broken RD cable, Ultegra 10 brifter

Shift Cables are part of bike service. Change them every 6-12 months, before they break. 🙄 Use good quality 1.1mm stainless steel inners. 😉

grv said:

For the second time in 3 years I have had my RD shifter cable snap inside the brifter. It leaves the ball with maybe a quarter inch of cable on it, looking all frayed and gnarly.

That's a problem that I've heard of before but haven't experienced. FWIW, whenever I install a new shift cable, I lightly grease a short length of the cable near the ball.

Thanks for the replies. Every six months with a bit of grease, then.

I'll stave off my gear lust for a little longer😄

I had both cables snap within a fortnight of each other, pretty much exactly where the cable leaves the brifter. It must be a minor design fault with the Shimano setup, as it seems to be a high fatigue spot. I'm a frequent shifter and the cables took 3 years to snap, so I'm not too worried. My LBS assured me that more expensive cables would last longer, as you would expect them to say. I don't think that it justifies an upgrade, and it may be the case that only a brand change would avoid the problem.

artemidorus said:

it may be the case that only a brand change would avoid the problem.

Kinda suspected that. As it is, as long as I remember to do it every six months or so, I'll be fine. I looked around at some maintenance charts, and a lot of them suggest this interval for checking cables anyway. It's just a hard place to see, and when you think about it, aside from the pinch point at the derailleur, it's probably the most stressed. Bending around that small arc all the time...