Aardwolf

Hiya folks,
I've just spotted the (Shimano) compressionless shift cable wires are migrating through the rear cable stop on my 1982 Holdsworth
I've already got a Shimano ferrule on the end at the adjuster, but it wont' fit inside the frame cable stop where it's really needed.

Shimano ferrule: 5.75mm outside diameter (metal, plastic ones are the same OD)
Cable stop: 5.69mm ish (hard to measure but a 5mm brake cable will slide all the way in - about 1.8cm)

Had a look round and I can't see a brand that's advertised as thinner than about 5.8mm, so can anybody suggest a brand ?
Or I could maybe apply some emmery cloth to the metal ferrule I do have.

Update: managed to get a 7/32" drill bit to fit inside = 5.56mm

Iride01 

If you have bike shops around you that are owner operated then usually you can just go to them and they'll likely pull out their miscellaneous parts bin and find one. They might charge you a token sum or they might give it to you. Might depend on how likeable you are or whether the person you have to deal with is having a bad day.

I had to do that with my '91 Schwinn Paramount to find a stepped cable end for the compressionless cable housing for it's rear DR when I added a new 11 speed group to it a few years ago.

Andrew R Stewart 

As long as the casing isn't flopping about it really doesn't need to enter the cable stop. Just be stopped there and have its orientation maintained (as in not flopping about). If there is a casing ferrule with a small step down that does enter the stop but is also well held in line with the stop that would be fine.

If you're not running indexed levers I would suggest a brake cable casing for that last loop to the der. It would still have a low friction liner and because of the spiral wound casing it can be filed flat at the ends and not need a ferrule at all.

Reminds me of when Schwilnns were still US made and their cable stops were really small holed, maybe 4.5mm? To use (then modern) lined brake casing for the gears one would have to strip off the last 10mm, or so, of casing cover so the spiral could enter the stop. But that low friction lined casing really did make a difference in the trimability of the gears. Andy

Aardwolf

Cheers,
That's a damn fine idea - use brake cable outer
I have a new piece left over that's about the right length and already filed at both ends (replaced all the cables 6 months back).

In the meantime I filed down one of the plastic ferrules to 5.6mm and it just about goes in, but I prefer the brake cable outer idea.

Update: Brake cable outer installed just fine.
The brake cable ferrule even fits in the adjuster at the deraileur - maybe Holdsworth used brake cable back in 1982.

Update2:
Apparently the SIS shift cable came in with Shimano Dura-Ace 7400 in 1985, so Holdsworth would have used Bowden cable for
shift cables in 1982. Not sure if it was 5mm outer diameter, but the 1982 catalogue seems to show no ferrule on that end (but
photo is low resolution so hard to tell).

So it looks like using brake cable outer is actually the correct thing to do.

Andrew R Stewart 

Back when this bike was new there was no thing as "shift casing" (well, excluding the stainless and uncoated stuff that SunTour and Campy had, which was the same Bowden tightly wound casing but with no plastic coating) and untill the late 1970s (IIRC) all casing was unlined and the inner cables not redrawn smooth. The only common differences in casings were the inner/outer diameters, whether the casing winding was from round or square/flattened cross section (the round resulted in a more flexible casing and the shaped/square in less compression) and if the plastic coating had a texture on it. Most bikes had the same casing for both the gears and the brakes. Also gear cable inners were larger in diameter. Around 1.5/1.6mm, much like today's brake inners. Andy