When to Change Gear Cables?

[faster]

I have no idea how people make cables last such a long time!

I change the rear derraillur cable (inner and the last loop of outer) on my winter/ commuting bike every 3000 miles.

I've had it snap in less miles than this at the shifter end and shifting quality is just starting to suffer due to gunk in the rear cable.

To buy enough shimano sp41 outer and a stainless inner to do the job costs about 3 quid. It takes probably 20 minutes to change it at most, which restores perfect shifting. In between changes, no further maintenance or lubrication is required.

 

[I like Skol]

I have no idea how people make cables last such a long time!

I change the rear derraillur cable (inner and the last loop of outer) on my winter/ commuting bike every 3000 miles.

I've had it snap in less miles than this at the shifter end and shifting quality is just starting to suffer due to gunk in the rear cable.

To buy enough shimano sp41 outer and a stainless inner to do the job costs about 3 quid. It takes probably 20 minutes to change it at most, which restores perfect shifting. In between changes, no further maintenance or lubrication is required.

Something wrong there! I would be surprised if a cable was physically failing in less than 5k. Please post me a link to where you can get a decent quality stainless steel cable and genuine Shimano SP41 casing for £3? Maybe that is why you are suffering failures in under 3k, you might be buying the dodgiest of counterfeit cables that money can buy?

 

[CycleCommute.CC]

Absolutely no point changing the inners without doing the outers. The inners are just metal and can be cleaned up and lubed. The outers have a nylon type liner that gets worn, gets contaminated and loses the factory installed lubrication, the outers have by far the biggest effect on the cable/shifting performance.

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Don't agree there is no point. Inners can get kinked or frayed which seriously affects shifting. Replacing a frayed inner leaving the same outer has a big improvement

 

[faster]

Something wrong there! I would be surprised if a cable was physically failing in less than 5k. Please post me a link to where you can get a decent quality stainless steel cable and genuine Shimano SP41 casing for £3? Maybe that is why you are suffering failures in under 3k, you might be buying the dodgiest of counterfeit cables that money can buy?

I've not spent more than a couple of minutes looking, but here is an inner for £2.19 and 1 meter of casing for £2.50 (and I only regularly change the back bit, so I'd only use a fraction of a metre). That's about £3.

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-essential-inner-gear-cable-shimanosram/

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-...h=item363e93ec72:g:UDwAAOSwcABb0C~c:rk:6:pf:0

I don't see it as a big problem really. It's probably less faff and less mess to change the cable that it is to clean and lubricate it properly, and I like my shifting to work perfectly all of the time. As a commuting bike used in the north west, it's always out in the rain!

 

[Ajax Bay]

I change the rear derraillur cable (inner and the last loop of outer) on my winter/ commuting bike every 3000 miles. I've had it snap in less miles than this at the shifter end

A cable parting at the shifter end is normally down to the poor STI design. What make/model do you use? Or are they down tube shifters? Gear cables tend to 'fail' either at the shifter end or just before the clamp bolt. You often can't see the wear inside the STI/Ergo but damage to the cable by the clamp bolt should be, if not obvious then, clear to spot during cleaning.
Changing every 5000km is very 'risk averse' but riders' expectations/demands on shifting accuracy differ.

 

[Ajax Bay]

here is an inner for £2.19 and 1 meter of casing for £2.50 (and I only regularly change the back bit, so I'd only use a fraction of a metre). That's about £3.

Or two for £4:
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/lifeline-essential-gear-cable-set-shimanosram/

 

[byegad]

Mine seem to last ages. I carry a couple of spares and the means to cut them so only replace if one gives any trouble.

 

[Blue Hills]

Mine seem to last ages. I carry a couple of spares and the means to cut them so only replace if one gives any trouble.

Sensible. I only carry spares when on tour.
Best to leave well alone I think - tinkering I feel increases the chance of problems.
I tend to change them when I see fraying on the end on side of the bolt nearest to the shifter.
I think I maybe have enough to see me out - bought 100 quality inners for less than £60 a while ago.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Get some bar end shifters, your cables will last long time.

 

[MontyVeda]

In theory, I change mine when they either seize or snap. The last change was purely aesthetic though, I wanted bright orange outers so changed the inners too... about a decade ago.

 

[EasyPeez]

No - the issue is that there is residual friction (caused by wear) between the inner and the outer and the cable is not 'letting' go enough to drop onto the smallest sprocket. The front cable does not normally have the same problem because the tensions are higher, FD arm movement is greater and the need for accurate indexing is less.

Ah right, that makes sense. Thanks. I wonder what it is with the FD then? I hope it's not the FD itself starting to seize. I'll try another fiddle with the cable tension. I'll still change that cable when I do the others though - I figure after 11,000 miles of cable neglect I ought to get a whole new set for gears and brakes at the same time.

I'm thinking of going for the higher-end Jaqwire stuff - any advances on that from anyone?

Cheers.

 

[Blue Hills]

Get some bar end shifters, your cables will last long time.

Isn't the problem often fraying - at the mech end?
Have never had any issue with the end popped into the rapidfires.

 

[Will Spin]

I've had 2 cable failures with Shimano brifters. In both cases it was the rear cable that went, inside the brifter. I had an early warning when the shifting up, ie dropping down to smaller wheels on the cassette became sluggish, unfortunately in both cases the cable broke completely before I could make it home. After this experience I change cables and outers about every 3000 miles.

 

[faster]

A cable parting at the shifter end is normally down to the poor STI design. What make/model do you use? Or are they down tube shifters? Gear cables tend to 'fail' either at the shifter end or just before the clamp bolt. You often can't see the wear inside the STI/Ergo but damage to the cable by the clamp bolt should be, if not obvious then, clear to spot during cleaning.
Changing every 5000km is very 'risk averse' but riders' expectations/demands on shifting accuracy differ.

I did use Sora 3400 (the thumb button ones). The rear one has since broken, and both have been replaced with a secondhand pair of Sora 3500. I haven't done 3,000 miles on them yet, and I've neither changed the cable or had any problems.

Get some bar end shifters, your cables will last long time.

Err, no thanks. I've never used bar end shifters or down tube shifters, but they look a massive step down from STIs.

I've had 2 cable failures with Shimano brifters. In both cases it was the rear cable that went, inside the brifter. I had an early warning when the shifting up, ie dropping down to smaller wheels on the cassette became sluggish, unfortunately in both cases the cable broke completely before I could make it home. After this experience I change cables and outers about every 3000 miles.

This mirrors my experience - once it starts to fray, shifting goes from perfect to jammed completely in no time.

 

[Ajax Bay]

Carry a decent size safety pin to poke the broken end out. Otherwise it's a devil to get out. The safety pin may come in useful for other (eg repair) purposes.