Cable replacement.

[Yum]

I got a used with STI shifter. It was hardly used, but several years old.
How often should I replace brake / derailer cables ?
Does it depend on millage or age ?
Thanks.

 

[Zog The Undeniable]

Yum wrote:

> I got a used with STI shifter. It was hardly used, but several years old.
> How often should I replace brake / derailer cables ?

If they're frayed - check around the pinch bolts - or rusty. The
condition of the outers is difficult to check because they're plastic
coated; maybe change them every second or third inner.

 

[Yum]

"Zog The Undeniable" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:41699018.0@entanet...
> Yum wrote:
>
> > I got a used with STI shifter. It was hardly used, but several years
old.
> > How often should I replace brake / derailer cables ?
>
> If they're frayed - check around the pinch bolts - or rusty. The
> condition of the outers is difficult to check because they're plastic
> coated; maybe change them every second or third inner.

They are not frayes nor rusted. They look almost new on surface. They
seem to be working OK for me.
However, a friend of mine told me that they may be streched out. Is there
any recommended replacement interval ? Thanks.

 

[Bill Sornson]

Yum wrote:
> "Zog The Undeniable" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:41699018.0@entanet...
>> Yum wrote:
>>
>>> I got a used with STI shifter. It was hardly used, but several
>>> years old. How often should I replace brake / derailer cables ?
>>
>> If they're frayed - check around the pinch bolts - or rusty. The
>> condition of the outers is difficult to check because they're plastic
>> coated; maybe change them every second or third inner.
>
> They are not frayes nor rusted. They look almost new on surface.
> They seem to be working OK for me.
> However, a friend of mine told me that they may be streched out. Is
> there any recommended replacement interval ? Thanks.

Performance is the determining factor (IMO). If they're shifting and
braking easily and smoothly, then why on earth would you "fix" it?!?

Bill "save replacement for last resort (after adjusting, lubing, etc.)" S.

 

[Alex Rodriguez]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
>
>
>"Zog The Undeniable" <[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:41699018.0@entanet...
>> Yum wrote:
>>
>> > I got a used with STI shifter. It was hardly used, but several years
>old.
>> > How often should I replace brake / derailer cables ?
>>
>> If they're frayed - check around the pinch bolts - or rusty. The
>> condition of the outers is difficult to check because they're plastic
>> coated; maybe change them every second or third inner.
>
>They are not frayes nor rusted. They look almost new on surface. They
>seem to be working OK for me.
>However, a friend of mine told me that they may be streched out. Is there
>any recommended replacement interval ? Thanks.

If they look fine and are working fine, they are fine. Cables don't stretch,
so that is not a problem.
--------------
Alex

 

[[email protected]]

a shy person writes:

> I got a used with STI shifter. It was hardly used, but several
> years old. How often should I replace brake / derailer cables ?
> Does it depend on millage or age ?

It depends on use.

Control cables are helically wound strands and some of these are
themselves helically wound of smaller strands. This feature improves
flexibility and makes the cable retain constant length when bent in a
curve. Replacement is made necessary by wear occurring on the inside
of bends, the sharper the bend the more wear. When a single strand is
worn to less than about 2/3 its diameter, all strands are worn that
far because they all pass the inside of that bend by their helical
wind. At about 2/3 wear, strands become failure prone by cracking and
rupture under high load. For this reason, braided cable (some shift
cables) is less durable due to small strand diameter.

The most common brake cable failure formerly occurred at the top of
the brake lever hood with exposed cables (that emerged from the lever
hood tops) because housings were easily kinked there, causing
concentrated wear.

Jobst Brandt
[email protected]

 

[Nate Knutson]

"Yum" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> "Zog The Undeniable" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:41699018.0@entanet...
> > Yum wrote:
> >
> > > I got a used with STI shifter. It was hardly used, but several years
> old.
> > > How often should I replace brake / derailer cables ?
> >
> > If they're frayed - check around the pinch bolts - or rusty. The
> > condition of the outers is difficult to check because they're plastic
> > coated; maybe change them every second or third inner.
>
> They are not frayes nor rusted. They look almost new on surface. They
> seem to be working OK for me.
> However, a friend of mine told me that they may be streched out. Is there
> any recommended replacement interval ? Thanks.

All cables stretch a bit at first, although some are sold
"pre-stretched" and many mechanics manually stretch them upon
installation. If yours are used they are probably as stretched as
they're going to get. There is no strict service interval for cables.
I replace them when they have significant rust, when the cable system
develops friction problems, if a situation arises with a brake cable
where it's impossible to secure the cable without there being a
previously crimped section of cable between the lever and the fixing
bolt (which probably creates an increased chance of breakage at the
previously crimped spot) and most importantly if the cable is frayed
anywhere between the the fixing bolt and the brake lever or shifter
the cable attaches to. Many people who ride a lot end up getting their
cable systems replaced pretty frequently. However, how well set-up the
cable system is, and how appropriate it is for the application, make a
huge difference in how often it's necessary to replace the system due
to friction issues.

 

[[email protected]]

Nate Knutson writes:

> All cables stretch a bit at first, although some are sold
> "pre-stretched" and many mechanics manually stretch them upon
> installation. If yours are used they are probably as stretched as
> they're going to get. There is no strict service interval for
> cables.

Could you explain where the "stretch" elongation arises. These are
steel cables with no space between the strands of a helically wound
cable. What is changing when a cable is "stretched"?

> I replace them when they have significant rust, when the cable
> system develops friction problems, if a situation arises with a
> brake cable where it's impossible to secure the cable without there
> being a previously crimped section of cable between the lever and
> the fixing bolt (which probably creates an increased chance of
> breakage at the previously crimped spot) and most importantly if the
> cable is frayed anywhere between the the fixing bolt and the brake
> lever or shifter the cable attaches to.

Whew! That's a long sentence that exceeds a mental breath of air for
a long lap underwater. Could you rephrase that so the subject is
evident? There are too many crimps and fixes to get a bearing on the
thrust of it but, unless you have a crude cable attachment (crude
equipment), that should not be a factor in cable life. Typically
Campagnolo brakes do not damage cable ends regardless of how often you
remove and install them.

To what sort of "friction problems" are you referring. This is all so
vague, I don;t see how it is to assist someone who asks abut cable
replacement in the first place... that is unless you have a bicycle
shop for which you seek customers by snowing them with the complexity
of it all.

> Many people who ride a lot end up getting their cable systems
> replaced pretty frequently. However, how well set-up the cable
> system is, and how appropriate it is for the application, make a
> huge difference in how often it's necessary to replace the system
> due to friction issues.

And how do you fix "friction issues" and how do they arise? I've been
riding bike a long time and have never had a friction issue. I would
like to know more about this.

Jobst Brandt
[email protected]

 

[Qui si parla Campagnolo]

yum-<< However, a friend of mine told me that they may be streched out. Is
there
any recommended replacement interval ? >><BR><BR>

After installation, inner wires and housing stretches/compresses a wee bit but
after that they don't. No such thing as 'stretched out'...if clean and things
shift well, leave them alone.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

 

[John Thompson]

On 2004-10-11, [email protected] <[email protected]> wrote:

> Nate Knutson writes:
>
>> All cables stretch a bit at first, although some are sold
>> "pre-stretched" and many mechanics manually stretch them upon
>> installation. If yours are used they are probably as stretched as
>> they're going to get. There is no strict service interval for
>> cables.
>
> Could you explain where the "stretch" elongation arises. These are
> steel cables with no space between the strands of a helically wound
> cable. What is changing when a cable is "stretched"?

I think what is commonly interpreted as "stretching" on new cables is
actually seating of the ferrules, housing ends, and so on during use.
When a mechanic installs a new cable, they often give the levers a good
squeeze to promote this seating, then readust to take up the slack that
results.

--

-John ([email protected])