Gear cable change?

[Liam]

I'm fairly sure my gear cables need replacing and I was thinking of ordering cables from CRC and doing it myself to save some dosh.


I'm just wondering if its a difficult job or would I be better off letting the bike shop do it for me?

[ryan]

lol - it is an easy task. Do you need a full housing (i.e. is there an outer the whole way from the front shifter to the derailleur?)? If not, buy any of the sets. The XTR ones actually work really well for the money and last a long time. If you need a full length outer cable, you can just buy 2 wire cables and say 2.5m of outer cable.


The for fitting and adjusting - the park tools website (repair section) is your friend.


Nothing like changing the cables to make your bike feel new again - I do so about avery 6 months on the mountain bikes (sometimes more...). Every year on the road bikes.

[paddyobrien]

Liam,


www.parktool.com/repair is the best place to start. As regards the kits that ryan mentioned, while they are good, there is a bit of wastage and they're not necessarily the cheapest. I tend to get a bike shop to sell me a few metres of outer cable in one piece and then get a few inner cables etc. (they generally throw in the little plastic end bits too). I find i can get two bikes done for the price of one this way.


Plus, bikes are a bit like advanced lego anyway. Everythign can only fit on in one place or screw into one bit of the frame or whatever. If you have the coordination to use allen keys, spanners and a hammer you can pretty much do anything on a bike!

[Liam]

Christ I'm useless with this stuff, I didn't even realise I'd have to replace the housing aswell! LOL


Its only partial housing though so I presume thats easier.


Cheers for the advice lads.

[paddyobrien]

that just means you need shorter pieces of outer cable rather than one long piece.


The best advice for this though is to get a proper pair of gear/brake cable cutters. probably only a tenner, they'll last forever and will make your life so much easier!

[ryan]

What I usually do is pick up a lot of high quality housing (for example http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360011240&N=Transfil%20Outer%20Gear%20Casing) and some good cables (http://www.wiggle.co.uk/ProductDetail.aspx?Cat=cycle&ProdID=5360008455&N=Transfil%20Gear%20Cable%20Inner) and then cut to fit. Some housing is crap, some is good - the ones above I've used and are pretty good value. If money is no object - go for some Nokons (http://www.starbike.com/php/product_info.php?lang=en&pid=7761) very very bling. I use them on my road bike.


Get the cable cutters though - one of the best things you can pick up.

[Martin]

xtr cable and hosing set in Cylesuperstore for 30 squid! black and grey!