Need suggestions cutting brake housings
Likes For Lucillle:
#27
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007
Posts: 6,764
Mentioned: 10 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1109 Post(s)
Liked 1,200 Times
in
760 Posts
I've used a dremel to cut and now have a Pedro's cutter. Ususally it's OK with just reaming out the center with an awl, but sometimes I give it a little touch on the bench grinder, then the awl.
But there's a lot of helpful hints on youtube;
But there's a lot of helpful hints on youtube;
#28
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Boulder County, CO
Posts: 4,398
Bikes: '80 Masi Gran Criterium, '12 Trek Madone, early '60s Frejus track
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 514 Post(s)
Liked 451 Times
in
339 Posts
They were probably made long before anyone thought of threading a cable through dual control levers, frame tubes, handlebars and stems, and steerers. Or maybe they weren't. Or, actually, if you cut them close enough to the end you're going to toss, there might be enough solder between the strands to keep the end from fraying as you try to push it through a little hole.
#29
Senior Member
They were probably made long before anyone thought of threading a cable through dual control levers, frame tubes, handlebars and stems, and steerers. Or maybe they weren't. Or, actually, if you cut them close enough to the end you're going to toss, there might be enough solder between the strands to keep the end from fraying as you try to push it through a little hole.
Likes For Duragrouch:
#30
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2023
Location: New Jersey
Posts: 571
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 366 Post(s)
Liked 274 Times
in
175 Posts
Logically, the major concern is getting a quick and easy cut that the cable moves freely through. The little end caps almost certainly exist to compensate for a certain level of unevenness.
#31
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2012
Posts: 982
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 506 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 639 Times
in
357 Posts
While maybe it "shouldn't be necessary" to cut the housing with a piece of scrap cable inside, it really does make for a cleaner cut and less work to dress the end of the casing once the cut has been made. I've been doing it this way for decades.
#32
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Posts: 5,795
Bikes: 1989 Cinelli Supercorsa
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3514 Post(s)
Liked 2,927 Times
in
1,776 Posts
Cool. I've never done it for decades with no problems whatsoever.
#33
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2014
Location: Portland, OR
Posts: 12,909
Bikes: (2) ti TiCycles, 2007 w/ triple and 2011 fixed, 1979 Peter Mooney, ~1983 Trek 420 now fixed and ~1973 Raleigh Carlton Competition gravel grinder
Mentioned: 129 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4806 Post(s)
Liked 3,932 Times
in
2,557 Posts
That this hasn't been mentioned once in this thread blows me away. With the tool, you only need to grind to a nice square end to fit the stop. No additional grinding to get to a good clean hole.
#34
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Posts: 5,795
Bikes: 1989 Cinelli Supercorsa
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3514 Post(s)
Liked 2,927 Times
in
1,776 Posts
#35
Wheelman
Join Date: Aug 2021
Location: Putney, London UK
Posts: 847
Bikes: 1982 Holdsworth Avanti (531), 1961 Holdsworth Cyclone
Mentioned: 4 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 298 Post(s)
Liked 676 Times
in
341 Posts
+1 for using a Dremmel and a cutting wheel, I've tried cable cutters but they always squish it a bit and leave jaggies.
I don't use that modern shift cable outer (pre 84 bikes) so I like my Bowden outers cut nicely.
I don't use that modern shift cable outer (pre 84 bikes) so I like my Bowden outers cut nicely.
Likes For Aardwolf:
#36
Junior Member
Suggestions, please. Noobie question.
Last night, I changed out the cables and housings on my 8-year-old daughter's bike, mostly to make them pink, but there were some issues as well.
I'd successfully changed, if I recall correctly, 5 other bike cables in the past year. I use a new Park cable cutter, so I don't figure that is my problem.
Anyhow, the shift cables cut just fine, but I had problems not crushing the thicker short sections of brake housing. I ended up throwing one fresh-cut section away because it had crappy cuts on both ends. I've learned that a bad cut can cause a lot of drag on the cable.
Putting a section of cable into the housing before cutting the housing and cutting both helps substantially. Is that the best practice? How do you make the short sections of housing and then extract the bit of cable left inside if you go that route?
Last night, I changed out the cables and housings on my 8-year-old daughter's bike, mostly to make them pink, but there were some issues as well.
I'd successfully changed, if I recall correctly, 5 other bike cables in the past year. I use a new Park cable cutter, so I don't figure that is my problem.
Anyhow, the shift cables cut just fine, but I had problems not crushing the thicker short sections of brake housing. I ended up throwing one fresh-cut section away because it had crappy cuts on both ends. I've learned that a bad cut can cause a lot of drag on the cable.
Putting a section of cable into the housing before cutting the housing and cutting both helps substantially. Is that the best practice? How do you make the short sections of housing and then extract the bit of cable left inside if you go that route?
Likes For 13ollocks:
#37
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2016
Posts: 1,237
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 503 Post(s)
Liked 436 Times
in
335 Posts
Anyhow, the shift cables cut just fine, but I had problems not crushing the thicker short sections of brake housing. I ended up throwing one fresh-cut section away because it had crappy cuts on both ends. I've learned that a bad cut can cause a lot of drag on the cable.
#38
Full Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Albany, NY
Posts: 420
Bikes: Trek FX 7.3, Specialized Roubaix, Orbea Terra, Aostimotor S17 ebike, Huffy RedRock (first bike)
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 205 Post(s)
Liked 268 Times
in
134 Posts
Quality electrical combination pliers cut housing like butter, leaving straight cut.
#39
Mad bike riding scientist
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Denver, CO
Posts: 27,369
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
Mentioned: 152 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6221 Post(s)
Liked 4,221 Times
in
2,367 Posts
Suggestions, please. Noobie question.
Last night, I changed out the cables and housings on my 8-year-old daughter's bike, mostly to make them pink, but there were some issues as well.
I'd successfully changed, if I recall correctly, 5 other bike cables in the past year. I use a new Park cable cutter, so I don't figure that is my problem.
Anyhow, the shift cables cut just fine, but I had problems not crushing the thicker short sections of brake housing. I ended up throwing one fresh-cut section away because it had crappy cuts on both ends. I've learned that a bad cut can cause a lot of drag on the cable.
Putting a section of cable into the housing before cutting the housing and cutting both helps substantially. Is that the best practice? How do you make the short sections of housing and then extract the bit of cable left inside if you go that route?
Last night, I changed out the cables and housings on my 8-year-old daughter's bike, mostly to make them pink, but there were some issues as well.
I'd successfully changed, if I recall correctly, 5 other bike cables in the past year. I use a new Park cable cutter, so I don't figure that is my problem.
Anyhow, the shift cables cut just fine, but I had problems not crushing the thicker short sections of brake housing. I ended up throwing one fresh-cut section away because it had crappy cuts on both ends. I've learned that a bad cut can cause a lot of drag on the cable.
Putting a section of cable into the housing before cutting the housing and cutting both helps substantially. Is that the best practice? How do you make the short sections of housing and then extract the bit of cable left inside if you go that route?
It’s best to tilt cutters to line up with the spirals of the brake housing so that you split one of the spirals and only have to cut through a small amount of the steel part. You can practice this method by stripping a bit of plastic away from the metal to learn how to split that spiral.
__________________
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
Stuart Black
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Old School…When It Wasn’t Ancient bikepacking
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
#40
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Boulder County, CO
Posts: 4,398
Bikes: '80 Masi Gran Criterium, '12 Trek Madone, early '60s Frejus track
Mentioned: 6 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 514 Post(s)
Liked 451 Times
in
339 Posts
Sharpen the threaded end and use the J end for fishing cable ends out of frame tubes. It's perfect for that.
Likes For oldbobcat:
#42
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2020
Location: Wake Forest, NC
Posts: 5,795
Bikes: 1989 Cinelli Supercorsa
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3514 Post(s)
Liked 2,927 Times
in
1,776 Posts
#43
Lucille
I finally finished putting the hand brake on my cruiser. Cutting the brake housing did turn out to be a simple snip. I used the tine of a fork as a pokey. This is a great thread to learn from.