Originally Posted by
Random11
I once thought that one advantage of mechanical shifters is that you don't have to be concerned about your battery dying. But yesterday I had a shifter cable break. It's the second time I've had this happen on a bike I've had less than three years. So, that advantage isn't so much of an advantage after all. A cable break prevents you from shifting almost as much as a dead battery does for electronic shifters. (Only one cable breaks at a time, so some limited shifting is possible.) Yesterday, it was the cable to my front derailleur. Previously, the cable to the rear derailleur broke. This is far from a tragedy, of course, and I was able to complete my ride, albeit at reduced speed because I was stuck in my small chainring. It got me to thinking that it might be worthwhile to change the cables periodically before they break. Does anyone do this? I can manage a broken shifter cable every so often, but I was wondering if others replace the cables as preventive maintenance.
Preventative maintenance? No way. What a concept. Kinda like changing the oil in your car engine before it blows up. Or replacing your tires before they...blow up. Funny (sort of) that you've had this happen before and didn't learn from it. And of course as Koyote posted this thread should be in 'bicycle mechanics' not GD. Learn OP...learn.