tyrion

I want to replace cables and housing on one bike and reuse the old cables and housing on another bike. (The other bike is being pieced together from spare parts I want to spend as little as possible to get it running, at least initially.)

So the tricky part is to keep the old cables intact so I can re-insert them into the housing. I was thinking I'd cut the frayed/kinked ends off and apply super glue to the newly trimmed ends to keep them intact.

Does this sound feasible? Any tips for this process?

ramzilla

I've salvaged & re-used cables & cable housings before. My technique is to make a very clean cut on the tip end of cable. Then, put a drop of oil or dab vaseline on it & slowly insert it while rotating it a bit. And, most of the time it works. You just have to watch out for one or more strands from fraying. It's game over once that happens

Litespud

brake or gear cables? I personally wouldn’t reuse brake cables (housing, sure), but if you’re happy with them after carefully inspecting (particularly up at the heads) it’s your call. Will the longer cables still be long enough if you snip off the frayed ends? You might use the old RD and rear brake cables for the corresponding front applications and get new full-length rear cables

tyrion

Both. Or whatever I can salvage.

Good point. 2 new brake cables wouldn't break the bank.

2_i 

+1. I reuse cables and housings all the time. However, this is not done indiscriminately. While I try to treat the cables and housings gently, not always all goes according to plans. I examine the cables and housing to be reused for any flaws and toss them away or shorten when they are no good. Rear cables and housing often move to front in reusing. The cables that are too short to be used in their original function often have some secondary applications on the bikes or outside.

Most recently I started using segmented housing and this goes to another level in being reusable.

Eric S.

I prefer "aged" cables - once the strands wind up tight and the stretching is done they feel better. I'll use them as long as possible. I'll move an old rear cable (both brake and derailleur) up to the front before ever tossing it.

DiabloScott

No harm in trying. You might run into trouble if the "another" bike needs longer housing or something. If the cables are in good shape, and they're long enough for the re-install, then you can probably make it work.

Bill Kapaun

I'd use a new piece of housing for the RDER "loop".

andrewclaus

I feed used cables through old housings quite often, mostly on free salvaged bikes for kids. I say forget about the superglue. If you can't get a clean enough cut to feed by itself, superglue isn't going to help things.

Often there's an extra inch of two of housing from the cockpit to the frame or front brake. A few times I've seen enough extra to introduce an extra bend, and enough extra friction in the cable to reduce performance. It's often possible to shorten the housing (and cut off buggered ends in the process), thereby gaining cable length to play with. And improve braking and/or shifting.

cxwrench

Cables do NOT stretch. At all. 'Aged' cables has nothing to do with reality, sorry. Nor do the strands 'wind up'.

That said, unless the housing is pretty much new I'll replace it. I consider new to be a month or so. All of the wear in the system that will cause problems (short of cables fraying in certain shifters) takes place in the housing. I never reuse cables. If I take a bike apart the cables go straight in the trash.

Litespud

Serious question: what do you base that on? I know when I install a new RD cable, it takes at least a few days for it to "settle down" - I'm usually increasing the tension at the barrel adjuster regularly after the initial setup, until the shifting is stable. If the cables isn't doing something (don't know whether to call it "stretching". "winding up" or "bedding in"), but certainly the shifting system is doing something for which I need to adjust to compensate.

Bill Kapaun

It's the housing that's "bedding in".

Gresp15C

I've re-used cables. When I install new cables, I tin the ends with solder, but I don't put any caps on. This makes it pretty easy to sneak the cable back out of the housing with minimal trouble. New cable won't break the bank, but all new parts on all of the bikes that I maintain in the family fleet would add up to a fair amount.

DeadGrandpa

I like to spray the inside of any used cable housing with a "dry" or silicone lube. Let it dry. It can't hurt.

cxwrench

See post #12 . There is NO way that the few ounces of force needed to move a derailleur is going to stretch a twisted steel cable. Not. A. Chance. It's ferrules getting completely seated. It's the housing compressing. It equates to the same thing but the cable is not getting any longer. If a bike is built properly, or cables/housing installed properly, there will be no break in. My background is that of a team mechanic. Can you imagine me sending a team of riders out after replacing cables/housing on their bikes and saying 'Just drop back to the team car when your shifting goes to **** and I'll fix it right up' ? If done properly there will be no break in, just good shifting. It's not hard, most mechanics are just to lazy to do it or don't even know. All they've ever heard is BS like 'cable stretch' and 'touch up your shifting'. You can see that the housing compresses when you take the ferrules off old housing...the wires are sticking out a few mm's past where the housing was cut. Same happens to brake housing. It's spiral wound and will compress a bunch after pulling the lever a few times. I always figured cable stretch was a myth til I measured a cable...2 actually, 1 shift and 1 brake...installed them, went through the proper 'break in' and then pulled them and remeasured. Now I know for sure.

2_i 

I do that too, but it is not always straightforward and certainly not an option for many riders who change cables themselves. Tinning of stainless cables demands the use of acid and is helped by silver solder. Teflon coatings add to the challenge as well. By the time you succeed in tinning, the cable may be already frayed at some level.

cxwrench

That's great if you've got a bunch of free time w/ nothing better to do. I've been in the business for a long time and know a lot of mechanics. I don't know of a single pro mechanic that would spend the time needed to tin stainless and/or coated cables. It's really just a waste of time. I've tied and soldered a lot of wheels too...but not for the last 15 years or so.

Bill Kapaun

Repeat with another new cable and I bet you'll see a lot less.

Gresp15C

I'm talking about galvanized steel cables. It takes a few seconds. Getting out the torch would take a few more seconds, and for a coated cable, the trick would be to only heat the exposed part.

I don't know any pro mechanics at all, so you're a step ahead of me. The fact that I'm tinkering on old bikes means that I do in fact have some free time.

79pmooney

True. But the strands do settle in tighter. Since they are now winding around a smaller diameter, they elongate. (That length has to go somewhere.) So that "un-stretched" cable is now longer. That now longer cable is also narrower and runs more easily in the housing.

I routinely find myself tightening new cables after they've seen a few miles.

79pmooney

If you take a torch to galvanized anything, be sure you have a clean air supply to breath. That zinc is not good for you.

Gresp15C

That's a new one for me, but thanks for the tip. Fortunately, the galvanized ones can be tinned with a soldering iron and electrical solder.

Litespud

fair enough, but in your example of the housing compressing, aren’t the longitudinal wires sticking out the arbiters of housing length? What you’re describing sounds like only the plastic outer layer shrinking, but the effective length of the housing remaining unchanged. Aren’t the longitudinal wires what make the housing “compressionless”? I cut the housing square, ensure that the ferrules are well seated, but I consistently tweak the shifting with new cable/housing over several days, maybe once a day. Once it settles down, the shifting is solid and requires very little attention thereafter. Don’t know if I’m seeing cable bedding in or housing compressing, but I’ve been building bikes for >40 years, and this what I have consistently observed

cxwrench

No. This does not happen.

SurferRosa

I fully overhaul and flip a few bikes each year. I only reuse the housing and cables if they look both appropriate and brand new. Brake cable kits are only $9:

https://www.ebay.com/p/1095853911?iid=332006761590

And shift cables are only $1/ea:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/2-x-Stainle...UAAOSwQ6FdJEno

Sometimes I can get away with using old rear cables for the front if they look new after cutting to length.