Replace a gear cable
Pull the old cable out of the shifter, replace damaged housing, thread the new cable, clamp it at the derailleur and adjust the shifting. This guide is still being written.
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
- Time
- 40 minutes
Tools you need
Cable cutter
Allen keys
Otherwise: Multi-tool
Pliers
Otherwise: Adjustable wrench
Step 1Pull out the old cable
Without pedalling, click the shifter all the way to the smallest cog at the back, or to the small chainring at the front: the cable is now slack and its head sits opposite the exit. Undo the bolt that clamps the cable at the derailleur and cut off the end cap with the Cable cutter.
Find where the cable leaves the shifter: under a screwed cover, under the hood of a road lever or at the end of a trigger shifter. Push the cable from the derailleur towards the shifter, and pull it out by its head. Note how the housing is routed before removing it.
Read next
- Check
Check cables, housing and hoses
Frayed or sticky cables, split housing, pinched or weeping hoses — the links between your hands and your brakes and gears, checked one by one.
Easy · 10 minutes
- Adjust
Adjust the rear derailleur
Check the hanger, set the H and L limit screws, re-tension the cable, fine-tune indexing with the barrel adjuster, then the B-screw. Crisp, quiet shifting.
Intermediate · 30 minutes