imi

We’re a simple bunch, aren’t we. 😊

I avoid the universal brake cables, as cutting off an end-piece might leave you with a frayed end that is harder to route through housing - especially if you don’t carry quality wire cutters on the road.

Tourist in MSN

I learned a trick on another forum, dip your cut cable end into Superglue and let it harden. The cut end is not as durable as the cables that have a welded end, but it does a pretty good job of preventing fraying while handling the cable before you can crimp an end piece on it.

I do not know how long you have to wait for the Superglue to harden and not get stuck to something else, I gave it 15 min which was more than adequate.

I bought several tiny single use tubes of Superglue that were quite inexpensive for that purpose.

andrewclaus

Just last week I had a cable fray inside my shifter. I noticed it shifting poorly on a short ride and checked it when I got home, so I caught it before it broke off in the shifter. It was down to four or five good strands. It's been most of a year since I looked at it, and it's been a busy year of cycling, lots of mountains and lots of shifting. I would have caught it earlier if I had checked it in the last month or two.

Tourist in MSN

I had to adjust my rear derailleur a couple times on that ride, thus it was time to figure out what was wrong. I had three strands left when I replaced this one, date on the photo is nine years ago.



And that one was the one that convinced me to only buy stainless cables in the future. I did not like the looks of the corrosion on it.

Doug64

I don't use the crimp on caps when finishing brake a derailleur cables. I use a small piece of 3/32" shrink-on electrical insulation. I us a lighter to shrink the cable. This gives me some chance to re use the cable, in case I have to slide it out of the cable housing for some reason. I also like the way it works; it keeps the cable ends in good shape I carry a couple of 2" pieces in my touring tool kit.

This is on on the end of the brake cable where it attaches to my straddle cable, but it also works on derailleur cables.

staehpj1

I wouldn't replace cables unless there were broken strands or other signs of wear or poor shifting that I suspected were cable related. I always replace them at first broken strand spotted though. On some brifters it can be hard to see the broken strands at the shifter end so check carefully.

In general I do not assume brand new parts are more reliable than old ones. In many cases there is an initial period where brand new stuff is more likely to fail. I trust parts that have some miles on them but aren't worn out, so I'd rather not be replacing stuff immediately before leaving on a trip. I have found that to be more true with motor vehicle parts than bicycle parts, but still think it can be a factor. I found it especially true with ignition parts back in the day with motor vehicles that had points and condenser. They always recommended new parts frequently (with each tune up), but there was a higher early mortality rate with the new parts.

GhostRider62

Electrical and electronic parts have a relatively high infant mortality (see Bathtub curve) but this does not apply to quality bicycle cables.

For a big tour or something like that, I would do preventative maintenance 2-4 weeks in advance to make sure I did not introduce a problem. I use eTap nowadays, so, no worries about cables although I never once had a cable break on a ride in my whole life. I replace them and only use high quality ones. Most of the pictures here show junk cables. The last thing I want to be doing is removing a broken cable from a brifter and putting a new one into it in the middle of a rainstorm. Shimano brifters are notorious for breaking cables.

Tourist in MSN

I never have a problem with the crimp on cable ends, I crimp them with a long nose pliers up near the opening, usually I can use a similar plier from a different angle on it to open up the crimp, allowing it to slide off. I do not robustly crimp them to be more than forever crimped. As I noted above in post 27, I glued the end strands together with Superglue on some of my cables.

After reading the comments here about Shimano brifters and cables, I am suddenly quite pleased that my only brifters are Campy. Most of my bikes use bar end shifters, but I have two bikes with Campy brifter for the rear, one front Campy brifter.

staehpj1

Yeah, probably true, but there are still the "cable stretch" issues and any issue that might be introduced by the installation.

GhostRider62

Didn't I say that and cover that in my post? .............Change them 2-4 weeks in advance.

Doug64

Cable stretch is not a show stopping event. We know cables will stretch, so be aware of any changes in shifting or "chain rattle" and adjust the cable tension.

Where did you get your information about Shimano brifters being "notorious" for breaking cables? I've also had to adjust cable tension months after puting new cables on bikes, even on bikes that have been ridden a lot. On a short tour this summer my daughter's RD cable needed a small tweak. I know it has well over 2000 miles on it since I changed her cables. I check shifting every time a bike is on the work stand, and adjust if needed, which is before every tour. Before a tour I'll adjust brakes and shifting, check cables and brake pads, replace tires, replace bar tape if needed, check all bolts, lube anything that takes oil or grease and wash and wax the bikes.