Re-use cables and housing

[sjbraun]

Now that I'm retired, I'm trying to learn how to some of my own maintenance work. Expect a number of rookie questions in the next few months.
My current project is is changing out the handlebars and shifters on my BMC from Jones Bars with Rapidfire shifters to Salsa Cowchippers with SRAM levers. Previously I had used bar end shifters with the Salsa bars so I think I have more than enough cable and housing to accommodate the SRAM levers. The cables and housing have about 4k miles of use. Can I reuse them or should I just replace them with new cables and housing?

Thanks
Steve

[mktng]

you can definitely re use.

inspect the cables for fraying.
inspect housing for corrosion.

i drop some light chain lube (white lightning) down the housing to give it a bit less friction. i know some people are against it. but it works for me and has never given me issues.

install and go ride.

[HenryA]

You can reuse, but its not that much money for new cables and housing and it’ll probably work better and longer.

[AngryScientist]

re-using housings is no problem as long as they are in good shape.

re-using inner wires is not always a great idea, if they are crimped or kinked. also, where the inner wire was crimped the first time often ruins the braiding in the area and may fray a bit, making them difficult to thread back through the housing and may not run super smooth.

if you can cut that part off and still have enough good cable left might be ok.

inner cables though are so cheap, you're probably better off just replacing in most cases.

[biker72]

Originally Posted by HenryA

You can reuse, but its not that much money for new cables and housing and it’ll probably work better and longer.

Agree with Henry. The old stuff will probably work OK but personally I'd buy new cables and housing.

[pgrizzwald]

I reused a bunch of old (in good shape) housing this weekend to build up a bike, and it worked great. Especially if the housing is already cut to the right lengths for their applications. I wouldn't reuse shift cables, but I've reused brake cables where possible, as they are a little more robust and less prone to fraying.

[eddief]

cable ends while dialing in your build and doing final adjustments. prevents cable ends from fraying and gets you ready for crimps or heat shrinking the ends when satisfied with all working smoothly.

[buddybikes]

Inspect near head of the inner cable, this when fray'd due to shifter can really make 5.00 savings not worth it.

Are expensive cables worth it, perhaps for top end 11 speed, but in other cases no.

[nooneline]

If my bike is in need of an overhaul, then often, those cables and housing just ain't worth reusing.

However, sometimes I do some work - changing bars, changing a lever, etc - that involves removing cables and housing that are still totally serviceable.

What I often do is save my rear brake and derailleur cables to reuse them as fronts, later on, since I can cut off the crimped/crushed end, not have to suffer through trying to get a frayed end back into some housing, but still have use of them as cables for the shorter functions. Nice to keep them around to have as a spare; I'll also keep cables that are in decent shape to be straddle cables for canti brakes.

[benb]

When I'm doing the work myself the cost to replace the housing is just too small to put up with using old cables & housing.

Usually by the time I would be working on them it's very much time to change them.

[ultraman6970]

What i do is to recycle the rear cables and casings and put them in the front.

Many guys here does the same thing :P

[johnniecakes]

Originally Posted by ultraman6970

What i do is to recycle the rear cables and casings and put them in the front.

Many guys here does the same thing :P

If they are not frayed at the lever end this is what I do for shifters, but not for the brakes, too much at stake for <$10.00

[dddd]

I would say not to underestimate the value of clean and pre-lubricated (with the RIGHT lubricant) cable housings, which can so easily be contaminated even as the dirty end of the cable is pulled through.

Shimano SP41 housingis re-lubricated with the ideal (for metal sliding against plastic) light-viscosity silicone-Teflon grease, allowing for the lastest cable movement with the absolute minimum of friction or viscous resistance.

Dust and grit eventually becomes embedded into the plastic liner surface inside of the housing that the cable must slide against, thus increasing friction.

Choice of lubricants added to existing silicone-based lube in the housing can have very unpredictable results. Regular petro-based bike grease WILL slow the movement of derailer cables and the rear derailer's shifting may really suffer as a result.

All that said, I often re-use cable housing that shows little in the way of conspicuous aging, such as a hardened/cracked covering or having the wire ends standing proud of the (age-shrunken) plastic covering.

I use only a dry-PTFE or silicone-based lube as a cleaning solvent as I run a kinked length of cable through the housing to scrub it out, the one last application of the (spray or drip) lube before blasting it out from a Presta valve chuck.
The inner wire gets wiped down, then a small dab of silicone-Teflon-based CABLE lubricant (SRAM or Shimano's) wiped along it's length as it is slid through the cleaned housing(s).

Again though, I avoid using lubes that leave any petro residue behind, as silicone/Teflon is absolutely the better choice for lubricating the polymer path surfaces that the cable rubs against. Silicone-based lubes never evaporate, thicken or permeate these polymer surfaces, so are best for achieving best performance over the longest service intervals.

[icepick_trotsky]

I basically always reuse old rear cables and housing as fronts for new projects. You can cut off enough of the old that kinks and frays aren't an issue.

[chiasticon]

if I'm spending money on bar wrap, taking the time to dial everything in perfectly, wrap bars right, etc, I don't want to have to re-do that because I cheaped out on cables.

if housing is in good shape, re-use it. I generally try to do two runs of cabling to one run of housing. but grab new cables for a few bucks. it'll be worth it to have your new build running smoothly, rather than sorta-ok and constantly wondering: "if only I'd paid ten bucks, would I still spend ten minutes on the side of the road every ride, screwing with the indexing and trying to get my bike to shift right...?"