Bikes!

[TheMercenary]

Haaaaaaa....

That begs a caption contest.

[monster]

Accidentally bought a bike while shopping for Hex' b-day pressie..... Diamonadback Clarity 1 on sale fore less than $300. it has rained ever since.....

[BigV]

I need some help please.

I'm riding more which is good, but on the last ride the cable sheath for the rear derailleur failed making shifting impossible, which is bad. I have a cable kit and I've managed to get the old cable out, and the new cable partly in. The twist shifter was a bitch, and the front sheath was a bigger bitch, and now I'm lying on the floor trying to coax the ever shortening frayed cable end through blind eyes of needles and fuck this shit. BEFORE I throw the bike through the window, I thought I'd come here for some help.

I'm KILLING MYSELF fighting the frayed cable end pushing it through holes and caps and sheaths and shit... if it weren't frayed, this would be pretty easy. I'd be on the road by now. But. But but but but... number one, I don't have a tool that is sharp/powerful/magical enough to cut the little fucking cable without fraying/crushing/bending/distorting the end. Two, once I do have an end that is... kind of mostly the same height and direction amongst the individual strands, pushing on those chiseled tips causes them to bite and .. it's not working.

I've tried soldering but I can't get that to work, though it seems like the most elegant solution. I can't get the solder to adhere to the cable. Maybe I need to go back to the store, get a monster cable cutter with admantium blades or a variable sword or something, and a soldering iron capable of just melting the individual stainless steel strands and fuck the solder. Then I can push on that (wire) rope.

I'm seriously frustrated. Help please!!!! How do you bike hacks handle cable ends?

[glatt]

I can picture exactly what you are complaining about. I have no solution though. I might try dipping the end in epoxy or something to glue the strands together. But that's just a guess and I don't know if it would work.

[footfootfoot]

We buy new cables that have tinned (soldered) ends. Then clip them to length afterwards. You don't need a beefy cutter, just a sharp one. I use a pair of Craftsman dikes to cut the cable housing. A pair of Channel lock dikes would be plenty sharp to cut the cable. Bike shops sell inexpensive cable cutters for $20- $30.

http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-...-cable-housing

[xoxoxoBruce]

Even with a sharp cutter, you end up with a bundle of wires cut off square. Not conducive to threading through a maze, as the blunt end of the wires on the outside of the bundle are going to catch. The wires have to be secured together, preferably in a way that can form a point, or at least rounded edges. Since you don't have the proper stuff to solder them, probably epoxy would be best. After it sets, you may even be able to contour it a little with an abrasive.


and more beer.

[Lamplighter]

Here's a YouTube that shows the cables being threaded into a "housing cable"
and terminated with a ferrule and lubricated before being attached.

[Griff]

You did the threading with the housings off the bike and replaced the housing at the same time, right? Cuz old damaged housings are probably as much to blame for shifter issues as bad cables.

[footfootfoot]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Even with a sharp cutter, you end up with a bundle of wires cut off square. Not conducive to threading through a maze, as the blunt end of the wires on the outside of the bundle are going to catch. The wires have to be secured together, preferably in a way that can form a point, or at least rounded edges. Since you don't have the proper stuff to solder them, probably epoxy would be best. After it sets, you may even be able to contour it a little with an abrasive.


and more beer.

That's why you cut them last, after they've been installed. And more beer.

[xoxoxoBruce]

OK Nelson, telling him he already fucked up doesn't help him. He's looking for a save here. You know, a way to bail his ass out before he damages his house and health.

Oh wait... lutefisk... never mind about the health.

[footfootfoot]

A new derailleur cable is about 3 dollars. It isn't 3:00 am Sunday morning and the guy is in Seattle! You can't spill a latte without hitting a bike shop.

But the only thing you can do if you fuck up a cable is to trim it back and when you run out of length, you have to replace it. Sort of like asking how to fix a light bulb filament. Hey I don't make the rules.

[xoxoxoBruce]

But what if he ain't got 3 bucks, and he's in a residential area with no bike shops, and obviously no bike to get there, and it's snowing, and he can't put gas in the car because he ain't got three bucks.

Now are you going to let him smash his window throwing the bike out, letting in the snow, then curl up whimpering in the corner, or are you going to come up with an ingenious fix to spare his mental health and snow stains on the carpet?

[footfootfoot]

No, he's pretty much fucked.

[Griff]

He can make it into a single speed.

[footfootfoot]