7800 Shifter Cable head stuck BEHIND guide.

would love to see pix so I can better understand the problem...but sounds like the cable 'oughta be pulled/removed and restrung...

Oh the cable 'outta be repulled and restrung, problem being it won't. I took it to my LBS (wasn't a formal visit) and they couldn't do anything. (Although we did have a trainer session to begin) So i still feel there is hope.

Here is the link to the photos.

Picasa Web Albums - Peter - Shifter

The frustration is hard to share, it looks so deceptively simple, and i can't begin to fathom how this occurred.

(Oh and the cable was cut short for the sake of ease of handling, hence the fraying, it was not a very old cable)

Woah...that looks weird...deferring to those who have been into the guts...can't believe the end of the cable wasn't where it should be and still worked. Guessing this has to come apart to remedy.

beels99 said:

Oh the cable 'outta be repulled and restrung, problem being it won't. I took it to my LBS (wasn't a formal visit) and they couldn't do anything. (Although we did have a trainer session to begin) So i still feel there is hope.

Here is the link to the photos.

Picasa Web Albums - Peter - Shifter

The frustration is hard to share, it looks so deceptively simple, and i can't begin to fathom how this occurred.

(Oh and the cable was cut short for the sake of ease of handling, hence the fraying, it was not a very old cable)

A couple of the guys here either run or work in a bike shop, hopefully they have some suggestions! 🙂

img_636 makes it seem like the retainer in the lever for the head of the cable has broken. According the Shimano tech docs there's no user servicable bits in that part of the lever...

teamgomez said:

Woah...that looks weird...deferring to those who have been into the guts...can't believe the end of the cable wasn't where it should be and still worked. Guessing this has to come apart to remedy.

As I recall while it was working it was in the proper place, (although i can't say i CHECK on this)

swampy1970 said:

img_636 makes it seem like the retainer in the lever for the head of the cable has broken. According the Shimano tech docs there's no user servicable bits in that part of the lever...

I do believe in that image I had shifted it so the guide was down, and I was trying to show how little space there is EVEN with the guide being away.

The retainer appears fully intact.

Also, for any of those bike shop guys has ANYONE seen this before?

beels99 said:

As I recall while it was working it was in the proper place, (although i can't say i CHECK on this)

I do believe in that image I had shifted it so the guide was down, and I was trying to show how little space there is EVEN with the guide being away.

The retainer appears fully intact.

Also, for any of those bike shop guys has ANYONE seen this before?

If you can't fish it out, DON'T take it apart or you may void the warranty. So, if less than 3 years old, send it to shimano.

Peter@vecchios said:

If you can't fish it out, DON'T take it apart or you may void the warranty. So, if less than 3 years old, send it to shimano.

Sadly it is older than 3 years old, I already checked on the warranty, there is none to speak of.

beels99 said:

Oh the cable 'outta be repulled and restrung, problem being it won't. I took it to my LBS (wasn't a formal visit) and they couldn't do anything. (Although we did have a trainer session to begin) So i still feel there is hope.

The frustration is hard to share, it looks so deceptively simple, and i can't begin to fathom how this occurred.

(Oh and the cable was cut short for the sake of ease of handling, hence the fraying, it was not a very old cable)

What happened to the 'end' of the derailleur cable?

How AND when did you break it off ... or, is it just out of the picture because it is wrapped out of the way?

Presuming the shifter's mechanism isn't frozen ...

As far as the 'head' that is embedded in the shifter, I think your best bet requires you/(someone) to have moderately steady hands (or, a drill press & vice) AND for you to drill out the remnant of the head of the cable and then pull the cable out ... remember, when you install a new cable, you can see straight through from one side of the mechanism to the other ...

So, you'll need to "return" the shifter mechanism to the zero-point (for want of a better phrase) of the mechanism that it would be in when you are installing a new cable -- drill out the head ... pull out the remnant cable ... install a new cable.

BTW. You obviously want a drill bit that is smaller than the diameter of the derailleur cable.

alfeng said:

BTW. You obviously want a drill bit that is smaller than the diameter of the derailleur cable.

Use a variable speed drill & drill at a relatively slow RPM ... the metal on the head of the cable is relatively SOFT ...

The end of the cable is softer than the metal of the receiving hole in the shifter's mechanism, so you should be able to feel when you have finished drilling the head on the end of the cable.

I have had the exact same problem with ultegra shifters except ino how the problem was caused, to remedy the problem I undone all of the screws on that top that are able to be undone, so i could just see the cable end and then i used a sharpened spoke to carefully pick out the cable end, REMEMBER to have a pair of needle nose pliers near by so you can grab the end of the cable as soon as it comes out.