Road Cycling

[Lethal`]

Seems to be a weekend full of mechanicals. Replaced the headset bearings Friday, hit a rock or something on Saturday and insta-flatted + mild buckle, and today 3 miles from home (as part of 85 miles) my gear cable snapped. Glad that didn't snap in the hills!

First time I've seen the cable snap right at the head. Like the head just got pulled away from the cable. I had opened up the shifter as usual to pull out the head+inch of cable but discovered it was just a head sitting there in the barrel. Transfil cable. Was recommended on here. Maybe an unlucky one as previous worked fine.

I think my rear derailleur is starting to fail. It's struggling to return to high gears, especially the 11T despite a slack cable and limit screw wound right out. Only 10 months old

 

[xdcx]

Yeah the Rapha badge is just a sticker, thank god. That can get to ****.

I commited to racing the Gifford B race(3/4) on the 14th March as I'm only a 4th cat I can't do the A race(E/1/2/3) on thesame day. I didn't get in as per usual so entered a crit on the Sunday 15th but it is quite far south.

Have to win the 4th cat only one for 10 points then go into the 3/4 cat event and try for a top ten to get another 2 which will get me a 3rd cat license.

I'm nervous and not sure where I'm at for racing but kept up with two boys on Tuesday who are doing the A race on a fasted ride. I was a shell on the way home after it though

Actually ate food yesterday and was fine on the way home, intensity in the middle of the ride was probabaly 10% less but for longer.

Aye you don't want to be in the E123 even as a 2nd CAT. You seen the start list? Holy smokes.

 

[Jonny ///M]

Haha, glad to hear that'll be in the bin! Could understand it if they actually sponsored you!

The final comment, you have problems with fuel/eating? What have you tried? I've been through quite a bit of it myself so can point you towards some things which work for me if you're still struggling.

Cheers mate but it was purely just that I didn't eat enough that day. I've been trying to cut back a bit and went too far

Aye you don't want to be in the E123 even as a 2nd CAT. You seen the start list? Holy smokes.

I've not seen the start sheet no, I saw via FB that Joe reilly is riding and he was 5th at the Eddy Soens..

 

[Saytan]

First time I've seen the cable snap right at the head. Like the head just got pulled away from the cable. I had opened up the shifter as usual to pull out the head+inch of cable but discovered it was just a head sitting there in the barrel. Transfil cable. Was recommended on here. Maybe an unlucky one as previous worked fine.

I think my rear derailleur is starting to fail. It's struggling to return to high gears, especially the 11T despite a slack cable and limit screw wound right out. Only 10 months old

the 10 speed 105 shifters were notorious for breaking cables there - i havent seen it regularly on any others but it does happen.


the derailleur is pretty odd considering sitting on or near the 11t should be its natural home. Could the hanger have taken a knock? it doesnt take much to throw them off on 11s.

the only other thing i can think of is gunky pivots. At 10 months old that shouldnt be, but a liberal dousing of GT85 and then work it around in your hands can't hurt...

 

[xdcx]

I've not seen the start sheet no, I saw via FB that Joe reilly is riding and he was 5th at the Eddy Soens..

7 Wheelbase.
4 Ribble including Zeb Kyffin.
Massacre.

 

[Lethal`]

the 10 speed 105 shifters were notorious for breaking cables there - i havent seen it regularly on any others but it does happen.


the derailleur is pretty odd considering sitting on or near the 11t should be its natural home. Could the hanger have taken a knock? it doesnt take much to throw them off on 11s.

the only other thing i can think of is gunky pivots. At 10 months old that shouldnt be, but a liberal dousing of GT85 and then work it around in your hands can't hurt...

This is a 11 speed 105 shifter though I've had probably 15+ cable snaps in 4 years with multiple 6800+5800 shifters. The derailleur is a long cage R7000. It's certainly a bit gunked up due to last 6 months of weather. I did check the hanger a month or two back but perhaps needs another look. I'll have a go at washing the derailleur out

 

[Saytan]

This is a 11 speed 105 shifter though I've had probably 15+ cable snaps in 4 years with multiple 6800+5800 shifters. The derailleur is a long cage R7000. It's certainly a bit gunked up due to last 6 months of weather. I did check the hanger a month or two back but perhaps needs another look. I'll have a go at washing the derailleur out

di2 almost pays for itself in cables alone then

 

[Jonny ///M]

7 Wheelbase.
4 Ribble including Zeb Kyffin.
Massacre.

Hahahahahhahaha sounds like the TLI one I did with Ribble, Martin Lonie and wheelbase boys.

This is a 11 speed 105 shifter though I've had probably 15+ cable snaps in 4 years with multiple 6800+5800 shifters. The derailleur is a long cage R7000. It's certainly a bit gunked up due to last 6 months of weather. I did check the hanger a month or two back but perhaps needs another look. I'll have a go at washing the derailleur out

The 11 speed shifters are brutal for snapping cables at the head. Thankfully the shifter comes apart a lot to get them out easily.

 

[Roady]

I think my rear derailleur is starting to fail. It's struggling to return to high gears, especially the 11T despite a slack cable and limit screw wound right out. Only 10 months old

Worth checking for gunk in the sping/inside the arm, can really hamper performance and tricky to clear it out with it fitted. If you're unmounting to check alignment then well worth taking it off and as @Saytan says work it in your hands after lots of cleaning and GT85 into every pivot. I generally spray my RD pivots every time I do a good long clean or use my chain cleaner. Could be the spring is actually failing, being Shimano you should be able to source a replacement but no idea how much they are or how easy to get.

Cheers mate but it was purely just that I didn't eat enough that day. I've been trying to cut back a bit and went too far

Haha, the times I ride fasted are very few but I've always made sure I've got extra food in my pocket! Paranoid of a self inflicted bonk!

the only other thing i can think of is gunky pivots. At 10 months old that shouldnt be, but a liberal dousing of GT85 and then work it around in your hands can't hurt...

The amount of gunk around the roads this winter due to all the wet this winter it's probably that. Any tips on cleaning the spring inside RD's? Don't really wanna take them out. I meant to get some of those 'rope' cleaner things as they sound ideal for it but never bothered/got around getting them. They're cheaper now than a season or two ago so maybe I will...

This is a 11 speed 105 shifter though I've had probably 15+ cable snaps in 4 years with multiple 6800+5800 shifters. The derailleur is a long cage R7000. It's certainly a bit gunked up due to last 6 months of weather. I did check the hanger a month or two back but perhaps needs another look. I'll have a go at washing the derailleur out

Really sounds odd you've broken so many, I remember you saying before about it with some pictures on here.

My original 5800 setup is 8+ years old and not broken a cable (at the end) and I was pretty lax about replacing them for a few early years. Generally only did it when shifting was rough. These days I replace them every year or so on my Diverge (after winter I generally do a big 'spring clean' where I'll replace outer and inners). Have not done so yet (waiting for the road salt to all be gone and the weather to get a bit better. Also to find the time) and not sure I did it last spring. Still no issues with it and you know what it's like... I have a R8000 FD to fit when I do.

I generally use Shimano, Jagwire and Lifeline cable inners (only Jagwire outers). Think early days even some cheaper no-name or Halfords ones. I don't bother with the polymer coated ones. Waste of time and it peels off with age and gunks things up anyway.

 

[Saytan]

The amount of gunk around the roads this winter due to all the wet this winter it's probably that. Any tips on cleaning the spring inside RD's? Don't really wanna take them out. I meant to get some of those 'rope' cleaner things as they sound idea for it but never bothered/got around getting them. They're cheaper now than a season or two ago so maybe I will...

you'd need a serious amount of grunge to affect the spring. it's the pivots of the parallelogram that are the major concern. I usually settle for pulling a strip of rag through a couple of times if it really needs cleaning inside

 

[UTmaniac]

The rear mech cable I've still got to replace since ~September also snapped inside the shifters, albeit mine is the 5800-tier br505 hydraulic atrocity. ~7500 undulating miles at the time of failure, with plenty of shifts on the 11-32 cassette to try and keep my cadence usually 90+.

The bike has done something silly like <10 outdoor rides since it happened, but by actively avoiding some of the steepest local Hampshire hills (Dell Road, Harvesting Lane, Speltham Hill, Lynch Lane etc.), I've been quite happy dual-speeding in the 22T sprocket after re-ordering the cassette sprockets and adjusting the rear mech high-low screws.

By far most of my riding has been indoors on Zwift, where I can either play with the "trainer difficulty" for races/TTs/freerides, or use the ERG workouts where you don't normally switch sprockets anyway. I've not bothered switching the sprocket order on the Direto, so it uses the 5th smallest sprocket, 16T.

However, I might have to get used to 2x11 again soon, the outdoor season is nearly upon us... If it stops blowing a gale and tipping it down!

 

[Lethal`]

Any ideas how to check derailleur cage alignment? I know they aren't exactly dead straight to start with and I find it difficult by eye.

Really sounds odd you've broken so many, I remember you saying before about it with some pictures on here.

It sounds like a lot but we're also talking about 42000+ miles of usage. Usually I get at least 3000 miles before snap but sometimes less.

Yesterday's snap I was confused by as I only replaced the cable about 6 weeks back (including outers too). It probably went through an extra stressful period with a dodgy jockey wheel occasionally inhibiting shifting but I am still surprised it literally sheared off at the head. Not just before the head - at the head.

Also, I'm a serial shifter. Constantly changing and frequently on the verge of cross-chaining abuse when setting off from traffic lights.

 

[Roady]

I've been quite happy dual-speeding in the 22T sprocket after re-ordering the cassette sprockets and adjusting the rear mech high-low screws.

By far most of my riding has been indoors on Zwift, where I can either play with the "trainer difficulty" for races/TTs/freerides, or use the ERG workouts where you don't normally switch sprockets anyway.

That much 'fiddling' of sprockets, limit screws and Zwift settings I wouldn't have bothered with - changing a cable for me is a 10/20 minute job! Takes less time than fiddling limit screws and indexing to perfection!

Any ideas how to check derailleur cage alignment? I know they aren't exactly dead straight to start with and I find it difficult by eye.

Got a spirit level or something? I'm absolutely useless at getting things level/lined up. Some of my earlier networking with sticky back trunking was hilarious!

Although don't know really how accurate one would be. Ideally you're measuring the alignment of the 'thread' of the RD mount to the rim to judge it's alignment, not how level it is... So if you can figure out some other way of doing that...

Some people make their own tools but for the time/tools involved it'd be cheaper & easier to buy a cheap one for £30-40. Suddenly the option of removing your hanger and then just laying it down to determine if it's 'flat' (if you can) becomes far more appealing...!

Also, I'm a serial shifter. Constantly changing and frequently on the verge of cross-chaining abuse when setting off from traffic lights.

I'm pretty rough on them too, shifting quite a bit under load when climbing and cross chaining, still never snapped one! The fact it snapped at the head makes me think tension but that could equally as been a faulty head/cable as was the only one which has. The fact you've broken so many has always made me think you've got something in your setup with a sharp edge, but that would always snap/fray them in the same place. Ever removed one after a month or two of use and see if there's any fraying along it?

 

[UTmaniac]

That much 'fiddling' of sprockets, limit screws and Zwift settings I wouldn't have bothered with - changing a cable for me is a 10/20 minute job! Takes less time than fiddling limit screws and indexing to perfection!

It's another case of lack of life experience for someone aged 46... I've had bikes of one form or another going all the way back to being a kid, but this is the first road bike I've had where a gear cable has snapped on me and the Cube has internal routing, but then the Cube has had far more use (just over 11,000 miles in ~34 months including all the turbo virtual miles since Dec 2017) than any other bike I've owned.

I maybe should have just bought the replacement cable inner, having bought this internal routing cable guide before Xmas https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07Z4WQY7D/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o07_s00 , but I "splashed out" on the DA full cable set https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-dura-ace-9000-road-gear-cable-set-polymer-61074.html that they had in orange at the time, matching the orange highlights on the frame... But forgot to buy a decent set of cable cutters!


PBK have reconditioned £210 5800 4iiii 172.5mm power meters in stock in silver https://www.probikekit.co.uk/cyclin...7_1583937954_6408127e22c671351d1e6d7653b8de65

 

[Jonny ///M]

Any ideas how to check derailleur cage alignment? I know they aren't exactly dead straight to start with and I find it difficult by eye.


It sounds like a lot but we're also talking about 42000+ miles of usage. Usually I get at least 3000 miles before snap but sometimes less.

Yesterday's snap I was confused by as I only replaced the cable about 6 weeks back (including outers too). It probably went through an extra stressful period with a dodgy jockey wheel occasionally inhibiting shifting but I am still surprised it literally sheared off at the head. Not just before the head - at the head.

Also, I'm a serial shifter. Constantly changing and frequently on the verge of cross-chaining abuse when setting off from traffic lights.

My left hand R7000 shifter sometimes doesn't shift to the big ring, just misses the ratchet completely. Have to pull the mech to relieve the pressure then it will shift up.

Hard to check the cage as when they sort of sit with the lower jockey wheel sitting out from the bike in the two smallest cogs.

Best bet is to stick it in the big ring and 4th cog up and eyeball it. Or find where you have the issue, like not dropping a gear you can stick an allen key in the bolt and pull up. If it helps then you'll have to actually bend it.

 

[Lethal`]

Although don't know really how accurate one would be. Ideally you're measuring the alignment of the 'thread' of the RD mount to the rim to judge it's alignment, not how level it is... So if you can figure out some other way of doing that...

I'm talking about the actual cage, not the hanger. I've got a Park tool for the hanger but always wonder if the cage is actually straight too.

The fact you've broken so many has always made me think you've got something in your setup with a sharp edge, but that would always snap/fray them in the same place. Ever removed one after a month or two of use and see if there's any fraying along it?

I've often wondered too. Could just be a function of frame design. Outers have been replaced many a time. I've never noticed fraying elsewhere on the cable when I've removed them.

Best bet is to stick it in the big ring and 4th cog up and eyeball it. Or find where you have the issue, like not dropping a gear you can stick an allen key in the bolt and pull up. If it helps then you'll have to actually bend it.

Thanks. Will have to give this a go.

 

[SoliD]

Stupid quedtion time, was packing my bike earlier and thought oh I'll loosen off the stem to twist the handlebars round, and then realised I'd need to take the stem off to get it to fit in the bike bag properly, but I could not get the top cap to loosen off, was really tight when undoing the bolt turning it to the left and just wouldn't budge, am I being dense or is something amiss?

This is on the Felt FR5, so presume it's an a-headset.

 

[Jonny ///M]

They have a bung as per usual, probabaly the bung spinning with the top cap bolt.

 

[SDK^]

You're pretty unforgettable with some of those trophies you have/had on the MMH rides! Shame you reached that point and rather than fit cycling around things you're almost totally stopping!

Still, glad to hear you're well and thanks for the update. You where good while it lasted and it's good to 'finish' things for your own reasons and on your own terms!

If you're really selling the Aeroad let me know details, might be interested... If it's a medium.

Thanks for the compliments
The Aeroad frame is a large

 

[SoliD]

They have a bung as per usual, probabaly the bung spinning with the top cap bolt.

Thought as much, anyway to get it loose?