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Unpacked road bike. Assembly is simple enough, except that the rear derailleur cable housing is not in its groove (I'm sure there is a specific term).

Here is a picture.

rear derailleur cable

No matter how much I tug (manually), the lower part in the picture—whatever it's called, housing endpoint?—will not fit in its seat, or "groove".

The brakes need no adjustments out of the box, and so I'm assuming the derailleurs are likewise already tuned and I don't need to disassemble, say, the screw holding the end of the cable near the cogset.

What's the trick?

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Set the shifter to the slackest/highest position. With the bike's rear wheel off the ground, put one hand on the body of the rear derailleur and push while turning the cranks with the other hand. Push the derailleur until it shifts all the way up to the biggest cog and let go of the cranks and the derailleur. Put the ferrule in the housing stop. Turn the cranks a few times to let the rear derailleur return to the smallest cog.

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  • Hmm.. nice, but it sounds like I'll need a stand (or else three hands: lift, push, turn). I know I'll get one sooner or later and move on from the turn-the-bike-upside-down days, but is it really needed right away?
    – Sam7919
    Apr 16, 2020 at 4:06
  • Also, I'm not clear on the "push the body of the rear derailleur" part. There is a hinge, and the body rotates around this hinge when one shifts, but the idea here is to shift without the shifter. Is that about right?
    – Sam7919
    Apr 16, 2020 at 4:07
  • @Sam Turn the bike upside down on something soft.
    – Nathan Knutson
    Apr 16, 2020 at 4:59
  • @Sam Yes, shift it without the shifter. Push gently on the lower part of the parallelogram.
    – Nathan Knutson
    Apr 16, 2020 at 5:00
  • @Sam I've done work on bikes for decades and have never needed a workstand. They're a luxury unless you're doing it commercially. Just lean your bike against anything, and perhaps chock the wheels to stop it moving away. Or hang it clear of the ground from some old tubes.
    – Criggie ♦
    Apr 16, 2020 at 6:15

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