Seizing gear cables

booktownman

I rode at Afan yesterday with new gear cables - inner and outer - fitted to new shifters. Started out fine with lovely crisp shifting, felt like a new bike.

I know Afan's gritty trails have a reputation for trashing bikes, but by three quarters of the way round I could barely shift the rear at all.

I ride a lot in the black mountains where it's always muddy, so do find myself swapping gear cables out a lot, but this was really something else.

Does anyone have any tips for keeping the cack out of cables? Thick or skinny housing? Is there some trick to cleaning cables post ride to get shifting back to normal? Is it worth protecting the entire length of cable with housing, rather than solely on the bends?

Any advice appreciated, thanks in advance.

Cheers,


BTM

bennett_346

I've only ever used full outers and basically nothing gets in them because theres only one point where sh@t can enter it, and that bits well sealed.

Never heard of a bike grinding to a halt shifting wise as a result of cruddy gear cables in one ride. Sure the mech etc wasnt just gummed up or more likely the chain and cassette?

booktownman

Nope, it was definitely the cable. Block, chain and mech were actually all new.

I disconnected the cable post ride, and really struggled to pull it back and forth through the outer, could hear it grinding away.

The cable is routed along the seat stay on my FS. I've swapped the cable now and refitted with a full outer for the stretch along the stay. Shifting well again now, I'll see how it works out.

jndb72

Must be the Welsh mud and crap

I ride Afan and Cwmcarn on a weekly basis and need to re-index my rear gears every few rides or so.

Change the inners and outers pretty much on a monthly basis.

I ride a Canyon AM with the cable routed through the frame.

Strange thing is on my old Spesh with the cable run external on the frame and never had any problems

Cheers

allthegearnoidea

yup, i only run Full outers on mine now, jusdt isnt worth it with the weather we get, means your left with a couple of inch's of cable out tops at the end of the run by he mech, used to run the XTR outer kits when spit cables aqs the boots and rubbers that coe with the are ery good!!

recently went through a friends bike, V bakes, Well used, pulled inners out as they were shot, pushed grease in through the outer inserted an inner ad pushed through, resultedi a nice brown worm like gunge coming out the end!! repeated till ncie, amazng how much ca get up in a cable!!

The Rookie

Cable ends with O-rings?

I ride in plenty of muddy places and my Jagwires have been faultless....