Hi I'm suspecting it is due to worn outer gear housing but currently my Shimano STI shifters (6700) is only clicking through about 7 gears, it's not reaching the biggest 2 cog or the smallest cog, and no amount of adjusting the derailleur or tightening the allen bolt on the inner gear cable has helped, are my suspicions reasonable?
Worn outer gear housing?
- Thread starter rliu
- Start date
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steve50
Disenchanted Member
- Location
- West Yorkshire
Have you got a lot of slack in the inner cable?
You should be able to change into the smallest gear by adjusting the appropriate screw on the rd, once in the smallest gear screw the adjusters all the way in and then undo the 10mm nut holding the cable to the derailleur and pull any slack out of the cable, don't pull it too hard then nip up the locking nut again. Run through your gears and adjust as required, if the cable is sticking you will notice the gears may take some time to change after moving the shifter.
You should be able to change into the smallest gear by adjusting the appropriate screw on the rd, once in the smallest gear screw the adjusters all the way in and then undo the 10mm nut holding the cable to the derailleur and pull any slack out of the cable, don't pull it too hard then nip up the locking nut again. Run through your gears and adjust as required, if the cable is sticking you will notice the gears may take some time to change after moving the shifter.
steve50
Disenchanted Member
- Location
- West Yorkshire
did you have any problems fitting the new inner cable or did it just go straight through, if the latter it doesn't sound as though your outer is the problem. Is your derailleur moving across the full range of travel freely is it clean and lubricated, is the shifter operating as it should. I would start at the shifter and work my way to the derailleur ensuring all is as it should be along the way. process of ellimination.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
The short length of cable that leads into the rear mech. is notorious for causing this type of problem.
The main thing I wanted some advice on was if it could be the shifter itself which is broken? I haven't had a fall and banged the shifters recently but it does do a weird thing now where it gets stuck and juts out diagonally when I get to the biggest cogs and I can't go down any further gears, and I have to bang it back into place, whereas a normally functioning shifter just goes a bit spongy as the cable can't be tensioned any further.
steve50
Disenchanted Member
- Location
- West Yorkshire
Check it out see if ther is anything obvious or is it just a case of you are pushing it too far in an effort to get the gears to change?
Smokin Joe
Squire
- Location
- Bare headed cyclist, Smoker
HLaB
Marie Attoinette Fan
Definitely
Since Ive started using a brake cable outer for that section my shifting seems to have improved.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
I wouldn't recommend that, the construction is completely different between the typesDefinitely
however it may not matter on such a short length of cable.
1 trick I have used it to warm the cable up with a hairdryer after it has been fitted to speed up the fractional movement in the outer so that the bend becomes 'set' in the outer (when you remove this outer after it has been fitted for a while you'll see that it doesn't straighten out but that it remains curved, gently warming it helps speed up this process by softening the plastic slightly allowing the metal strands to move a bit)
But if brake outer works for you then fair enough, it is a lot more flexible.
Globalti
Legendary Member
How many times have I posted this?
Poor shifting is almost always caused by the short curved length of outer cable at the rear derailleur getting dirt or moisture in it and the ends of the steel reinforcements rusting. The cable is stressed and exposed to water and needs regular servicing.
And:
It's worth getting your LBS to cut you a few pieces of outer cable the right length or buy a length and cut it yourself. Pull it off, marvel at the dirt and rust, clean the exposed inner cable and if possible, gve it a polish with metal polish. Clean again and then run it through fingers wetted with a wax-based chain lube like Finish Line. Protect the outer cable ends with grease, Vaseline or lanoline then fit the ferrules and thread the inner through. This needs doing regularly to maintain performance.
Poor shifting is almost always caused by the short curved length of outer cable at the rear derailleur getting dirt or moisture in it and the ends of the steel reinforcements rusting. The cable is stressed and exposed to water and needs regular servicing.
And:
It's worth getting your LBS to cut you a few pieces of outer cable the right length or buy a length and cut it yourself. Pull it off, marvel at the dirt and rust, clean the exposed inner cable and if possible, gve it a polish with metal polish. Clean again and then run it through fingers wetted with a wax-based chain lube like Finish Line. Protect the outer cable ends with grease, Vaseline or lanoline then fit the ferrules and thread the inner through. This needs doing regularly to maintain performance.
raleighnut
Legendary Member
- Location
- One of the 'Elite'
^^^^^+1 Vasline being my choice as it isn't water soluble (like some grease)
To revive this one I have replaced the outer gear housing at the little bit between the drop outs and the rear derailleur and it hasn't helped, I can sometimes shift to the biggest cogs while on the big ring but cannot while on small ring, and the shifters do that being stuck thing I talked about, so is replacing the shifters the only one forward? Has anyone else seen anything similar?
mrandmrspoves
Middle aged bald git.
- Location
- Narfuk
I wouldn't rush into getting new shifters yet. Disconnect the rear cable from the derailleur and while holding the cable under gentle tension operate the gear lever as if to move it to a lower gear. If the cable moves progressively with each gear change good. Now while keeping the gentle tension on the cable, move the shifter as if to move to a higher gear. Again if the cable is released easily and smoothly good. If you feel dragging or need to pull the cable more than gently or press the lever particularly hard then I would try new cable inners and outers. It could be as simple as a strand of frayed wire snagging. If the problem persists after new cables it may be worth taking the shifters off and rinsing them with warm water and then allowing them to dry. (A year or so ago I was asked to sort someone's gear change problems and found the shifters were full of sand because to wash her bike she turned it upside down!) Don't try lubricating the gear shifters with anything apart from silicone spray because the small plastic parts inside most shifters can be damaged by oils.
