Today’s bike confusion is these two little bits that came with my shiny new XT shifter

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxxysHtIvGATbkpPc0pzUGVkQ2c/view?usp=sharing

Holes in the middle to take a shifter cable. No idea what they’re for! Any clues?

Left hand one is just an outer cable end. Extra bit just helps keep crud out

That there is a dust seal cable end ferrule thingy (both bits). Goes on the end of your cable outer to keep gunk out a bit better. Slot em together, stick on end of outer (not at shifter or mech), feed inner through. The rubber boot bit moves with the inner when you shift. They work ok, a little better than plain ferrules I suppose.

Like that (but push the boot onto the ferrule tube thing, obviously).

Oh, right, never seen these before. Thanks! I’ve just swapped cables entirely and I will say that the old outer on the final stretch from chainstay to mech was quite badly rusted, so every little helps.

they (used?) to come in the XTR cable set. Work pretty well. My C456 must be 6 years old now and never touched them.

Trickle down in action: came with my M8000 XT shifter, and the swanky coated inners too.

So the rear mech turned up today, and the installation guide covers this piece, but it comes with the shifter. Top work, Shimano. But as the M8000 is so damn shiny, I’ll let you off.

The rubber boot bit moves with the inner when you shift. They work ok, a little better than plain ferrules I suppose.

The rubber boot should stay fixed to the pipe on the ferrule. If it’s moving with the cable, it’s not working.