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Gear cable snapped inside lever on road bike. Easy way to fix it?

They look very cog like to me.
Thanks for all the tips folks, you're all great!
I am going to keep it in the gear I'm in now as I can just about get up hills on it and I can switch gears on the front cog for long flat rides.
I shall purchase a gear cable when I am able and get a friend to help me as I have been told four hands is better than two for cable replacement. The Ballantine bike manual looks helpful on this matter. :)
 
Now my chain has snapped, probably due to the fact that I haven't fixed the gear problem yet.
Termite Man - do you still have a spare cable? Sorry, just seen your response, thanks!
So will I need a new chain or can I fix it somehow?
I think I may have to visit Sam the Wheels or Brixton Cycles to fix this now.
How much would it cost?
 
Orang Utan said:
Now my chain has snapped, probably due to the fact that I haven't fixed the gear problem yet.
Termite Man - do you still have a spare cable? Sorry, just seen your response, thanks!
So will I need a new chain or can I fix it somehow?
I think I may have to visit Sam the Wheels or Brixton Cycles to fix this now.
How much would it cost?
Click to expand...
Possibly just the loan of a chain tool.
Depending on how many miles you've done on it, a new chain might be advisable anyway.. and you will probably need a chain tool to make it the correct length for small-small...
I pay about £15 for 8 speed chains..
 
You can usually rejoin a broken chain with a powerlink which should cost about 2 quid for the link and then a small amount of labour charge to remove any twisted bits and rejoin, my shop would have charged around 6 quid probably but it depends on a number of factors, sometimes the gear hanger can get bent or there will be other issues shown up by the broken chain (it might have snapped because it's worn out)
 
Thanks, so if I was to pay the shop to fix the chain and the gear, what would your estimate be for the cost?
 
Orang Utan said:
Thanks, so if I was to pay the shop to fix the chain and the gear, what would your estimate be for the cost?
Click to expand...

how long is a piece of string? :) I really can't say without laying my hands on the bike I'm afraid
 
I don't think the chain is that worn btw as I replaced it relatively recently. It kept slipping on the stuck gear and I think this must have put some pressure on it.
 
Orang Utan said:
I don't think the chain is that worn btw as I replaced it relatively recently. It kept slipping on the stuck gear and I think this must have put some pressure on it.
Click to expand...

this may be part of your problem - did you change the cassette (sprockets on the back wheel) too or just the chain?
 
ok unlikely then, hopefully a shop will be able to rejoin it without too many problems.
 
I don't know. I had another look and the others links look in good shape.
Even the broken link doesn't look too worn, it's just splayed open.
 
I'm lucky to get 700 miles out of a chain... mind you that may reflect on my cleaning / lube techniques...
 
About 100 miles a week.
Just saw Sam the Wheels and he replaced a link for me and I think* he said the rest of the chain is fine, but there's a screw bit missing from the derailleur that needs replacing. Will take it to a bike shop to get that looked at and the gear cable replaced.
*i said 'i think' cos Sam is old and Jamaican. I also got bits of a story about him truing 100 wheels a day and the BBC coming to film him doing it.
 
Still haven't got the gear fixed and now the bottom bracket seems fucked - the crank arms have become suddenly stiff and it's hard to pedal. Or maybe it's just the crank arms need readjusting - they look slightly uneven.
I think my next bike will be a trendy single speed!
 
Orang Utan said:
I also got bits of a story about him truing 100 wheels a day and the BBC coming to film him doing it.
Click to expand...

I used to know an old guy with a very strong regional accent and few teeth. He would come in the shop I worked in, sit down and tell me stories. Afterwards I was lucky to have gleaned one or two details. They often involved the Queen, I think. I was never quite sure if it was the same story :)

Get a trendy fixie. Much less hassle. That's what I'm going to get when my local bike shop finally snap and bar me.
 
Orang Utan said:
Still haven't got the gear fixed and now the bottom bracket seems fucked - the crank arms have become suddenly stiff and it's hard to pedal. Or maybe it's just the crank arms need readjusting - they look slightly uneven.
I think my next bike will be a trendy single speed!
Click to expand...
Is it an adjustable BB ?

Sod single speed - unless you've got used to whatever single speed you're using - presumably 38 front / 11 back ?
I can feel my knees screaming in sympathy and I tend to ride in a higher gear than most ....
 
If I didn't want to pay for cable/chains/bottom bracket I'd ask at uk.freecyle.org. If that didn't work I'd cannibalise one of those dead bikes you see in public bike parking places, e.g. in front of the mini-Sainsburys next to Brixton tube. There are often locked bikes which have been stripped of wheels and saddle. I'd tell myself that the owner has abandoned all hope and just help myself. On the other hand it's theft and the owner might be intending to rescue it.

What happens to those dead bikes? Does the council cut the locks and bin them? Or do they get liberated by one of those skip bike co-ops?

P.S. OU, you really need to learn to fix your bike. If you have lots of spare time and somewhere to work you can gradually teach yourself with all the free advice on the web. I did, and I've no talent whatsoever. It's not rocket science. Just accept that the first time you do something it might take four hours when a bike shop could do it in four minutes.
 
Even before I got my repair stand, I think I managed to replace my entire transmission and sealed BB in about an hour the year before last and I'm amazingly inept mechanically.
There is a bit of an investment though - a few special tools - but they amount to about as much as the labour charges for a major overhaul.
Gear cables though - pretty sure the one I've been using for a couple of years / 5,000 miles I paid £1 for in Wilkos - though I think it stretched a bit for a while :hmm:
I'm going to try to make all my bits last the winter and then replace the lot again.
 
gentlegreen said:
Is it an adjustable BB ?

Sod single speed - unless you've got used to whatever single speed you're using - presumably 38 front / 11 back ?
I can feel my knees screaming in sympathy and I tend to ride in a higher gear than most ....
Click to expand...
I have no idea if it is adjustable or not
And it's the smallest cog at the front and the smallest cog at the back.
I'm gonna have to take it in to a shop. It's beyond my ken.
 
Frumious B. said:
If I didn't want to pay for cable/chains/bottom bracket I'd ask at uk.freecyle.org. If that didn't work I'd cannibalise one of those dead bikes you see in public bike parking places, e.g. in front of the mini-Sainsburys next to Brixton tube. There are often locked bikes which have been stripped of wheels and saddle. I'd tell myself that the owner has abandoned all hope and just help myself. On the other hand it's theft and the owner might be intending to rescue it.

What happens to those dead bikes? Does the council cut the locks and bin them? Or do they get liberated by one of those skip bike co-ops?

P.S. OU, you really need to learn to fix your bike. If you have lots of spare time and somewhere to work you can gradually teach yourself with all the free advice on the web. I did, and I've no talent whatsoever. It's not rocket science. Just accept that the first time you do something it might take four hours when a bike shop could do it in four minutes.
Click to expand...
I need to learn but I need to learn on a course. I just don't have the gumption to do it on my own. :oops:
 
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