Temporarily permanent shift cable repair
TLDR: My shift cable went 💩, and I fixed it with a drinking straw.
Hello. I was on my way home today and noticed it was a little difficult to petal. So I looked, and sure enough my rear tire was low. I decided to stop at a gas station and pump it up with my pump.
While pumping up my tire, I noticed that my rear derailer cable is rubbing into the chain. I must have messed it up the last time I changed the tube. I had the tools with me and decided to fix it. My quick 5min stop became a 45min stop.
After routing the cable correctly, I had lost 1st, 2nd, and 3rd gear. I never removed the cable from the derailer, I didn't have anything to cut the ferrule off the end. I'm riding a fat tire e bike, it's heavy, I need at least 2nd gear to get going without overheating the motor (in the afternoon).
When I got home I ordered a new cable, won't get here until Thursday or Friday. I really don't want to drive to work the rest of the week. The game was on, how can I patch this to make it work for a couple days.
I found an old stainless straw for a cup I lost years ago. It was the perfect size to fit over the cable. I cut a piece off, slid it over the cable, and taped it in place with electrical tape. It's working great and perfectly shifts through all 8 gears.
I'm going to change the cable, probably this weekend. But this should hold for a bit.