Tip of the Day - cable ends

General cycling advice ( NOT technical ! )
User avatar
simonineaston
Posts: 7993
Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
Location: ...at a cricket ground

Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by simonineaston »

Must just pass on a way with cable ends that's got me out of trouble a fair few times recently. We all know the potential that cable-ends have to fray and that once the cable inner / outer combination has been put in place, the number of times the inner can be removed and replaced is often dependant on the cable-end staying unfrayed. So my tip is simply this: I keep a small tube of 'super-glue' in a zip-lock bag, in the freezer, where it seems to last for months :-) and when I have to withdraw a cable-inner from its outer, I remove the ferule (obs) and apply the super-glue to the cable-end to stop it fraying. This seems particularly effective when applied to thinner gear cable inners and has recently allowed me to remove and replace gear mech cable inners several times without the end fraying and making the task difficult-if-not-impossible.
Hope that helps.
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
MartinC
Posts: 2127
Joined: 10 May 2007, 6:31pm
Location: Bredon

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by MartinC »

I've been doing this for may years now. I didn't realise so many didn't - so well done Simon for sharing. Tip about the freezer sounds useful too. I find it useful to put the superglue on the cable before I cut the ferrule off. You lose a centimetre of cable every time but never fray the cable removing the ferrule.
Jdsk
Posts: 24478
Joined: 5 Mar 2019, 5:42pm

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by Jdsk »

"Tip"... excellent.

: - )

Jonathan
User avatar
simonineaston
Posts: 7993
Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
Location: ...at a cricket ground

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by simonineaston »

I had got into the habit of squeezing the glue into the cable inner by placing kitchen towel around the end and then squeezing between thumb & fore-finger - however this has also resulted in a layer of kitchen towel become very firmly attached indeed to my flesh... now do same but wearing gloves!
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
User avatar
[XAP]Bob
Posts: 19793
Joined: 26 Sep 2008, 4:12pm

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by [XAP]Bob »

I gave up on ferrules a while ago, using a length of heat shrink tubing instead - superglue sounds like a top notch idea though.
A shortcut has to be a challenge, otherwise it would just be the way. No situation is so dire that panic cannot make it worse.
There are two kinds of people in this world: those can extrapolate from incomplete data.
Eyebrox
Posts: 580
Joined: 5 Aug 2015, 8:56pm
Location: Ayrshire

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by Eyebrox »

Squeeze the glue into the cable end before attaching it when renewing the cable. Keeps the end from fraying when you pull the cable end off to work on the cable thereafter.
User avatar
simonineaston
Posts: 7993
Joined: 9 May 2007, 1:06pm
Location: ...at a cricket ground

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by simonineaston »

bit like heat-free solder
S
(on the look out for Armageddon, on board a Brompton nano & ever-changing Moultons)
axel_knutt
Posts: 2869
Joined: 11 Jan 2007, 12:20pm

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by axel_knutt »

If you treat the cable ends gently they'll twist back together neatly if they tend to come undone, then if you twist the outer as you put it on, it will go without snagging.
“I'm not upset that you lied to me, I'm upset that from now on I can't believe you.”
― Friedrich Nietzsche
VinceLedge
Posts: 562
Joined: 12 Dec 2020, 9:51am

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by VinceLedge »

Good tip!
De Sisti
Posts: 1507
Joined: 17 Jun 2007, 6:03pm

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by De Sisti »

Eyebrox wrote: 3 Dec 2021, 3:11pm Squeeze the glue into the cable end before attaching it when renewing the cable. Keeps the end from fraying when you pull the cable end off to work on the cable thereafter.
^^^^^This is what I do.^^^^^
nirakaro
Posts: 1575
Joined: 22 Dec 2007, 2:01am

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by nirakaro »

axel_knutt wrote: 3 Dec 2021, 5:25pm If you treat the cable ends gently they'll twist back together neatly if they tend to come undone, then if you twist the outer as you put it on, it will go without snagging.
... sometimes.
Pebble
Posts: 1930
Joined: 7 Jun 2020, 11:59pm

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by Pebble »

Hot melt glue gun, cable slides up inside nozzle, let it heat up, withdraw and leave a little blob of glue on the end, easy to melt off when needed.
User avatar
Mick F
Spambuster
Posts: 56349
Joined: 7 Jan 2007, 11:24am
Location: Tamar Valley, Cornwall

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by Mick F »

I heard about the super glue idea on here yonks back, but it never worked for me as the glue made the inners too thick to pass though the outers. Tried sanding them down and seemed to work, but it matters not IMHO as I can't remember the last time I removed a cable and then wanted to put it back in, so ferrule ends crimped on is best for me.

The only place they seem to wear is at the shifter/brake end, so in which case the cable is scrap.

I use Campag cables on Mercian and they are lubricated for life, so they never get touched.
On Moulton, I fitted cable oilers, so I can inject oil into them. I have used silicon grease and 3in1 oil ......... both come in aerosol cans with injector tubes.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162525452073
They come in sets of three.
Mick F. Cornwall
philvantwo
Posts: 1730
Joined: 8 Dec 2012, 6:08pm

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by philvantwo »

Never had much luck with super glue on anything if I'm honest, it works fine on kitchen cornice and pelmet mitres, but thats because of the activator you spray on the other surface. On its own its too brittle.
francovendee
Posts: 3145
Joined: 5 May 2009, 6:32am

Re: Tip of the Day - cable ends

Post by francovendee »

Nor me, tried it a few times but the strands would still separate.
It was the only good thing about galvanised cables, you could put a blob of solderon the end.
Post Reply