How to cut a cable

[Audax67]

We're leaving on a diagonale Strasbourg-Brest next Saturday. My cables are in pretty good nick but I have a spare cable anyway. However, I don't want to schlepp a pair of side cutters across the face of creation for the unlikely eventuality so:

Does anyone know a neat way to cut a gear cable at the roadside without side cutters?

[CREPELLO]

Err, no. But you could just tie it in a loop, held with a zip tie, until you can get to a LBS.

[Audax67]

Yes, that's what I thought, more or less. Of course, diagonales have to be done without outside technical assistance, so the LBS is out.

[Brucey]

if you have a soldering iron it is possible to cut a spare galvanised inner to length for the rear mech and leave the soldered end so that it can be rethreaded through the housing with ease. If the same cable is fitted to a front mech then it need not be trimmed; the surplus can usually be coiled out of harm's way (tip; loop the cable 180 deg down through the front mech, then coil it up).

If you use stainless steel inners (even as spares) it is probably easier to silver-braze the cable end. To do this you need a little of the correct flux and spelter, and a micro-gas torch to get it up to temperature. On bikes where the cable clamps are not likely to mangle the cable too badly, I often prep the cable inners this way; then they can be removed, cleaned and inspected properly whenever the bike is serviced.

A slight snag is that under no circumstances should the soldered part of the cable be positioned where the cable usually flexes, e.g. on the tension side of the pinch bolt ; if this is done it will fail in short order.

Good luck with the diagonale!

cheers

[Audax67]

Thanks, Brucey. It's a Decathlon cable so they're more concerned with telling you where it came from in several languages and alphabets than telling you what it's made of, but the raw end is discoloured and bears a tiny brown blob so it seems to already have been treated with something to hold it together - from the colour I'd say it was flux, or possibly earwax.

Thanks for the good wishes, too. We're watching the weather carefully and I keep shoving the GPX tracks through various engines to see which one will give us the least climbing to do. Not that I'm changing the route, you understand, but they all give different estimates so I'm looking for the smallest to boost my courage.

[531colin]

I think the cables that finish with a small blob are stainless, and they appear to be "cut" to length with what we used to refer to as a "hot spanner".....
in the old days that would have been an arc or oxy welding set, but now could be a laser, for all I know.
The blob is quite small enough to pass through anywhere it needs to pass, and I have been known to use the cables uncut, specially if I think I might change something soon.....

[pete75]

And I always thought the Diagonale was a film festival - ah well we live and learn.

Most of us just coil the end of any spare cable we have to fit on the road as in Colin's pictures.

[[XAP]Bob]

There's always room to coil them up, perfect for spares.

[reohn2]

To be sure I'd buy a couple of stainless steel cables for each mech, remove the present ones, cut two each of the new ones to length for each mech .Seal the ends with Araldite but ensuring the glued ends will pass through the outers.That way you'll have new cables fitted and new spares cut to length ready to fit.

[Audax67]

To be sure I'd buy a couple of stainless steel cables for each mech, remove the present ones, cut two each of the new ones to length for each mech .Seal the ends with Araldite but ensuring the glued ends will pass through the outers.That way you'll have new cables fitted and new spares cut to length ready to fit.

Nice idea, ta. Will do if time permits. Cheers.

[RonK]

The idea is to precut them to the required length.

Also worthwhile is to carry a short section of gear cable - about 3 inches, with the nipple. Then if you break a rear cable you can thread this short section through the barrel adjuster on the rear derailleur, clamp it so the required gear is selected, and fine-tune with the barrel adjuster.

[531colin]

The idea is to precut them to the required length.

Also worthwhile is to carry a short section of gear cable - about 3 inches, with the nipple. Then if you break a rear cable you can thread this short section through the barrel adjuster on the rear derailleur, clamp it so the required gear is selected, and fine-tune with the barrel adjuster.

Well, carrying 3 bits of cable is one idea.
My idea is to carry one uncut cable, with the end sealed by the manufacturer. Its dead easy to just coil the extra length after fitting.
And I only ever use it on bikes belonging to people who just must have a shifter that puts an a sharp bend in the cable.....out of sight, out of mind.

[Audax67]

Well, being of the mind that the simplest solution is usually the best - and a lazy bugger to boot - I'm going to take the spare uncut cable and a roll of Black Tape (on whose Name be praise). I need the latter anyway to stop the Garmin shoogles.

I've enjoyed these insights into cable lore. This is definitely the best place to come for good advice.

Cheers, all!!

[OnYourRight]

I have no great cable insights, but I’d be very interested to hear how you get on with your diagonale. Are you planning to do a write-up of some kind? That distance (with climbs to boot) seems flatly impossible to me!

[Audax67]

Please don't mention climbing, I'm nervous enough already.

Part of the homologation requirements is that we submit an account of the ride, so there will be one forthcoming. Catch: it'll be in French. However, I might do a translation if I'm energetic enough.