Hi everyone. I’m having a real issue setting up my Rival 1x shifter properly. The bend in the cable housing is too tight, so the inner binds on its way back through when I shift down the cassette. This means I cannot shift into the lowest two sprockets at the back. I have packed the cable exit port with grease, given the shifter internals a blast of WD40 and ensured I have a smooth cable run everywhere else. It’s doing my head in as the problem effectively renders the bike useless. Has anyone else had a similar experience? I’d love to hear your advice.
Where is this bend?
Have you tried to lengthen the cable housing between the frame and the derailleur so the bend isnt to tight? It’s not the cleanest looking, but may be what you need to do.
It might help to know what frame/bike this is also
Of course, I forgot to say. It’s at the hood itself, where the cable follows the curve of the bar into the shifter
It’s already running a reasonably long bend, as I’m aware of this tip with Sram. The bike is a Kinesis CX Race, so nothing with crazy internal routing.
I’ve fought this problem. Seems to be worse when I run a 1x rear der. vs a 2x, maybe because of the clutch. I’ve had good luck fixing this using Jagwire Pro shift cable and housing. I think it’s 2.0mm vs 2.2mm on most cables (may have those numbers wrong). Hope that helps
I’ve tried using 1.1mm sram inners (1.2mm shimano inners don’t work well), along with decent Jagwire housing too. I’m still struggling to get it to work. Thanks anyway though. I think I’m going to contact Sram directly and have a moan 
Which cable exit are you using on the lever body? There’s two possible routing options, one that runs more along the outside and one that crosses over the top (I can take photos, sorry that I’m doing a bad job of being descriptive). Also, what housing and housing ferrules are you using? I build and maintain a ton of 1x bikes with SRAM force and rival, and only rarely encounter this issue. Generally I see it with plastic ferrules going into the lever body, since they don’t support the housing well and cause the end of the housing to pinch in a bit, resulting in a bit of excess drag. It’s also worth noting that these derailleurs are extremely sensitive to the high limit adjustment, which can cause issues with the two smallest cogs.
In general, my preference is for the Jagwire stainless cables and slick-lube housings, with alloy ferrules exiting from the top cable port (that crosses to the inside of the bar) on the shifter. Make sure the nager is absolutely dead straight, disconnect the cable from the derailleur, and set the high limit dead center between where the chain would rub on the inside and the outside of the 11t cog. Then connect the cable and set the tension. If all the little details are right, it’s a brilliant setup.
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Hi Jeremy. Some interesting tips there, I’ll give them a go. I only have the one exit port on my shifter, so changing the routing isn’t an option. However, I’ll give the alloy ferrule tip a go. FWIW, a clubmate has suggested putting a washer on the bolt that holds the derailleur to the hanger, spacing it a bit to the right. This will have the effect of increasing the cage tension a bit more and I’m hoping that will fix my issue. I’m giving it a go this afternoon, so I’ll feedback on here in case anyone else has a similar problem in the future. Thanks to everyone for the suggestions.
100% sure it is the cable in outer not the cable somewhere else?
My CAAD12 frame was catching the cable internally, where the port angle was out from the cable route causing the cable to cut a V into the port itself, which then ended up catching the cable.
Have seen the same on bottle cage bolts touching cables causing some weird shift issues.
If was 2x I would also suggest checking cables are not crossing inside the frame (if internally routed).
The issue is definitely at the shifter hood/bar bend, as I have checked for rubbing and obstructions elsewhere
I realise this is a really old thread but I’m having similar issues with a force shifter. Did you ever resolve it?
Provide pics of your setup with the hood sock flipped up.
Note - some bars (3t) just don’t like having a brake and shift cable run internally.
- Try rotating your shifters inward to reduce some of the angles in the geometry there
- I use this cable housing which works really well for this - 1x Elite Sealed Shift Kit | Jagwire It has a separate liner, you can get creative with and the polished cable moves really well. They are a big larger externally, so if you have this and it’s not working, go with the standard housing - my Specialized Chisel wouldn’t take this housing for example.
- these might work too - EZ-Bend Housing Segment | Jagwire
- Pay attention to how the cables route with respect to one another inside the bars. If one cable is inside at the opening, it might need to go under the other cable to get a better angle after the opening and rout to the wider spot on the exit.
The mechanic who helped me melted some cable liner onto the ferrules at the entrance and exit of the frame, to great extra long ‘noses’ like on some jagwire ones. He also mentioned that the inner cable was rubbing on/twisted around the brake hose inside the frame. This is probably mainly why it would shift up ok ish but not go back down again. Likewise, it’s also why those bodged long noses helped. I’d also agree with Jfrancis and his recommendation of the best cable housing you can afford.
Best of luck with getting it sorted, it’s so frustrating! Let us all know how you get on.