I have a Felt B16, which spent a lot of time on the trainer. I had to recable the rear brake a few times, but never the shifters. Much to my surprise when I tried to pull the housing for the shifter cables out of the top tube holes, it was stuck - I am assuming that the sweat caused the outer casing to be stuck to the guides for the internal routing. Pulling it hard made the casing come apart a bit at the surface level…
Any idea how this problem can be approached? Is there some sort of an agent that can be used to remove the casing without tearing the exposed section of the housing out?
I had to send my specialized transition back to specialized for repair… sorry for giving bad news.
Its an issue with older transition models - i do not know of anything specific to other models, sorry!
Good old WD40 mate. Squirt it around where the housing enters the frame and let it sit, repeat a few times over a few days and it should free it up. Finish line Chill-Zone also works pretty well as a penetrant.
Try pushing from the other end as well but don’t get too vigorous with it as, like the brake cable, the shift lines are sleeved internally as well. If you get too crazy you can damage the internal routing and that’s a pain in the ass.
The WD40 guy is giving good advice. I had some stuck for a couple of weeks, but I kept soaking it and eventually I was able to rip it out with pliers. It took one person holding the frame and me pulling on the housing but it came loose without any damage to the bike.
Soak it in WD-40 as recommended. Then, grab a can of compressed air, turn it upside down, and freeze the living hell out of it. It might just shrink it enough to let you pull it out with pliers.
Hi
If you try using a penetrating fluid and let soak overnight a few times this could help remove the cabling
Paul
London
Latest VLog 15 - youtu.be/wNIYUMMzhj8
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What everyone else is saying: soak it on penetrating oil and then pull out, suggest twisting it will help free it.
I’m sure you’re aware that the cable outer goes all the way through the B16 frame so it will just be stuck with crap where it enters the frame on the top tube.
Be patient and gentle. If I recall correctly it’s not unlike the original Transition. They can easily be damaged. Once out, flush the routes. A damp length of string might help there.
When you replace the outer, a run down with something like GT85 or silicone grease will make insertion easier and should
reduce the chances of this reoccurring.
Great news!
After soaking it in wd-40 overnight, this morning I gave it a go. Started pulling on it, and after a couple of minutes of twisting and tugging, I thought I felt a movement. I put the bike on the floor trainer, sat on the frame and pulled again - harder this time. And the damn thing came out! I was so happy. Put a new length of housing + a new cable, and everything is working awesome.
From now on, housing for the inner routes on that bike gets replaced after every season 
Thanks folks!