how stuck? can you push the cable and get it out that way?

worst comes to worst, you can always loosen off the lever assembly from the body, but that can be a real pain to reassemble.

of course, the correct answer is that you tell your wife that it's broken and you need Red Etap AXS to replace it....

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yeah, pushing it is no good because the ball head on the end of the cable prevents it being pushed through to the correct side, or pulled out the port.
i'd assume that somehow breaking down and rebuilding the thing, in-situ, is the solution, but cripes. . .
the whole idea was this was a cheap build - got a brand-x frame, a free ultegra group, and a handful of cheap bits and pieces. spending $120 on a new 10-speed lever would almost be as much as the frame and fork!

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I was just looking at my lever (DA 9 speed), i think your lever is the same basic design with the external shift cable, right?

If the ball is where I think it is, you might be forked. simply removing the lever body isn't gonna cut it, you'll be partially (at least) disassembling the shifting mechanism. at least the disassembly is the easy part....

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I've had similar happen to me (not sure the extent of yours). I managed to get the head free using the straightened ends of paper clips to push/release the stuck cable head. It might also be possible to use some fine-tipped tweezers.

....good luck!

an older sti with external cable routing? (cable exits out the side of the shifter, not underneath the bar tape)

I've had to dig some out in the past, a few sheared off ones that were frayed... real pita.

Some (hazy on older shimano stuff) brifters have an access screw on the bottom underneath the rubber grip. Worth looking for it first.

If it doesn't have that, you need to shift to the open position (don't worry about cable tension, just want a straight shot out) tape the lever down to the drop bar (free's up a hand) and start digging around with some hooks/picks (dentist picks work, but you can often fashion something out of an old spoke or such)

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I guess it's also hard to get a useful photo of how it's sitting?

Presumably it's not as easy as grabbing the cable head with a good pair of tweezers

If it's 10 speed is it the type with the gear cable exposed running inwards out of the shifter? If so, in the absence of a better idea, do you think if you cut the cable and housing close to the leaver being able to push through that port might help get it out?

Cut it close enough and you might have enough slack to reuse that housing.

ETA you had lots of replys since the one I replied to. This is prob irrelevant now. Good luck

Dental probes and a lot of patience/profanity.
I had to remove one of these on Sunday myself... Reminded me why I like DI2 so much.

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
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I took a combination of bolt cutters and cable snips to the side of my shifter where the ball cable end thing was supposed to come out. Cut a bunch of plastic away and totally ruined the cosmetic of the interior of the shifter. When I was done with it, it looked like it had been chewed up by a dog. But I got the cable out and back in the right place and it worked fine. I couldn't feel any difference under my hand while riding because the hood smoothed it all out nicely.

I think there may be other better methods that don't destroy things as much. :)

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i've thought about it - hopefully it doesn't come to that, though . . .

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If they are the 6600 shifters, there is a removable cap that may help you. Part #13 is removable

si.shimano.com/api/publish/storage/pdf/en/ev/ST-6603/EV-ST-6603-2369A.pdf

If they are the 6700 shifter, here is the diagram. Part #9

si.shimano.com/api/publish/storage/pdf/en/ev/ST-6700/EV-ST-6700-2936B.pdf

triumph!

i removed one of the side pieces (thanks, jaret) and fashioned a hook out of a bobby pin (thanks, fredly), and with patience, profanity, and a headlamp, i got it out.

i've reinstalled it properly and it shifts fine; i think soon enough i'll want to replace, though, because i put some real stress on the nipple and i really don't want it to break off in there!

thanks, everyone.

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Great!!! Happy to have helped :)

I was going to say this. Also, stepping away from it for a while if you're not getting it out, so you can come back fresh for another try.

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yep - two days ago i nearly threw the entire thing out the window. but i came back to it fresh today and got it cleared up fairly quickly.
it's frustrating because this has been one of those "easy" builds that has taken months: covid, two little kids at home, all sorts of delayed shipments and missing parts, etc.

but today i jumped on, did a 5-minute spin and a calibration, and . . . things seem to be working!

(right in time for the nice weather to come. . .)

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____________________________________
https://lshtm.academia.edu/MikeCallaghan

http://howtobeswiss.blogspot.ch/

Excellent! Glad you got it worked out.

FWIW, my experience has been that shifters rarely see much in the way of ill consequences from this, and when something does get messed up it's usually pretty immediately apparent.

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Tech writer/support on this here site. FIST school instructor and certified bike fitter. Formerly at Diamondback Bikes, LeMond Fitness, FSA, TiCycles, etc.
Coaching and bike fit - http://source-e.net/ Cyclocross blog - https://crosssports.net/ BJJ instruction - https://ballardbjj.com/