Stupid Question Alert - Are Gear & Brake Cables the same

doyler78
doyler78 Posts: 1,951
edited August 2010 in Workshop
I think I might try and replace my cables on my bikes. Do you buy different cables or are they same?

I'm replacing the cables on 105 and Dura-Ace groupsets.

Comments

  • moonshine
    moonshine Posts: 1,021
    they are different, with different end fittings, so you will be unlikely to be able to use them interchangably

    Gear and rake outers are also different, with one being a spiral wrap, and the other one a circular steel outer (or similar) IIRC.

    Don't mix them about.
  • moonshine
    moonshine Posts: 1,021
    IIRC brake cables are also thicker.... no bad thing too! don't want to snap one!
  • doyler78
    doyler78 Posts: 1,951
    Ah right.

    What I do need apart from the cables. I presume some sort of grease. I have finishline teflon grease and GT85. Can I use either of those? (and patience of course).
  • drewfromrisca
    drewfromrisca Posts: 1,165
    Are they not already pre-greased? Not 100% sure they do come like that but guess all depends on what your buying.
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  • msw
    msw Posts: 313
    Some cables (eg Gore Ride-on) come pre-coated so you don't even need grease. In his book Lennard Zinn recommends not using thick grease but using only thin lubricant or nothing at all, as this will be less likely to pick up grit and carry it into the cable housing.

    If you're replacing the cable housings as well you should possibly get a pair of decent cable cutters meant for the job - you *can* cut the housing with the scissor bit of a pair of pliers but it's messy, squashes the end of the housing and it might end up fraying.
    "We're not holding up traffic. We are traffic."
  • Smokin Joe
    Smokin Joe Posts: 2,706
    msw wrote:
    Some cables (eg Gore Ride-on) come pre-coated so you don't even need grease. In his book Lennard Zinn recommends not using thick grease but using only thin lubricant or nothing at all, as this will be less likely to pick up grit and carry it into the cable housing.

    If you're replacing the cable housings as well you should possibly get a pair of decent cable cutters meant for the job - you *can* cut the housing with the scissor bit of a pair of pliers but it's messy, squashes the end of the housing and it might end up fraying.
    And on that subject, I recently got a pair of these, cheapest I have ever seen and good quality -

    http://www.probikekit.com/display.php?code=T0030
  • keef66
    keef66 Posts: 13,123
    Brake cables are thicker, so try not to get the cables or the outers and the ferrules mixed up.
    I generally just replace the inner cable, and just give it a light coat of 3 in 1 oil before it goes in.

    Cable cutters may sound like an extravagance, but they make the whole thing so much easier, especially if you're fitting new outers.

    And get some of those crimp-on cable end caps to stop the cut end of the cable fraying
  • doyler78
    doyler78 Posts: 1,951
    Great stuff. I have 3 in 1, cable cutters & crimping tool so all I need now is the cables themselves.
  • balthazar
    balthazar Posts: 1,565
    Just to be clear- don't ever use gear cable housing (with longitudinal wires in the casing) for brakes. It cannot withstand the high compressive forces from braking, and may collapse at the worst moment.
  • doyler78
    doyler78 Posts: 1,951
    Thanks balthazar I'll look for that.
  • Weejie54
    Weejie54 Posts: 750
    And get some of those crimp-on cable end caps to stop the cut end of the cable fraying.

    Better still, flux the ends and apply some solder. Done properly, you can even remove the cable for re-greasing. Go for stainless cables if you can.
  • doyler78
    doyler78 Posts: 1,951
    Weejie54 wrote:
    And get some of those crimp-on cable end caps to stop the cut end of the cable fraying.

    Better still, flux the ends and apply some solder. Done properly, you can even remove the cable for re-greasing. Go for stainless cables if you can.

    No soldering iron I'm afraid. Stainless cables - you couldn't link to some.

    Thanks
  • Weejie54
    Weejie54 Posts: 750
    You should get stainless cables at most retailers.

    http://www.parker-international.co.uk/1 ... Cable.html

    http://www.parker-international.co.uk/1 ... Cable.html
  • jairaj
    jairaj Posts: 3,009
    squirt some GT85 down the outers to clear out any old grit.
    Put a few drops of chain oil down the outer
    and thread in a new inner cable. sorted!
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    edited August 2010
    sorry wrong message
  • giant_man
    giant_man Posts: 6,878
    It isn't hard at all. I replaced brake inners and outers earlier this year. Here are some guides:

    http://bicycletutor.com/replace-cable-housings/

    http://bicycletutor.com/inner-brake-cable/

    http://bicycletutor.com/inner-shift-cable/

    The cables and outers themselves are dirt cheap in any LBS. Get some ferrules for the ends and crimp them on, and don't forget it would be a lot easier by getting a '4th hand cable stretching' tool.
  • doyler78
    doyler78 Posts: 1,951
    Brilliant. Thaks for the links to the cables and the tutorials. It will be a great help.

    Glad it isn't too bad a job either. I had looked a few guides and it looked like something I could actually manage.

    Got myself some swiss top green pads for the brakes coming. Will fit those straight away as I have a hilly sportive on Sunday so hope they don't take much getting used to with all the extra stopping power. Would be a bit embarrassing, let alone painful, to lock up in front everyone :lol:
  • James T
    James T Posts: 104
    I didn't think it was a silly question at all - in fact thanks for asking it I have learned a lot reading this thread
  • davis
    davis Posts: 2,506
    If you crimp the cable ends you can normally just pull the crimp-ends off if you need to unthread the cables. Edit: you might have to use pliers, but I can normally do it with my fingers.

    I usually don't bother with the crimp ends though, just a bit of heatshrink tubing. I could never get soldering to work well enough.

    As for doing the outers I stick a dental pick into the newly-cut outers and spin the outers -- seems to help the shape and allow the inner to slide more easily. I usually file the cut ends too, mostly because Sheldon told me to.
    Sometimes parts break. Sometimes you crash. Sometimes it’s your fault.
  • doyler78
    doyler78 Posts: 1,951
    James T wrote:
    I didn't think it was a silly question at all - in fact thanks for asking it I have learned a lot reading this thread

    It has been very useful to me too.

    I will try it out on my flat bar first as that isn't used as much as my drop bar bikes so if it goes t1ts up it isn't so much of a problem waiting on the LBS to sort my mess out :lol:

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