Cheap set of cables found & bought, now what to do with them? HELP!!!

Home:Ballyhoura

blorg wrote: »

Cables are quite easy, I am going to buy a few of them myself, it is a crazy cheap price.

So, I found these PBK cable sets with 70% off which work out at just €4.69 delivered.

I am probably going to buy a set or two incase I learn how to change cables myself in the near future. I don't know how to right now but maybe ye can help me?

What is included in the set, is it all you would need to change both brake and both gear cables or just one of each (or just one cable). I'm now to buying cable as you can see, is there a difference between brake and gear cables and are there different cable for different kinds of bikes (specifically different brakes and gear mechanisms)? Like would these be OK to put on a top end race bike with full Dura-Ace or would you recommend going with Dura-Ace cables (would you notice a difference, durability or performance wise because I heard Dura-Ace brake pads are hard to beat...so maybe its worth spending the extra couple of euro in these areas is it? What do ye think?)

I know it says outer cable ferrels included, I'm not quite sure what these are as of yet but I'm just wondering is the cable housing included (or would you recommend keeping the Dura-Ace housing? I would have thought you would change everything all at once, but one website said you don't have to do them together and often replace them separately?)

Sure I'll order some and continue to look around for advice, although so far I can find any good tutorials for a road bike (so if anyone comes across a decent one, let me know! Cheers). The last thing I want to do is mess uo my good bike! Thanks in advance for your help, I really appreciate it!

Morgan

Set should include two brake cables, two gear cables, cable outers, ferrules and crimp caps.

The only thing you'll need is a good cable cutter.

You'll find everything you need to know here:
http://www.parktool.com/repair/

blorg

Brake cables are thicker than gear cables.

Ferrules are the little things that go on the end of the housing once you cut it.

You don't necessarily have to change the outers every time but it is probably no harm.

As to cable quality, I don't know if there is much of a difference, maybe there is, maybe not... I have used the PBK inners before and they have been fine.

The tax man

Is there any option for setting up an account with PBK?
Absolute pain in the ass having to fill out order forms every time you make a purchase.

Home:Ballyhoura

Alright, a good cable cutters: €15
Is a cable puller like this or this necessry? They don't seem too expensive at just €10, would it be worth it or make the job any easier?


I meant to day earlier, does it make a difference that I have an Orbea Orca? There are two reasons I say this:

1. The first is that they have this clever little design where the headbadge of the Orbea logo acts as a cable stop/holder thingy which works very well. See the holes in this photo and see them in operation in this photo. I'm just wondering would this pose a problem for a complete beginner at cable replacement? Would it make it any more difficult or would I need to buy extra bits to cater for this unusual design?
2. Next is the cable routing, which takes a nice little detour through the frame at one point! A nice little shortcut indeed but again, will it pose a problem for me? You can see here where it enters the frame underneath the bottom bracket area and here is where is exits behind the seat tube en route to the front mech. This photo is very good at showing where it enters and exits the frame! There is absolutley no room in the holes it goes through to re-route a new cable if you ask me. If I pulled this one out I am certain that I would never get another one back in there in the same position. Is there some sort of housing in there to guide it from one hole to another?

ALL PHOTOS ARE HERE IN BIGGER SIZES IF YOU NEED THEM! SORRY ABOUT THEM NOT WORKING THE FIRST TIME

I'm getting scared now, maybe I should just go to the lbs the first time and get them to show me how it done for future reference. I've been looking around and came across Nokon and Gore RideOn cables. They are expensive alright but do they last long enough to make them good value, some say you never need to replace them ever again! What do ye think about this?

Sure let me know if you can offer some advice on the two things mentioned above. I still can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for in terms of an online tutorial, I looked on the ParkTools alright but no joy. I must say I prefer the old video style myself but if I can find something that relates directly to road racing bikes it doesn't matter because all I can find is flat bar/mtb style repairs! Let me know if you find anything, cheers!

Home:Ballyhoura

The tax man wrote: »

Is there any option for setting up an account with PBK?
Absolute pain in the ass having to fill out order forms every time you make a purchase.

Pain in the ass alright but my computer automatically remembers the data from the last time (except credit card information thank god), probably something to do with the cookie/cache settings you have...I'm not sure but it's handy alright.

The computer wouldn't have to have to have a good memory in my case, it wouldn't matter if it had short term memory loss and it would still remember all the data from the last transaction at the rate I am buying stuff! God thats a bad sign isn't it...haha!

kenmc

Home:Ballyhoura wrote: »

Alright, a good cable cutters: €15
Is a cable puller like this or this necessry? They don't seem too expensive at just €10, would it be worth it or make the job any easier?


I meant to day earlier, does it make a difference that I have an Orbea Orca? There are two reasons I say this:

1. The first is that they have this clever little design where the headbadge of the Orbea logo acts as a cable stop/holder thingy which works very well. See the holes in this photo and see them in operation in this photo. I'm just wondering would this pose a problem for a complete beginner at cable replacement? Would it make it any more difficult or would I need to buy extra bits to cater for this unusual design?
2. Next is the cable routing, which takes a nice little detour through the frame at one point! A nice little shortcut indeed but again, will it pose a problem for me? You can see here where it enters the frame underneath the bottom bracket area and here is where is exits behind the seat tube en route to the front mech. This photo is very good at showing where it enters and exits the frame! There is absolutley no room in the holes it goes through to re-route a new cable if you ask me. If I pulled this one out I am certain that I would never get another one back in there in the same position. Is there some sort of housing in there to guide it from one hole to another?

I'm getting scared now, maybe I should just go to the lbs the first time and get them to show me how it done for future reference. I've been looking around and came across Nokon and Gore RideOn cables. They are expensive alright but do they last long enough to make them good value, some say you never need to replace them ever again! What do ye think about this?

Sure let me know if you can offer some advice on the two things mentioned above. I still can't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for in terms of an online tutorial, I looked on the ParkTools alright but no joy. I must say I prefer the old video style myself but if I can find something that relates directly to road racing bikes it doesn't matter because all I can find is flat bar/mtb style repairs! Let me know if you find anything, cheers!

Your photos don't show.
Never needed a cablepuller myself, only useful for brakes, and really only for VBrakes at that I think.
Use the existing outer as a puller for the cable outer that's through the frame:
- remove EXISTING INNER leaving the EXISTING OUTER in place.
- Thread a NEW INNER into a NEW OUTER right the way to the stop nipple at the end.
- Thread the NEW inner into the existing outer too. So now you should have 2 outer son the one new inner, with the nipple behind the new outer . If you pull on the bare wire coming from the old outer (and probably with a bit of wiggling) it will pull the old outer out, and the new one in. Don't pull too far. You will then need to remove the new inner, cut to length, thread through the brakes or gears and reinstall as normal. Simple.

blorg

I have not used a cable puller before myself but picked one up cheap there in the last PBK sale, £4 or something. For £8 why not, I can imagine it makes it a bit easier.

tunney

blorg wrote: »

Brake cables are thicker than gear cables.

Ferrules are the little things that go on the end of the housing once you cut it.

You don't necessarily have to change the outers every time but it is probably no harm.

As to cable quality, I don't know if there is much of a difference, maybe there is, maybe not... I have used the PBK inners before and they have been fine.

Cable quality does make a difference but only on high performance steeds that are used almost exclusively for racing, and even then only for shifting. Smoother and faster changes. Also for TT rigs, things like Nokon cables can allow for the more awkward routing of cables.

Morgan

I don't see the point of a cable-puller as long as you possess two hands - hold the calipers together with one hand, tighten the bolt with the other. Maybe I've been missing something...

Good tips above on routing cables through the frame.

Home:Ballyhoura

HEY GUYS! SORRY ABOUT THE PICTURES IN MY LAST POST NOT WORKING, I'VE FIXED THEM NOW SO ALL THE LINKS WORK AND ALL THE PHOTOS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE HERE IF YOU NEED THEM IN BIGGER SIZES OR ANYTHING! CHEERS

kenmc wrote: »

Your photos don't show.
Never needed a cablepuller myself, only useful for brakes, and really only for VBrakes at that I think.
Use the existing outer as a puller for the cable outer that's through the frame:
- remove EXISTING INNER leaving the EXISTING OUTER in place.
- Thread a NEW INNER into a NEW OUTER right the way to the stop nipple at the end.
- Thread the NEW inner into the existing outer too. So now you should have 2 outer son the one new inner, with the nipple behind the new outer . If you pull on the bare wire coming from the old outer (and probably with a bit of wiggling) it will pull the old outer out, and the new one in. Don't pull too far. You will then need to remove the new inner, cut to length, thread through the brakes or gears and reinstall as normal. Simple.

OK thanks very much for that, I presume it has something to do with how to do the internal cable routing but right know it makes absolutely no sense to me whatsoever. Hopefully when I have everything in my hand ready to go it will all click with me!

Home:Ballyhoura

Hey guys! I got my two sets of PBK cables this morning (one grey, one black) and I must say I am very happy with how they look, better than expected (lets hope I can say the same thing for performance when they are actually installed). Did anyone else get theirs yet (have them installed? What do ye think of them?)

Anyway, were ye able to see the pictures of cables on my bike which I fixed since the problem the last time? Just wondering because I received no comments about them since.

Last question, would it be a bit too forward to go into my LBS with the cables and get them to fit them for me? The reason for this is because right now I really wouldn't be confident to do it myself, but this way I would probably know how to do it myself after seeing how it's actually done! They would probably charge loads just to make up for the inconvenience, making it the cables not such good value anymore! Haha, thats if they even accept to do it at all. What do ye think?

kenmc

mine came this morning too. not installed yet. might do a major overhaul on my commute bike next week including cables, so will use them then.
Yes we can see your pics too btw. I have no experience of that sort of through-frame routing, but would be very VERY surprised if there were not some sort of a guide built into the frame to route the cable, otherwise the frame would be eaten away by the friction of the cable.
Seriously, it's very easy to do the cables yourself. Just do one at a time, start with the brakes if you're worried about it, and use the old housing as a guide to cut the length of the new housing. Just make sure to cut the right nipple off the cables; they're designed for both MTB and road bikes, so have niples at each end. Oh and cut the nipples off close to the end of the cable, thread them through the housing, fix to brake/gear mechanism, and then trim cable to 4-5cm past the fixing bolt - don't cut the cables to size first.

penexpers

Mine came too but are waiting in the sorting office

Impressed with delivery time though - first time using PBK.

Single Malt

blorg wrote: »

Brake cables are thicker than gear cables.

Ferrules are the little things that go on the end of the housing once you cut it.

You don't necessarily have to change the outers every time but it is probably no harm.

As to cable quality, I don't know if there is much of a difference, maybe there is, maybe not... I have used the PBK inners before and they have been fine.

The bolded is a common misconception. The main reason cables get stiff is due to the lining of the outer casing wearing down. This causes metal to metal contact and lots of friction. Inner wires, if fitted correctly will usually last longer than the lining of the outers, so when it comes to replacement time, replace the lot.

Obviously this doesn't apply to outers that are only a few months old and the wire has frayed:)