Cycling

As You Were….

Reggie, after his ยฃ137 refit. New chain, new cassette, new cables, new headset, cleaned, greased, tyres pumped up. Ready for the winter commutes.

Categories: Cycling

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  1. One last thing. The brake and gear cables are different diameter so make sure you get the right ones or a couple of each and get shimano ones.

    I’d keep a close eye on the wheel like he said and consider replacement before a big adventure, once spokes start going they see to just go one after another every so often!

  2. They do stretch but you can adjust for that. If they have stretched a lot then you may have to adjust them where they clamp at the brake end or gearshifter end (depending on which cable it is). The thing is if you unclamp the cable some of the wires can snap or just happen to snap anyway without adjustment. If a few snap then you need to replace the cable before they all go. Another reason to replace them is that the cable can get a kink in it and then not move freely in the outer cable casing. Or if they are just not gliding freely then you can need to oil them which means taking the cable out and unclamping it which brings you back to the first reason and the cable wires breaking or being weakened. Cables are only a couple or few pound each plus the end cap at 10p or so. At that price you may as well jut replace them every so often or if there is any question about them. I’d recommend you give it a try yourself next time before you put it in for a service, that way if you don’t do it right then you can get them to correct it and give you some advice on where you went wrong. Plus then you can carry a couple of spares on your next big adventure and be even more prepared!

    • Ah yes! Well remembered Iain!!
      The guy who repaired the bike said that he had balanced the wheel (which was clearly evident as I cycled away from the shop) and tightened quite a few of the spokes. He told me to keep a careful eye on it however as others could have been weakened. Overall, it didn’t need replacing, yet….
      The thing that I did find curious was the need to replace the cables; I wouldn’t have thought they would wear out. Any thoughts?

What do you think?