Fixing a frayed cable video

[NHAero]

Originally Posted by reuben

I don't get the excitement. I've done the same thing using two fingers instead of a zip tie.

I have as well, but it doesn’t always work as well.

[redir]

Originally Posted by br0qn

cable cherries, duh.

Neat! I've never seen those before.

[AngryScientist]

A quick dip in liquid electrical tape is my preferred method.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by Nomadmax

But you didn't make a video of it

Alas, I am not a member of a TikTok generation. Imagine the fame and fortune that could have been mine. I coulda been an influencer!

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by reuben

Alas, I am not a member of a TikTok generation. Imagine the fame and fortune that could have been mine. I coulda been an influencer!

Good one!

[jadmt]

Originally Posted by reuben

Alas, I am not a member of a TikTok generation. Imagine the fame and fortune that could have been mine. I coulda been an influencer!

Ah that is where I went wrong I misunderstood they said I should be an influencer and I thought they said I should be under the influence.....crap..

[jadmt]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

Critical finishing touch on any build.

your bikes look perfect in every photo...keep using the crimps.

[sg8357]

Originally Posted by reuben

Alas, I am not a member of a TikTok generation. Imagine the fame and fortune that could have been mine. I coulda been an influencer!

Sheldon Brown would have ruled bike tik tok.
Jobst Brandt's "The Engineered Skeptic" would have been the
terror of PR depts.

Back on topic, heat shrink tubing for cable ends.

[reuben]

Originally Posted by sg8357

Sheldon Brown would have ruled bike tik tok.

So much this. That visage, that helmet, that personality, that knowledge, that helpful smile? Slam dunk, game over, no contest. Cyclist emeritus.

In somewhat sadder news, I may die tomorrow. It's been like this for months, although it does look like I put a dab of glue or something on the end to prevent fraying. I guess I left it long in case I decided it needed further adjustment, and then just got lazy.

[NHAero]

Originally Posted by reuben

So much this. That visage, that helmet, that personality, that knowledge, that helpful smile? Slam dunk, game over, no contest. Cyclist emeritus.

In somewhat sadder news, I may die tomorrow. It's been like this for months, although it does look like I put a dab of glue or something on the end to prevent fraying. I guess I left it long in case I decided it needed further adjustment, and then just got lazy.

To make things worse, you have dissimilar metals in contact, with the cable and the solid copper water bottle cages from 1922.

[Carbonita]

With the water as an electrolyte, it's not corrosion, it's a battery! Enough to Di2 the front der?

Originally Posted by NHAero

To make things worse, you in have dissimilar metals in contact, with the cable and the solid copper water bottle cages from 1922.

[C40_guy]

Originally Posted by br0qn

cable cherries, duh.

Those are really interesting...but at $2 per (pricing off Amazon...I can't tell how many one gets for $20 on Forager), I'd spend about $1K to cover my fleet.

On the other hand, it looks like there's a market for a tiny torque wrench to properly torque these little buggers. I'm going to invent it, sell it on Pliq Ploq or wherever the kool kats do that ****, and retire early.

Edit...I'm coming up with a dual version to mimic the truck ballz...I'm going to call them the tiny testies...

Further edit....I need to get out for a ride!

[dddd]

Originally Posted by reuben

I don't get the excitement. I've done the same thing using two fingers instead of a zip tie.

I think the video is great, though as I was about to say the same thing you said.

I dislike waste, even a plastic zip-tie or even a cable crimp, so I have learned how to re-use the crimps without wasting so much time, crimps or zip-ties.

Often the crimps have been sharply crimped using wire dikes. So first I use my pliers to more-fully crimp the crimp along the same "sides" of the crimp as the existing, sharply localized crimps, which in effect un-crimps the localized crimping. Then I can apply the plier at 90-degrees to un-crimp my previous crimp, which is highly effective almost 90% of the time.
Noting here that my crimping is done using the corner of my regular pliers, so I can avoid the solid end of the crimp and the open end as well, to the extent that either end hasn't been crushed already. Done as described, these crimps can last through a few service cycles I would say.

Occasionally I need to massage the opening of a crimp using a spinning action on my razor tool, creating more of a smooth funnel for guiding a gnarled cable into. I also have some XL crimps for handling the most jagged brake cable ends.

Yet one more tip, when using my fingers to accomplish what was done in the video, I use a bit of back/forth bending action as I twist my fingers past the roughest spot along the cable, which helps the cable strands to align properly. Or I might even twist my pliers past such a crushed spot on the cable to better force the little wires into order.

Broken strands can cause puncture wounds(!!), so I keep a careful eye out for them.

Thicker-walled crimps that hold tighter seem like the best preventative for frayed cable ends, short of having to do soldering. Some of these require more of a muscular effort on the pliers to crimp fully, since I don't crimp them using wire dikes myself.
I crimp using the corner of the plier jaws, then again with the lines on the plier jaw surface at 90-degrees (done from the other side, again without crushing either end of the crimp). The result is sort of a griddle-pattern "trademark", which later informs me if I am likely the last person to have worked on the cable or not (despite what I or the bike's owner might remember).

Lastly, Campagnolo cables have for decades been reverse-wound compared to almost all other cables, which keeps me on my toes.

[jamesdak]

I do find the comments about the environment and then soldering and super glue being funny. Nothing environmentally friendly about either.

Heck I bet some of my scrambled brains issues right now can be tied back to my early years in the Army soldering every day without even knowing what a fume extraction system was, LOL!

I've never thought of using the tie wrap, always tried with my fingers. Not always with success or lack of blood.