some internal cable in the frame as it threaded straight through I was amazed as last time I did it, it took an age something I was doing right this time though did make sure new cable was well lubricated So does anyone else have this prolem with the cable fraying here at the Lever end?

Yep, same thing here on my Ultegra 6800 RD cable:

I think the problem is the cable has a very tight bend radius inside the shifter and the constant wrapping and unwrapping action causes work hardening of the material so it eventually snaps. This cable has done approx 3000 miles don't know if this is good or bad for a cable? It was causing inconsistent shifting and tried every other fix before realising this was the problem....another lesson learned!
This was a complete pig to get out of the shifter, so bad that I wondered if I could disassemble the shifter but luckily managed to pull it through.
I should look at the FD cable as well but can't build up the courage to do it, it's shifting OK at the moment and I'm a bit scared of what I might find!

 

[antnee]

Well So I suppose I'd done about the same amount of miles year before last, ( did nothing last yea on this bike due to illness) so perhaps its good policy to check cables at the shift lever and yes Wonderloaf your right about getting out of the shift lever I spent a long time fiddling about getting it out too and like you wondered if disassembling the lever was called for. As you say it seems your right about the curvature of the cable after it left the disc/ wheel in which it sits.
perhaps the front derailleur does not get quite so worn as you might not use the shift quite so much ?

 

[wonderloaf]

Well So I suppose I'd done about the same amount of miles year before last, ( did nothing last yea on this bike due to illness) so perhaps its good policy to check cables at the shift lever and yes Wonderloaf your right about getting out of the shift lever I spent a long time fiddling about getting it out too and like you wondered if disassembling the lever was called for. As you say it seems your right about the curvature of the cable after it left the disc/ wheel in which it sits.
perhaps the front derailleur does not get quite so worn as you might not use the shift quite so much ?

I think you are right, hopefully it will last a lot longer than the RD!