Source for Cable ferrules, crimp ends, cable donuts

[CSKeller]

Hi all and Happy New Year!!!

Since I have 9 bikes in my household, I am looking for a good source for bulk (100-200) cable ferrules, crimp ends and cable donuts.

All of my road bikes are Campagnolo but the mountain bikes and my wife's road bike have Shimano or SRAM.

Thanks in advance for your help!

Cheers! :beer:

[pjbaz]

Following :)

[GregL]

https://www.universalcycles.com/shopping/index.php?category=1613

Good prices, fast shipping. Basically the QBP catalog online.

Greg

[Steve in SLO]

I got all mine from eBay. If you search something like:
cable ferrules (4mm,5mm)
That should get you tons of choices and colors.
Same with donuts.
If you need him in a hurry, make sure and check the US sellers box, so you don’t get something from Taiwan or China takes a couple of weeks to get.

[54ny77]

DARNED good & much needed thread, I am subscribing to this one.

Thanks for posting it!

[shinomaster]

does the type of Ferrule actually matter? For campy ten for example.. I'm building up a bike. Some have little rubber donuts inside.

[Blue Jays]

Thanks for the great helpful thread.
Will check link to see if they have cut-to-length gray cable sheath.
That stuff is great for brake cables. Very protective.

[fmradio516]

Thanks for the great helpful thread.
Will check link to see if they have cut-to-length gray cable sheath.
That stuff is great for brake cables. Very protective.

What is this sheath you speak of?

[Blue Jays]

”...What is this sheath you speak of?...”
Rather than passing the rear brake and derailleur cables through a handful of unsightly rubber donuts, it is a narrow dark gray plastic sheath much thinner than cable housing. The cable just passes through it, yet it can move with the cable itself.

It renders the whole cable unable to scratch paint and is also durable.
The other benefit is it looks WAY better than little rubber donuts, too.

Electricians sometimes refer to it as “spaghetti tubing” and it is on all my builds.
https://www.awcwire.com/Portals/0/CVStoreImages/tft250-tubing_400.jpg

[weaponsgrade]

eBay. I actually just bought some stuff from HK and it arrived in under two weeks.

[false_Aest]

I'm sorry but why aren't you asking your LBS to order you a bottle from QBP/JBI/BTI/KHS/ETC?

You'll be happy.
They'll be happy.
When you drop one of those nubbins and it rolls under the 130*F radiator you'll really be happy.

[R3awak3n]

I am not sure why I have ao many ferrules, from years kd buying cables and reusing instead of using new ones. Crimps I got from ebay or amazon, just got a huge bag of black ones and it was pretty cheap.

[Dude]

This is something a LBS can quickly and easily provide for you. If they can't give you a handful from their supply, they can order it.

If you have your reasons for refusing to deal with a shop I get it, but remember it's REALLY easy to buy this stuff from a bike shop.

[BdaGhisallo]

https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=232633527098&c=Cable-Housing

These guys are another option.

I have long been a fan of the Jagwire CNC crimpable ferrules (pretty sure they are the ones made of brass and then plated https://jagwire.com/products/small-parts/open-end-caps ) . Using this tool on them https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cgi?id=232633527098&d=single&c=Tools&sc=Cable-and-Housing&tc=Crimpers&item_id=LY-T08 ensures the ferrules stay put and give you crisper shifting and braking I have found.

[oldpotatoe]

does the type of Ferrule actually matter? For campy ten for example.. I'm building up a bike. Some have little rubber donuts inside.

BEST is metal..and 5mm der housing for 2008 and older ERGO(sram and shimano also)..The ones with a wee donut are actually 4.5mm(Campag der housing) but I use brass, get them from Wheels manufacturing..


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wheels-Manufacturing-Brass-Cable-Ferrule-5-0mm-Bottle-of-50/273614147617?epid=1501784130&hash=item3fb4ac9021:g:eKIAAOSw1rpcFvsa:rk:6:pf:0

Free ship..good prices.

[fmradio516]

I just go through my big bag of ferrules/cable ends and sometimes will find something that will work. Usually not though. :confused:


I dont wanna spend a ton of money on a number of different kinds of ferrules for different types of cables and bikes. Someone should come out with an assorted pack :)

[glepore]

I've not used ferrules for a while. Clean the cable ends acetone, then dip in an open tube of ca glue (crazy glue). Poor man's soldered end.

[Jeff N.]

Plentiful on Ebay.

[dddd]

Anybody else here make a sport of re-using the wire-end crimps?

It's taken years of practice, but discarding these things is becoming ever less-common, at least on my used-bike and flipper builds.

I do have a large supply of new ones, in many different size variations, mostly supplied as redundant extras in build kits, cable kits and such.
But there is something satisfying about pinching the crimp off of the cable in such a way that it can be re-installed on a freshly-cut cable.

I almost never toss out used housing ferrules having engineered seals in them, they are a substantive upgrade on any lower-level bike build that didn't include them. Basically anything below 105 or SLX (maybe Deore) won't include sealed ferrules in it's build kit, a cheap oversight on any bike that will get hard use in many real-world riding environments.

[Tommasini53]

BEST is metal..and 5mm der housing for 2008 and older ERGO(sram and shimano also)..The ones with a wee donut are actually 4.5mm(Campag der housing) but I use brass, get them from Wheels manufacturing..


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Wheels-Manufacturing-Brass-Cable-Ferrule-5-0mm-Bottle-of-50/273614147617?epid=1501784130&hash=item3fb4ac9021:g:eKIAAOSw1rpcFvsa:rk:6:pf:0

Free ship..good prices.

+1 on Wheels Manufacturing. I bit the bullet and ordered a supply that should last me (and probably my friends too) for close to a decade. the price is good and the products are well made.

[m_sasso]

I've not used ferrules for a while. Clean the cable ends acetone, then dip in an open tube of ca glue (crazy glue). Poor man's soldered end.

I despise throw away crimp on cable ends and you will never find them on my bicycles!

I gave up soldiering cable ends for environmental (Lead) reasons and have been doing the Crazy Glue thing for 6 or so years. Works, looks and feels great, however ferrules and cable ends two different things!

"Cable ends" on cable, "ferrules" on cable housing and don't get me going on those black PVC pieces of junk shops try to push as ferrules, there should be a law against producing this kind of pollution!

I don't purchase my ferrules here but this place has a stupid number of different ferrules, it's entertaining to just look at all the variations, https://hollandbikeshop.com/en-gb/small-parts/cable-ferrule/ and you thought BB standards were out of hand, hahaaaaa!

[54ny77]

Interesting about the super glue thing. Will have to give that a try. Maybe I can add food coloring to it....

[eddief]

Super Glue while dialing things in during build process to avoid cable unraveling at the ends.
Then heat shrink tubing once things are for sure. It's clean and can be removed without cutting cable shorter.

Jagwire inner housing liner instead of donuts.
https://www.amazon.com/Jagwire-Black-Housing-Liner-Cables/dp/B0029LF1XO

[shinomaster]

Interesting about the super glue thing. Will have to give that a try. Maybe I can add food coloring to it....

I super glued my colored end caps on! Annd, thanks Old Potato for the tip, I think I have a handful of those brass ferrules.

[pcxmbfj]

I use bulk Shimano SP41 4mm compressionless housing and ferrules for shifters and brakes.
Shimano and Sram and change only the ferules periodically.

[CSKeller]

Thanks for all the great advice!

I have gone to my local bike shops but most are 'anti-Campy' or they say it is too hard to work on so I avoid them.

I will try one shop this evening and see what they can get me.

Gotta ask what ferrules do you use for Campy derailleur cables?? I believe they are 4.2 mm o.d. and all I can find are 4 and 5 mm ferrules...and sometimes 4.5mm.

[Jeff N.]

Thanks for all the great advice!

I have gone to my local bike shops but most are 'anti-Campy' or they say it is too hard to work on so I avoid them.

I will try one shop this evening and see what they can get me.

Gotta ask what ferrules do you use for Campy derailleur cables?? I believe they are 4.2 mm o.d. and all I can find are 4 and 5 mm ferrules...and sometimes 4.5mm.
Campy: "No, we don't carry that, but we can order it for you."
Anything Shimano: "Sure! How many do you need?" Seems, pretty much, how it's always been.

[OtayBW]

Campy: "No, we don't carry that, but we can order it for you."
Anything Shimano: "Sure! How many do you need?" Seems, pretty much, how it's always been.
That's my recipe for rejecting a shop.

[dddd]

I use bulk Shimano SP41 4mm compressionless housing and ferrules for shifters and brakes.
Shimano and Sram and change only the ferules periodically.

Did you say that you used derailer housing for BRAKES? :eek:

[oldpotatoe]

Thanks for all the great advice!

I have gone to my local bike shops but most are 'anti-Campy' or they say it is too hard to work on so I avoid them.

I will try one shop this evening and see what they can get me.

Gotta ask what ferrules do you use for Campy derailleur cables?? I believe they are 4.2 mm o.d. and all I can find are 4 and 5 mm ferrules...and sometimes 4.5mm.

2008 and older Der housing is 4.5mm, but a 5mm ferrule works fine but for best results, just use good, lined 5mm der housing and metal(brass!) ferrules..even shimano 5mm der(horrors) housing works fine.

When I see the bolded above I see a lazy shop/wrench. It's not rocket science and if you pursue a small market aggressively, it's a large market for you. There is real value in being a 'Campag pro shop'..particularly in an area where most shops say and do the dum-ass thing bolded above.

[pcxmbfj]

Did you say that you used derailer housing for BRAKES? :eek:

Yes, on a 1x9 road bike.
Compressionless just like some special kits.
Buddy of mine started this.

[Mark McM]

Yes, on a 1x9 road bike.
Compressionless just like some special kits.
Buddy of mine started this.

Careful there - derailleur housing and compressionless brake housing are NOT the same. They look similar, and both have longitudinal strand wires, but that is where the similarities end. Longitudinal strands by themselves can't take much compression force without buckling. On a derailleur housing, this isn't much of a problem, because the cable forces are relatively low, and the outer plastic casing is enough to keep the longitudinal strands from buckling. But the cable forces on brake cables can be MUCH higher. To prevent buckling, compressionless brake housing has further filament winding around longitudinal strands, compressing the longitudinal strands together. Usually this is in the form of Kevlar braiding or spiral winding.

So to repeat - never use derailleur specific housing in place of brake housing!

[Veloo]

Bumping this for a source of silver 4 mm alloy or brass shifter ferrules.

My LBS only has black plastic or the pricey black Jagwire ones.

[oldpotatoe]

Bumping this for a source of silver 4 mm alloy or brass shifter ferrules.

My LBS only has black plastic or the pricey black Jagwire ones.

Where I get mine, 4mm and 5mm. They have brass and aluminum, I rec. brass.

https://wheelsmfg.com/products/cables-housing/casing-ferrules/ca0001.html