Gears live again

The place for discussions on what piece might fit where, where to buy it from, how to fit it, etc.

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MartinF
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Gears live again

Post by MartinF »

I now have gears on my bike! Ones that actually change when you shift the shifters.

Amazing that changing the cables & outers could have such a dramatic effect :lol:
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Ian Long
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Post by Ian Long »

In my long history of gear problems when I first got the bike, changing the gear cables and outers only worked for a short time- I was fixing the symptom rather than the cause.

The actual cause was my cable routing encouraged grim to run down the gear cable and collect in the final outer cable section going to the rear derailleur. This then caused the inner cable to stick slightly which prevent my gears changing.

Final cure was to drill out the cable lugs on my frame and run a continuous outer cable from the gear lever to the derailleur. I haven't had a gear selection problem since :D :D apart from when there is a mountain of mud on the chain.
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MartinF
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Post by MartinF »

Yes - I know what you mean - inevitably, they'll fill up with poo again.

From what my bike maintenance bible suggests, brake & gear cable changing should be more or less a matter of routine. Hydraulic brakes certainly solve part of that problem. Any signs of hydraulic gears? I know that the old fashioned Sturmey Archer-type of hub gears ought to perform a whole lot better on a MTB than derailleurs.

My new outers have additional teflon liners that stick out proud of the ends, and then some additional rubber gaiters to go over those ends. Certainly not as poo-resistant as continuous outer, but probably a lot better than what I had.
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MartinF
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Post by MartinF »

Ian Long wrote:In my long history of gear problems when I first got the bike, changing the gear cables and outers only worked for a short time- I was fixing the symptom rather than the cause.
Thinking about it - that's not true at all. There's no question but that the cables & outers get full of crud & therefore don't shift the derailleurs efficiently. So changing the cables & outers *is* treating *a* cause. What could be argued is how effective a treatment it actually is.

Running a single outer all the way sounds like an excellent :idea: , but drilling out the lugs seems a little extreme :?: .

How do you hold the cables onto the frame now? Or are you able to thread the entire cable through enlarged lugs?
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Ian Long
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Post by Ian Long »

I would say poor cable routing design is the cause but I guess it is a subtle difference. Crud collecting in the outer cable is a consequence.....

The lugs were enlarged sufficiently so that the outer cable could pass through them, but kept smaller enough to keep the cable in its correct position. It would take a particularly observant person to look at my bike and notice that it has been modified.

You are of course right though - it is a fairly desperate step to take and one from where there is little route back. All I can say is, I wish I had done it four months earlier.
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