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The left hand (front) gear cable has frayed & snapped off right at the mech cable clamp, I'm a little worried that it will pull out of the clamp as i use it so need to replace it.
Now, the cable runs under the bar tape, is it possible to remove the old cable & replace it without having to remove the bar tape?
The cable outer is fine and nearly new plus i really don't want the hassle of replacing new bar tape.
An inner will just slide through the outer OK
That's what I'm hoping, plus its an internally routed frame :/
a) why would the cable pull through?
b) sometimes, depends what shifter it is and how dextrous you are with the cable, sometimes fishing it through the brake lever body and hitting the hole at the end of the outer cable is a lottery
c) if (b) is troublesome you can unravel the tape just to the brake lever and fix the gear cable with access to the outer cable and then retape, if your style of tape will allow this
sometimes a bit fiddly to get into the start of the outer, just by the lever, so be patient and careful (you don't want to splay the cable)
[quote=muddydwarf ]That's what I'm hoping, plus its an internally routed frame :/
If it's full length outer throughout, you're laughing. If it's split, and the frame has a removeable cable stop entry/exit point then one option is to put a looped zip-tie in the exit hole, feed the inner in and use the zip-tie to pull the free end of the inner through the hole (like fishing for it).
IMO easiest way to deal with internal cables is to tape some string (or similar) to the old cable as you pull it out, leave that through the frame, then attach the new cable to it and pull through. Or you can get liners specifically for it. With some frames it's an absolute bugger if you have nothing to aim for.
Just put a bit of grease on the end of the cable before you start to thread it through. Make sure you have all the tension off the lever before you start to ensure the cable routing is all lined up.
What njee said: If its an internal routed frame you need to get thin tube to slide over the existing cable, then pull cable out, feed tge new one back through then remove the tube and put safely on one side for next time. The bit under bar tape is no issue, just remember to put brifter to lowest gear position first.