SOLDERING CABLE ENDS

On Thu, 05 May 2005 16:02:07 GMT, [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

John Everett said:

Quoted message said:

AND, if you are a traditionalist, cable ends are requisite as are
the plastic cover and round nuts on the Presta valve.

Quoted message said:

Not to start an OT flame war, but when I see those round nuts on the
valve stem I think, "Fred".

Quoted message said:

BTW, the valve stems on my Michelin tubes aren't even threaded. ;-)

From that I deduce that you don't pump your tires with a frame fit
pump, one without a hose. The no nut thing is reminiscent of leaving
off the retaining bolt caps on Campagnolo cranks. It saves weight and
looks "pro".

If the only tubes at the lbs have smooth stems, do you thread them for
the round nut, use them as-is, patch a tube that you'd decided to
discard, or walk until you can get to a shop that has stems that you
like?

(I personally find that leaving off the nut reduces the likelihood
that I'll break the stem off with the frame pump, but that's merely a
matter of my sloppy pumping style.) (And yes, after breaking two, I
bought the Topeak that has a hose.) (But I still prefer Schraders.)

--
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Carl Fogel said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> AND, if you are a traditionalist, cable ends are requisite as are
> the plastic cover and round nuts on the Presta valve.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Not to start an OT flame war, but when I see those round nuts on
the valve stem I think, "Fred".

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

BTW, the valve stems on my Michelin tubes aren't even threaded.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

From that I deduce that you don't pump your tires with a frame fit
pump, one without a hose. The no nut thing is reminiscent of
leaving off the retaining bolt caps on Campagnolo cranks. It saves
weight and looks "pro".

Quoted message said:

I often use a telescoping mini-pump with no hose (two flats
this week, one glass chip, one goathead).

Quoted message said:

Does your no-valve-nut deduction cover this?

Quoted message said:

If it's any help, no one would mistake me for a pro.

I didn't see whether you use the stem nut or not but when pumping a
tire with a frame fit pump, the nut prevents the stem from receding
into the rim and wiggling in all directions when operating the pump.
The nut was introduced as a convenience in the days when most riders
pumped often with Silca frame fit pumps because they rode tubulars
whose inner tubes were latex and leaked down in 12 hours.

Most riders today do not anticipate pumping with a frame fit pump and
also believe that the nut will separate the stem from the inner tube
(which is untrue) so the nut is probably no benefit to them.

[email hidden]

Jobst.Brandt said:

In fact, if a soldered cable end is compressed at the end,
it will take on a form that will not spring back into the
original round cable.

True, but also usually true of a unsoldered cable end. The soldered
cable end may be restored arbitrarily close to roundness, though, by
judicious squeezing with a pliers, even during a roadside repair;
whereas a deformed, unsoldered cable end is virtually unrestoreable,
especially during a roadside repair.

--
"Bicycling is a healthy and manly pursuit with much
to recommend it, and, unlike other foolish crazes,
it has not died out." -- The Daily Telegraph (1877)

On Thu, 05 May 2005 21:50:20 GMT, [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

Most riders today do not anticipate pumping with a frame fit pump and
also believe that the nut will separate the stem from the inner tube
(which is untrue) so the nut is probably no benefit to them.

And the nut looks nutty on a V shape rim.

Mike DeMicco said:

Peter <[email hidden]> wrote in news:a7ednUkvuf11POffRVn-
[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

[email hidden] wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I didn't see whether you use the stem nut or not but when pumping a
tire with a frame fit pump, the nut prevents the stem from receding
into the rim and wiggling in all directions when operating the pump.

If it's 'wiggling in all directions' it sounds like poor technique in
using the frame pump. I use my frame pumps (Zefal HP & HPX) fairly
often and never noticed any difference between valve stems with vs.
without the extra nut.

Quoted message said:

The nut was introduced as a convenience in the days when most riders
pumped often with Silca frame fit pumps because they rode tubulars
whose inner tubes were latex and leaked down in 12 hours.

Since the nut provided no noticeable advantage and introduced an extra
step whenever changing tubes, I found the most 'convenient' thing to do
with it was to toss it.

I just tried inflating a flat tire with my Zefal HPX frame pump without
the stem nut, and the stem just pushed into the tire and did not go into
the pump far enough. In my opinion, the stem nut serves a useful purpose
(thumblock or no) and it would be a PITA without it.

Never had a problem. When I grab the tire to hold it and put the pump
head on the valve it also keeps the valve from being pushed in. Doing
this is much quicker and easier than finding the little nut, threading
it back on the valve stem and spinning it on. I've never found the
little nut to be of value for pumps without thumblocks either.

Peter said:

Mike DeMicco wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

I just tried inflating a flat tire with my Zefal HPX frame pump
without the stem nut, and the stem just pushed into the tire and did
not go into the pump far enough. In my opinion, the stem nut serves a
useful purpose
(thumblock or no) and it would be a PITA without it.

Never had a problem. When I grab the tire to hold it and put the pump
head on the valve it also keeps the valve from being pushed in. Doing
this is much quicker and easier than finding the little nut, threading
it back on the valve stem and spinning it on. I've never found the
little nut to be of value for pumps without thumblocks either.

I fixed over a hundred (I'm guessing) flats with a Zefal or equivalent,
and never had a problem with presta valves pushing into the tire, using
the technique above. Shrader valves can be more of a problem on big MTB
tires, where you have to press harder and the tire & rim are awkward to
wrap your hand around.

One potential hazard of the stem nuts is screwing them too tight when
the tire is fully inflated. Upon deflating, the nut may be too tight to
remove without pliers. I just throw the nuts away.

Peter Cole <[email hidden]> wrote in
news:[email hidden]:

Quoted message said:

One potential hazard of the stem nuts is screwing them too tight
when the tire is fully inflated. Upon deflating, the nut may be
too tight to remove without pliers. I just throw the nuts away.

Dark rainy night on the commute home...flat and can't get the nut off
with cold hands either for that reason or that it had corroded...never
used them since.

Why bother? Just dip the ends in a tube of "super glue".

Mike Borean said:

This has probably been asked and answered a number of times.... But.... How
do you solder the ends of shift/brake cables. I have tried with a couple of
different solders and flux to no avail. The solder just keeps dripping off.
What is the trick?

Thanks in advance..
Mike B

On Thu, 05 May 2005 16:02:07 GMT, [email hidden]

Quoted message said:

John Everett said:

Quoted message said:

AND, if you are a traditionalist, cable ends are requisite as are
the plastic cover and round nuts on the Presta valve.

Quoted message said:

Not to start an OT flame war, but when I see those round nuts on the
valve stem I think, "Fred".

Quoted message said:

BTW, the valve stems on my Michelin tubes aren't even threaded. ;-)

From that I deduce that you don't pump your tires with a frame fit
pump, one without a hose. The no nut thing is reminiscent of leaving
off the retaining bolt caps on Campagnolo cranks. It saves weight and
looks "pro".

As the person who started this sub-thread, and then promptly went away
for a long weekend, let me reiterate that for me the little retaining
nut is a non-option since I use Michelin tubes. I regularly pump my
tires with a floor pump but carry Zefal hpX pumps on several of my
bikes, pumps I manage to use when the need arises.

jeverett3<AT>earthlink<DOT>net http://home.earthlink.net/~jeverett3