STI Cable Issues

In article <[email hidden]>,

John Verheul said:

I have no personal experience with STI shifters, but I know several people
who report breaking a rear der cable with some regularity (less than every
10,000 miles). Is there an inherent flaw with STI shifters (these are all
D/A 9s) with respect to the lifespan of the cables, or is there perhaps some
user error involved?

I have seen a couple of cases where the cable broke at the head
(inside the shifter), apparently because of a problem with this design.
10,000 miles isn't bad, though. Most bike repair manuals recommend
replacing cables annualy.

I've also seen cables brake at the pinch bolt, most likely due to user
error (pinching too tight).

John Verheul said:

I have no personal experience with STI shifters, but I know several people
who report breaking a rear der cable with some regularity (less than every
10,000 miles). Is there an inherent flaw with STI shifters (these are all
D/A 9s) with respect to the lifespan of the cables, or is there perhaps some
user error involved?

That's happened to me twice I think, and there are three parts to the
problem. One is that the cable makes a really tight bend inside the
lever, which promotes fraying. The second is that the fraying gets
worse quickly as the loose strand(s) bits catch inside the housing --
in contrast a frayed cable around, say, a downtube shifter is just out
in the air and not "aggravated."

And last, frayed cables around, say, a downtube shifter, are usually
spotted and replaced. Inside the STI lever they're not that visible.

That said, both times my cable broke I had noticed the derailleur
seemed to be going out of adjustment or acting weird in the preceding
few rides. Now I know that if that happens again I check or replace
the cable.

JT

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John Verheul said:

I have no personal experience with STI shifters, but I know several people
who report breaking a rear der cable with some regularity (less than every
10,000 miles). Is there an inherent flaw with STI shifters (these are all
D/A 9s) with respect to the lifespan of the cables, or is there perhaps some
user error involved?

My 10 just broke at 7K but I shift a lot.

Bob

John Verheul said:

I have no personal experience with STI shifters, but I know several people
who report breaking a rear der cable with some regularity (less than every
10,000 miles). Is there an inherent flaw with STI shifters (these are all
D/A 9s) with respect to the lifespan of the cables, or is there perhaps some
user error involved?

John Verheul

Lots of shifting, when compared to DT shifters. Check them
often...replace them about twice per year..cheap.

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Check them often...replace them about twice per year..cheap.

I agree, but would replace about every 3,000 miles (which might be 6
months for some and 3 years for others).

I've only had one cable break (a DA front shifter) at about 3,500
miles.

Art Harris

In article <[email hidden]>, [email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I have no personal experience with STI shifters, but I know several people
who report breaking a rear der cable with some regularity (less than every
10,000 miles). Is there an inherent flaw with STI shifters (these are all
D/A 9s) with respect to the lifespan of the cables, or is there perhaps some
user error involved?

10k miles from a derailleur cable is not bad at all. The cost of replacing the
cable is low enough that you can replace them at 5k mile intervals and not
break the bank.
--------------
Alex

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

John Verheul said:

I have no personal experience with STI shifters, but I know several
people who report breaking a rear der cable with some regularity
(less than every 10,000 miles). Is there an inherent flaw with STI
shifters (these are all D/A 9s) with respect to the lifespan of the
cables, or is there perhaps some user error involved?

Quoted message said:

Lots of shifting, when compared to DT shifters.

Explain please? Do people shift STIs more /often/ than DTs?

Quoted message said:

Check them
often...replace them about twice per year..cheap.

Note to self...

John Verheul said:

I have no personal experience with STI shifters, but I know several people
who report breaking a rear der cable with some regularity (less than every
10,000 miles). Is there an inherent flaw with STI shifters (these are all
D/A 9s) with respect to the lifespan of the cables, or is there perhaps
some user error involved?

I have NEVER had a problem with der. cables and I only have D.A. 9S STI's on
all of my bikes.

Greets, Derk

I have broken 2-3 with my 8 speed shifters and my wife has done the same
with her 9 speed shifters. Typically, the shifting gets worse and adjusting
the cable tension won't fix it. Then, one day you shift into your 21 and
*bang* the head snaps off the cable inside the shifter. It's always the
right shifter and it happens about once per year.

I believe this is a flaw with the design. I'm surprised that Shimano
doesn't use it as an opportunity to require special "Shimano-only" cables.
Whoops, I've said too much already.

-Dion

"John Verheul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have no personal experience with STI shifters, but I know several people
who report breaking a rear der cable with some regularity (less than every
10,000 miles). Is there an inherent flaw with STI shifters (these are all
D/A 9s) with respect to the lifespan of the cables, or is there perhaps
some user error involved?

John Verheul

Dion Dock said:

I have broken 2-3 with my 8 speed shifters and my wife has done the same
with her 9 speed shifters. Typically, the shifting gets worse and adjusting
the cable tension won't fix it. Then, one day you shift into your 21 and
*bang* the head snaps off the cable inside the shifter. It's always the
right shifter and it happens about once per year.

I believe this is a flaw with the design. I'm surprised that Shimano
doesn't use it as an opportunity to require special "Shimano-only" cables.

like campy you mean? campy ruin cable much faster than shimano because
the rable run radiuses are much tighter.

/all/ tensile steel cables fatigue, especially as run radius decreases.
ask any elevator service person or crane operator.

Quoted message said:

Whoops, I've said too much already.

-Dion

"John Verheul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have no personal experience with STI shifters, but I know several people
who report breaking a rear der cable with some regularity (less than every
10,000 miles). Is there an inherent flaw with STI shifters (these are all
D/A 9s) with respect to the lifespan of the cables, or is there perhaps
some user error involved?

John Verheul

Bill Sornson said:

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Lots of shifting, when compared to DT shifters.

Quoted message said:

Explain please? Do people shift STIs more /often/ than DTs?

Anecdotally, I think I shift more often with STI/Ergo than I do with
barends. And I think I shifted even less when I had DT shifters.

--
Dave
dvt at psu dot edu

In article <[email hidden]>,

Alex Rodriguez said:

10k miles from a derailleur cable is not bad at all. The cost of replacing the
cable is low enough that you can replace them at 5k mile intervals and not
break the bank.

New cables cost only a buck or two each, but re-tensioning and adjusting
your derailleurs is time consuming. People are turned off by the time,
not the money.

C said:

New cables cost only a buck or two each, but re-tensioning and adjusting your derailleurs is time consuming. People are turned off by the time, not the money.

Disagree. There no need to adjust the limit screws or "B" tension on
the der when changing the cable. Just a simple adjustment of the
tension adjuster that takes about a minute.

Art Harris

"jim beam" <[email hidden]> wrote

Quoted message said:

like campy you mean? campy ruin cable much faster than shimano because
the rable run radiuses are much tighter.

/all/ tensile steel cables fatigue, especially as run radius decreases.
ask any elevator service person or crane operator.

This may be true in theory, but I've been using ergopower since 1992, I'm
pretty cheap about replacing cables (I'll literally reuse one for multiple
seasons - at > 10,000 miles per season), and I've *never* broken one. Ever.
That's why I asked if STI had some inherent flaw.

As cheap as I am though, I do keep them well lubed & clean since I hate
crappy shifting, that probably extends their lifespan.

Dion Dock's statement that STI cables always pop at the head makes me think
there may be some sharp edge in there, since that does not appear on the
surface to be a fatigue issue.

Thanks to all for the recommendations as to replacement intervals.

John Verheul

John Verheul said:

Dion Dock's statement that STI cables always pop at the head makes me think
there may be some sharp edge in there, since that does not appear on the
surface to be a fatigue issue.

Thanks to all for the recommendations as to replacement intervals.

I just broke a shift cable a few mm from the ball end. It was a right
hand Shimano 8-speed bar end, not STI. On removing the lever
part of the bar end, there was a barely visible wear mark on the
mount part where the cable enters. Presumably the steel cable
rubbing against the aluminum mount gradually frayed it. The mount
has a fairly gentle angle, not a sharp edge, so I guess a sharp edge
isn't required. I filed a bit away with a needle file; given another 4
years of commuting on this bike we may find out if that made a
difference.

Actually, one strand of the cable broke a week or two before, but I
didn't fix it right away because I am lazy and it was a shift cable.
Unfortunately, with STI you can't really see inside the guts to find
the contact point, or to get advance warning of cable damage.

jim beam said:

Dion Dock said:

I have broken 2-3 with my 8 speed shifters and my wife has done the same
with her 9 speed shifters. Typically, the shifting gets worse and adjusting
the cable tension won't fix it. Then, one day you shift into your 21 and
*bang* the head snaps off the cable inside the shifter. It's always the
right shifter and it happens about once per year.

I believe this is a flaw with the design. I'm surprised that Shimano
doesn't use it as an opportunity to require special "Shimano-only" cables.

like campy you mean? campy ruin cable much faster than shimano because
the rable run radiuses are much tighter.

I must be lucky then. I have the same original cables on my 1998
Chorus Ergo bike. I suppose somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 miles.
No cable breaks or fraying yet. I'll keep on using the same cables
and housing until something does go wrong. But with Campagnolo, its
unlikely anything ever will.

Quoted message said:

/all/ tensile steel cables fatigue, especially as run radius decreases.
ask any elevator service person or crane operator.

Quoted message said:

Whoops, I've said too much already.

-Dion

"John Verheul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have no personal experience with STI shifters, but I know several people
who report breaking a rear der cable with some regularity (less than every
10,000 miles). Is there an inherent flaw with STI shifters (these are all
D/A 9s) with respect to the lifespan of the cables, or is there perhaps
some user error involved?

John Verheul

Quoted message said:

I'll keep on using the same cables
and housing until something does go wrong. But with Campagnolo, its
unlikely anything ever will.

Yeah, right: dream on!

Derk

Quoted message said:

jim beam said:

Dion Dock said:

I have broken 2-3 with my 8 speed shifters and my wife has done the same
with her 9 speed shifters. Typically, the shifting gets worse and adjusting
the cable tension won't fix it. Then, one day you shift into your 21 and
*bang* the head snaps off the cable inside the shifter. It's always the
right shifter and it happens about once per year.

I believe this is a flaw with the design. I'm surprised that Shimano
doesn't use it as an opportunity to require special "Shimano-only" cables.

like campy you mean? campy ruin cable much faster than shimano because
the rable run radiuses are much tighter.

I must be lucky then. I have the same original cables on my 1998
Chorus Ergo bike. I suppose somewhere between 10,000 and 20,000 miles.
No cable breaks or fraying yet. I'll keep on using the same cables
and housing until something does go wrong. But with Campagnolo, its
unlikely anything ever will.

i love it when people wildly overestimate their mileage and/or
reliability. i have ~9000 on my veloce commuter [that's a measured
number] and i've had to replace the r/h shifter cable twice. and the
shifter dog ring once. i have similar mileage on one of my shimano
bikes and have never had to change a cable. which one is lucky?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

/all/ tensile steel cables fatigue, especially as run radius decreases.
ask any elevator service person or crane operator.

Quoted message said:

Whoops, I've said too much already.

-Dion

"John Verheul" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

>I have no personal experience with STI shifters, but I know several people
>who report breaking a rear der cable with some regularity (less than every
>10,000 miles). Is there an inherent flaw with STI shifters (these are all
>D/A 9s) with respect to the lifespan of the cables, or is there perhaps
>some user error involved?
>
>John Verheul
>

Bill Sornson said:

Qui si parla Campagnolo said:

Lots of shifting, when compared to DT shifters.

Explain please? Do people shift STIs more /often/ than DTs?

I do.

JT

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