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Three hours to find a bad ferrule. Three. Hours.
New cable day on a 90s Bianchi. Everything smooth until the rear derailleur felt mushy. Checked the housing. Checked the cable. Hell I even pulled the BB for no reason. Turns out the ferrule at the frame stop was split. Just a hairline crack. But it was enough to let the cable flex. Wasted a whole afternoon on something I could've spotted in 30 seconds. Anyone else get humbled by the dumbest stuff?
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brian_kelly9117d ago
People don't check ferrules close enough because they look solid but they're basically the cheapest plastic or aluminum rings on the whole bike. A hairline crack in one is invisible unless you pinch it or push on the cable housing right at that spot. I bet you had your hand on the shifter the whole time feeling for the problem instead of walking back and grabbing the cable at every stop. Next time do a full length push test with the bike on the stand. Push the housing at each ferrule and see if the cable moves inside any differently. That little crack is just enough to let the housing compress and eat all your lever throw.
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angela_kelly16d ago
Check the brake ferrules too since they shift under hard braking same as shifting.
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