Originally Posted by
cxwrench
I promise you that your bikes don't shift as well as they did when new. Not possible..
Well if they don't...it's not even noticeable.
You don't wait til the engine blows up in your before doing oil/filter changes, do you?
Silly comparison since you are talking about something that costs thousands of dollars to repair or replace if you don't keep on on the oil changes. If I don't change the shifter cable on my bike I'm not out thousands of dollars.
Changing them regularly nearly eliminates them fatiguing/breaking in the shifter as well.
Have never had that happen.
A bike that sees 'maintenance' will always work compared to one that only gets 'repaired'. I see/hear this all the time with Mtb suspension too...'why service it, it works fine'? Obviously at the opposite end of the spectrum I worked for a pro Mtb team for a season, and did a couple of seasons working for a CX racer. New cables/housing every week/race, no fail. That's my favorite thing about electronic shifting.
I keep up on maintenance for chains, cassettes, chainrings, bearings and suspension etc. but like I said...replacing cables once a year is a little excessive. If there is something wrong with the cables they will give notice a bit before any measurable failure would occur. Besides... "Time" isn't a good way to schedule any maintenance. Some people ride 10-15 thousand miles in a year while others may do only a couple hundred. Some bikes never go off-road and some are subjected to wet and muddy conditions. Should they all replace cables at the same time?? Just like transmission fluid and gear fluid changes in a car...The owners manual will tell you to change more often if driven in severe conditions and less often if not.