Ez Fire/VBrake - Gear Cable Replacement

irishmotorist

I was going to bring my Sirrus back to life for the winter commute and went about replacing all cables today. I have had tremendous difficulty with the gear cable on this - I spent 2 hours on just the gear cables and didn't get it done. The problem is that I get the cable into the shifter (into the same small gap inside the lever that the old one came out of) but it meets resistence inside and doesn't come out. About twice I did seem to get the cable threaded through, but then the knobble at the top just came straight through the other side, so I reckon I misdirected it on those occasions. And yes - it's the right type of cable.

Can anybody tell me from their own experience or direct me to some place online with information on how to do it? Is there a knack that I'm missing? Maybe it's a Sunday morning "all thumbs" kind of thing, but it seems to be a complete bitch of a job.

Among the places I found, the Shimano document library appears to be currently down or dead. I did find a video of a fella doing it and it just threaded straight through for him.

Yours in frustration,
IM.

kenmc

usually have to put it into a particular gear (will be either highest or lowest) to line up the holes and the mechanism. Should go through very easily after that

irishmotorist

Any advice that I saw said to put it into the highest gear (for the rear derailleur) - i.e. giving the cable most slack. This makes sense too from the point of view of aligning the derailleur after the cable is threaded through.

I didn't try putting it to the other extreme so it might be worth giving that a go.

irishmotorist

I tried moving the lever up into the top position (i.e. most taught if a cable was attached) and after a bit of wiggling the cable fed through, but as I experienced at one stage the other day, the nipple came straight through the mechanism so I think something was in an open position or I mis-fed it.

Any other thoughts anybody?

paddyduc

Take the lid off it. 2 small phillips screws.

seamus

Yeah rapidfire shifters (I assume that's what you're referring to), you just drop it into the highest gear (keep hitting the index finger shifter) and then you can thread it through. When you look at the hole you should be able to see straight through the shifter. It can be a bit like threading a needle though, you need to poke around for a bit before the cable will come through.

Taking the lid off it will be of limited use as the cable still has to be threaded through the mechanism, you can't just slot it into place.

paddyduc

"Taking the lid off it will be of limited use as the cable still has to be threaded through the mechanism, you can't just slot it into place."

Being able to see exactly what your at is hardly "limited use";)

irishmotorist

paddyduc wrote: »

Take the lid off it. 2 small phillips screws.

I was afraid to take the lid off because I envisaged it to be like a pot full of angry snakes when a pile of springs and cogs jumped out at me, rendering the mechanism useless.

If this is unlikely, I might give it a go.

seamus wrote: »

Yeah rapidfire shifters (I assume that's what you're referring to), you just drop it into the highest gear (keep hitting the index finger shifter) and then you can thread it through. When you look at the hole you should be able to see straight through the shifter.

This is my problem. When I have it in either extreme, though your description was my original approach, I cannot see through at all. There's a tiny gap through which I can see the vertical rectangle that the cable came out. I can't see through it and the cable is hitting an obstacle once in here.

Perhaps taking the lid off will let me see that something is twisted/rotated a way it shouldn't be that I can manually align.

BTW, I changed a 105 gear cable a few weeks ago on the good bike and was a little bit surprised at how much grease there was in the workings of the lever, once I inspected it closely. Should I expect the inside of the rapidfire lever to be greased up, or should it be dry?

seamus

irishmotorist wrote: »

This is my problem. When I have it in either extreme, though your description was my original approach, I cannot see through at all. There's a tiny gap through which I can see the vertical rectangle that the cable came out. I can't see through it and the cable is hitting an obstacle once in here.

OK, maybe try this so:

Drop it into the highest gear and look into the hole that the cable came out of - on the opposite side to the adjuster barrel. Hit the thumbshifter and you should see the mechanism moving. Keep hitting the thumbshifter slowly, one gear at a time, and at one point it should move into a position where you can see through the shifter. You should then be able to thread it through. Once through, drop it back to the highest gear and the cable is locked in place.

BTW, I changed a 105 gear cable a few weeks ago on the good bike and was a little bit surprised at how much grease there was in the workings of the lever, once I inspected it closely. Should I expect the inside of the rapidfire lever to be greased up, or should it be dry?

They're designed to be well-sealed and are generally not serviceable. They officially even tell workshops not to take them apart and service them. Basically you should get a full lifetime out of the shifter without ever servicing them. If the shifters move lightly and easily when the cable isn't in them, then they're fine, leave well alone

That's not always true though - take your bike onto a beach or use a power washer on your levers and they'll be fncked in no time and will need to be cleaned out and greased up.

irishmotorist

seamus wrote: »

OK, maybe try this so:

Drop it into the highest gear and look into the hole that the cable came out of - on the opposite side to the adjuster barrel. Hit the thumbshifter and you should see the mechanism moving. Keep hitting the thumbshifter slowly, one gear at a time, and at one point it should move into a position where you can see through the shifter. You should then be able to thread it through.

I didn't get to it last night and might not over the next couple of nights, but I like the sounds of this. I'll keep you updated.

irishmotorist

Thanks for all the suggestions. I tried moving it gear by gear and had no joy so I said that I'd take the top cover off the mechanism. I unscrewed it and took it off gently, waiting for springs to jump out at me, and none did. It's a nice solid unit inside and, crucially, I could see exactly where to thread the gear cable into. The cable happily and easily slipped in, so all good.