Silver shifter breaking cables

[Richard Rose]

Recurring (twice) problem, But first a little background. I have had my Clem for close to four years. Deore rear der. and Silver shifters. They are mounted inside of the brake lever in "Riv style". I am on pace to have 10,000 miles on this bike and zero cable / shifter problems.

About two years ago I built up my Gus from a frame. I installed the very same Deore rear der. but used the Silver shifters from Blue Lug instead of from Riv. I did so to get the barrel adjusters that come from Blue Lug vs. the adjustable cable exit angle you get with the Riv units. I did so because I was looking at older Rapid Rise units that do not come with barrel adjusters, which I presumed I needed. As a novice bike mechanic I did not comprehend that a full friction setup does not really need barrel adjusters. Anyway my rear shifter cable began to fray & eventually break where it exits the shifter & enters the barrel adjuster. I installed a new cable along with the Rapid Rise Nexave rear der. Now that cable has also frayed to the point of likely breaking on my next ride. The Gus has only two thousand miles on it.

I wrote here about the first one breaking and was informed (I think) that others had reported similar issues with early Silver shifters. Can anyone confirm that? Is my shifter unit the likely culprit or is it the fact that I do not have the Riv supplied adjustable cable angle fitting? I will send pics in a comment. Any help very much appreciated.

[Richard Rose]

Pics.

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 28, 2025, at 12:19 PM, Richard Rose <rmro...@gmail.com> wrote:

Recurring (twice) problem, But first a little background. I have had my Clem for close to four years. Deore rear der. and Silver shifters. They are mounted inside of the brake lever in "Riv style". I am on pace to have 10,000 miles on this bike and zero cable / shifter problems.

About two years ago I built up my Gus from a frame. I installed the very same Deore rear der. but used the Silver shifters from Blue Lug instead of from Riv. I did so to get the barrel adjusters that come from Blue Lug vs. the adjustable cable exit angle you get with the Riv units. I did so because I was looking at older Rapid Rise units that do not come with barrel adjusters, which I presumed I needed. As a novice bike mechanic I did not comprehend that a full friction setup does not really need barrel adjusters. Anyway my rear shifter cable began to fray & eventually break where it exits the shifter & enters the barrel adjuster. I installed a new cable along with the Rapid Rise Nexave rear der. Now that cable has also frayed to the point of likely breaking on my next ride. The Gus has only two thousand miles on it.

I wrote here about the first one breaking and was informed (I think) that others had reported similar issues with early Silver shifters. Can anyone confirm that? Is my shifter unit the likely culprit or is it the fact that I do not have the Riv supplied adjustable cable angle fitting? I will send pics in a comment. Any help very much appreciated.

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[Joe Bernard]

Richard, 

I'm not seeing a barrel adjuster but the angle the cable is taking after it leaves the shifter looks sharp, not a straight path. I think that's the problem. 

[Garth]

Without actually having it in hand, I summize the edge of the machining where the cable enters the barrel adjuster has a sharp edge to it, and so with every shift it's just widdling away at the cable. A couple things you may be able to do. I know they make them, but some sort of deburring tool is what you could use to smooth off the edge of the holes. Possibly even a slightly larger drill bit than the hole, rotating very slowly. Maybe a dremel/rotary tool with a small cone shape bit with grit to use to chamfer the edge !

Another possibility is to use some 1.5mm brake cable as a floss-type file though the barrel. Wear some leather gloves and work it back and forth. It works ! I did this on a steel frame that only had grooves in the metal for the FD cable. Over the years it created a sharp edge around the hole for the cable. So I used a old brake cable like floss, and worked it back and forth. It worked great.

After you smooth the edges, you can also use some 1.2mm shift cable liner, from Jagwire. It may fit through the hole, may not. Brake cable liner is too big. I used it on some older Suntour thumbshifters that were also eating cables. So I cut a 2" section and slid it over the cable around the shfiter body bend and through the guide hole. Never had an issue with fraying again.

[Max S]

Indeed, if I'm understanding the issue you're experiencing, this is a design flaw with the earlier generation(s) of the Silver V2 shifter used in the bar-end or thumbshifter configuration. (I'm referring to a combo of the shifter design that came after the initial Silver friction shifter modeled after Suntour Sprint levers, and a thumbie or bar-end mount). 

Basically, the radius of the track for the cable on the shifter body is larger than the position of the barrel into which cable housing fits, and when the cable enters the barrel off the shifter body, it isn't tangentially aligned and rubs against the bottom of the barrel. This may have come up in one or two threads previously on RBW, and I've definitely pointed this out to bikie pals on the example I have. Don't know for certain if the latest iteration fixed that, but there it is...  

Diagram below... Happy to be corrected, but that's pretty much what I observed on the example I have. 

- Max "test first, please" in A2 

 

[Richard Rose]

Hi Joe. First pic that shows the frayed cable is the one with barrel adjuster. It’s just a bit cut off. I am pretty certain it’s a pretty straight path. Third pic is of the Clem with the Riv “path adjuster”. It is pretty straight also.

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 28, 2025, at 1:45 PM, Joe Bernard <joer...@gmail.com> wrote:

Richard, 

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[Collin A]

I had this issue on first gen silver2 thumbies that frayed a shift cable. Fixed it by rotating the metal piece between the shifter and mount with the stop on it so it prevented the shifter from pinching the cable like Max showed. That occurred in 2020-ish I think and hasn't happened in the 4 years since I fixed it. I can snap a photo of the "fix" if needed.

To answer the question - it's the thumbie mount, not the shifter that is the culprit. But it is fixable with the parts you've got and you don't need to order new shifter mounts

Collin in Oaktown

[Josh C]

I'd listen to Collin, I would adjust the angle of the shifter "outlet...thing"

[Richard Rose]

Collin, I would appreciate that pic. This does not look like there is a pinching place. Also, my front shifter has had no similar issue. Of course it is used a lot less.

Thanks!

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 28, 2025, at 7:18 PM, Collin A <collinm...@gmail.com> wrote:

I had this issue on first gen silver2 thumbies that frayed a shift cable. Fixed it by rotating the metal piece between the shifter and mount with the stop on it so it prevented the shifter from pinching the cable like Max showed. That occurred in 2020-ish I think and hasn't happened in the 4 years since I fixed it. I can snap a photo of the "fix" if needed.

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[Justin Kennedy]

Experienced this same issue with first gen Silver2 shifter and Rapid Rise rear derailler. Last time I snapped a cable, I was at the end of a longish ride and thank god within walking distance of a bike shop. Tuning in here for fix tips. 

[Collin A]

Here is what has worked for me. It keeps the shifter from turning so much that it creates a kink in the cable

Good luck!

[Richard Rose]

Thanks for the pic Collin. I will give that a try. But the pick is of a current Riv shifter without the barrel adjuster but with the adjustable cable exit angle thing. I have those on my Clem & have no cable issues.

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 29, 2025, at 12:17 PM, Collin A <collinm...@gmail.com> wrote:

Here is what has worked for me. It keeps the shifter from turning so much that it creates a kink in the cable

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[Collin A]

Understood, let me know if that resolves it!

[Richard Rose]

Speaking of Silver shifters; how much force should be needed when working against the spring? On my Rapid Rise equipped Gus there is no resistance moving shifter forward to get a lower gear. But pulling back on shifter to get a higher gear requires quite a lot of effort. Clem does not have Rapid Rise but requires similar effort.

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 29, 2025, at 12:17 PM, Collin A <collinm...@gmail.com> wrote:

Here is what has worked for me. It keeps the shifter from turning so much that it creates a kink in the cable

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[Richard Rose]

Collin, this is as close as I can get to the orientation in your pic. 

Close enough?

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 29, 2025, at 12:17 PM, Collin A <collinm...@gmail.com> wrote:

Here is what has worked for me. It keeps the shifter from turning so much that it creates a kink in the cable

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[Collin A]

That should do it! Look at that nice straight line from the end of the cable through the barrel

[Richard Rose]

OK, thanks. If I can get a new cable tomorrow we shall see.

Sent from my iPhone

On Sep 29, 2025, at 7:51 PM, Collin A <collinm...@gmail.com> wrote:

That should do it! Look at that nice straight line from the end of the cable through the barrel

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