174598 1355 Sports & Fitness Bikes & Biking Bike Repair & Maintenance true Thu, 23 Apr 2009 14:01:57 -0700 /system/videos/4/98/45/17/174598.flv bike repair, bike maintenance, bike cleaning, bicycle repair, bicycle maintenance, bicycle cables, bike cables, brake cables, shift cables, how to install cables on a bike How To Lubricate Brake and Shift Cables http://www.howcast.com/videos/174598-How-To-Lubricate-Brake-and-Shift-Cables http://www.howcast.com/videos/174598-How-To-Lubricate-Brake-and-Shift-Cables/edit approved 518 640 480 <object width="425" height="352" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" id="howcastplayer"><param name="movie" value="http://www.howcast.com/flash/howcast_player.swf?file=174598"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.howcast.com/flash/howcast_player.swf?file=174598" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="352" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" ></embed></object> 2 caeasura http://img.howcast.com/system/thumbnails/174598/255_xxlarge_maintained_aspect.jpg 2211 false true false 68545 1 75 Step http://img.howcast.com/system/thumbnails/174598/75.jpg Whether you’re installing new cables or lubricating old ones, it helps to know a bit about your cables before you begin. Bikes use two kinds of cables, brake cables and shift cables. Both kinds of cable require two basic parts that are distinct from one another and are usually purchased separately: the housing, and the inner wire which is inserted into the housing. Brake housing consists of one long wire wound into a spiral. This spiral is usually covered by a plastic sheath that protects it from moisture and prevents it from scratching the frame of the bike. It may also contain a plastic inner liner to reduce friction between the housing and the inner wire. Almost all brake systems use brake housing that’s 5 mm. in diameter. In addition, there are two kinds of brake inner wire: road bike wire and mountain bike wire. They differ in the shape of the metal head that’s located at one end of the wire. Shift housing, which is only necessary for indexed, or “click,” shifting, consists of many long, thin wires that run parallel to the length of the housing, between a plastic sheath on the outside of the housing, and a plastic inner liner on the inside. Older shift systems use shift housing that’s 5 mm. in diameter. Newer ones use housing that’s 4 mm. in diameter. The two sizes are interchangeable in terms of fit, but will have different effects on shifting. Even though 4 mm. housing is lighter, many shop mechanics prefer to use 5 mm. housing because it’s stiffer, which makes the shifting system more responsive. There is only one kind of inner wire for both road and mountain bike shifters. It has a cylindrical head at one end of the wire that is smaller than the heads on road and mountain bike brake wire.

]]> 68770 2 131 Warning Older friction, or “non-click,” shifting systems do not require dedicated shift housing like indexed shifting systems do. This means that the rider of a bike with friction shifters can use brake housing for both brakes and shifters, which makes cable installation easier and slightly less expensive. However, shift housing should never be used in braking systems in place of brake housing. The loads applied to a brake lever are much greater than those applied to a shift lever. Unlike the coiled wire of brake housing, the long strands of wire that run along the length of shift housing do not compress easily, and are held in place only by the plastic outer covering and inner liner of the housing. If used on brakes, shift housing can burst under the higher load, usually right when the greatest force is being applied to the brake, resulting in a total loss of braking power, and possibly serious injury, or even death.

]]> 68773 3 159 Tip Road bike brake wire and mountain bike brake wire differ in the shape of the small head found at one end of the wire. This head fits into a specially machined space (a “stop”) in the lever and holds the wire in place. Certain manufacturers make wire that has a road head at one end and a mountain head at the other. If you buy that kind of wire and don’t know what to do with it, simply clip off the head you don’t need with a good set of cutters that won’t fray the wire. It’s best to clip it off right below where the head meets the wire to ensure that you still have the full length of the wire to work with.

]]> 69026 4 187 Tip On levers that combine the brake levers and shifters into one assembly (“integrated” levers), the stop for the brake housing is often recessed into the back of the lever, and can be hard to reach. It helps to first run the wire through the lever as shown, then place a section of brake housing onto the end of the wire and slide it up along the wire until it reaches the stop in the lever, using the wire as a guide to position the housing right up against the stop. Always make sure that the housing fits as snugly as possible in the stop before taping the handlebars. If it’s not, the brake will not perform up to its full potential, and will feel less responsive at the lever.

]]> 69194 5 235 Tip Some mountain bike brake levers don’t have an opening in the head of the lever body like the lever shown here, through which the stop is visible. On those levers, access the stop by pulling the lever all the way back, as if you were braking. This will expose the stop, which may be drilled directly into the lever, or linked to the lever in the form of a cam. Then insert the head of the wire into the stop, guide the wire into the slots in the lever body, knurled nut (“adjusting barrel”), and lockring, and release the lever again.

]]> 69195 6 285 Tip When installing shift wire, if the wire won’t pass through the shifter, check to make sure that the shifter is shifted to its lowest position. On a rear shifter, this is the position in which the chain would be on the smallest cog. On a front shifter, this is the position in which the chain would be on the smallest chainring.

]]> 69198 7 321 Step http://img.howcast.com/system/thumbnails/174598/321.jpg Cutting brake housing is actually very easy. Once you’ve sized the housing and measured out the length you’ll need for a particular section, place the housing between the jaws of your cutters, and squeeze. The excess housing will come right off. However, because of the way brake housing is coiled, cutting it will often leave a metal spur bent across the opening of the housing or compress the inner liner, either of which will obstruct the path of the wire through the housing and cause friction. That’s why it’s important to examine the opening of the housing after you cut it, and trim and ream it if necessary.

]]> 69201 8 342 Warning A metal spur that obstructs the path of the wire through the housing can not only cause friction, but even fray the wire and eventually break it, resulting in a total loss of braking and serious injury, or even death.

]]> 69199 9 356 Tip After you size your housing and measure out the length you need, add a bit to that length in case you need to trim it after you cut it. If it turns out that you don’t need to trim it, the effect of the additional length will be insignificant. Remember that it’s always better to cut your housing too long than it is to cut it too short. Alternately, many professional shop and team mechanics trim housing using a bench grinder or a rotary tool with a grinding disc, like those made by Dremel or Craftsman. If you have access to such a tool, you’ll always be able to remove any spurs from the cut end of the housing without having to cut it again.

]]> 69197 10 364 Fact Reaming the inner liner of the housing with a pointed tool is even easier if you’ve trimmed the cut end of the housing with a grinder. The heat generated by the grinder partially melts the plastic inner liner, making it more pliable, and allowing you to widen the opening even more than you normally could. This makes it easier to inject grease into the housing, and allows the wire to pass through the opening with the least possible friction.

]]> 69196 11 379 Tip In addition to reaming the inner liner of shift housing after making your cut, it helps to pinch the housing itself back into a circular shape. This will make it easier to fit a ferrule onto the end of the housing before running the wire through it.

]]> 69200 12 389 Step http://img.howcast.com/system/thumbnails/174598/389.jpg Finish Line Extreme Fluoro comes in a syringe that makes lubricating the housing the easiest step in cable installation. Just place the tip of the syringe into the end of the housing into which you’ll be inserting the wire, and squeeze until you begin to see grease come out around the tip. Then cap the end of the housing with a ferrule, and run the wire through. As it makes its way through the housing, the wire will distribute the grease from the end of housing along the length of it. If you’d like, you can wipe excess grease off of the wire once it comes out the other end of the housing, to keep it from attracting dirt.

]]> 69203 13 408 Fact Some mechanics don’t lube cables at all, or only lube them with the thinnest possible oil in order to prevent corrosion, because they’re concerned that the inner liner of the housing is already so slick, and the space between the wire and the inner liner is already so tight, that adding lube will cause unnecessary drag. While this may be true of conventional oils and greases, it’s not the case with Extreme Fluoro. Because it’s fully fluorinated, Extreme Fluoro has a higher lubricity than conventional Teflon, which means that it will always reduce friction, regardless of how slick the inner liner is, even if the liner or the wire is coated with Teflon. Even though it’s a grease, Extreme Fluoro also has a lower viscosity than many oils, and that viscosity remains constant over the widest possible range of temperatures and pressures, so it will never thicken and increase cable drag. Naturally, Extreme Fluoro also provides protection against rust and corrosion that extends well beyond the life of most cables. The only cables you should not lube with Extreme Fluoro are sealed cable systems like those by Gore or Power Cordz, in which the wire is encased in a Teflon-coated liner which is then inserted into lined housing. In these systems, the wire and liner are considered one unit, and the space between them is designed to be practically airtight.

]]> 69202 14 430 Tip After lubing the housing, mark the end that you lubed by placing a ferrule on that end only. That way, you’ll remember which end you lubed, and will insert the wire at the correct end. Otherwise, you might accidentally insert the wire at the other end, which will cause it to push the grease out of the housing instead of distributing it along the length of the housing. Once you’ve run the wire through the housing, place a ferrule on the end of it, with the hollow part of the ferrule facing the cut end of the housing, and run it up the wire onto the end of the housing, crimping as necessary.

]]> 1355 9568 General Bike Maintenance and Safety Check 3222 Thu, 22 May 2008 15:40:19 -0700 3 Torpedo7 ]]> 390 http://media.howcast.com/system/videos/6/68/95/9568.flv bike, Mechanics, General Maintenance, Do It yourself, help, cycling, Online shopping Bike, Snow and Adventure. Get up to 80% off! 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Front Derailleur Adjustment YoutubeGuide 939 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:46:21 -0700 3 youtubevideos ]]> 343 adjustment, bike, derailleur, front, mountain ngm6dr-1na0 Sports & Fitness Bikes & Biking Bike Repair & Maintenance 0 http://img.howcast.com/system/thumbnails/55598/0_xxlarge_maintained_aspect.jpg http://www.howcast.com/videos/55598-9-Front-Derailleur-Adjustment 1355 55601 6 - Advanced Rear Derailleur Adjustment YoutubeGuide 986 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:46:26 -0700 5 youtubevideos ]]> 340 adjustment, bicycle, bike, biking, derailleur, mountain, rear, road xkGBajG4TPc Sports & Fitness Bikes & Biking Bike Repair & Maintenance 0 http://img.howcast.com/system/thumbnails/55601/0_xxlarge_maintained_aspect.jpg http://www.howcast.com/videos/55601-6-Advanced-Rear-Derailleur-Adjustment 1355 55604 10 - Overall Mountain Bike Setup YoutubeGuide 591 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:46:31 -0700 2 youtubevideos ]]> 385 bike, mountain, Setup x0H7zbSvdAc Sports & Fitness Bikes & Biking Bike Repair & Maintenance 0 http://img.howcast.com/system/thumbnails/55604/0_xxlarge_maintained_aspect.jpg http://www.howcast.com/videos/55604-10-Overall-Mountain-Bike-Setup 1355 55610 2 - 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Seat and Seat Post Replacement YoutubeGuide 127 Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:47:39 -0700 1 youtubevideos ]]> 288 bike, moutain, post, replacement, seat 1jiFSlqq90U Sports & Fitness Bikes & Biking Bike Repair & Maintenance 0 http://img.howcast.com/system/thumbnails/55647/0_xxlarge_maintained_aspect.jpg http://www.howcast.com/videos/55647-8-Seat-and-Seat-Post-Replacement 1355 136328 How To Patch a Bike Tire AssignmentGuide 2087 Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:17:31 -0800 10 do3a2 ]]> 102 http://media.howcast.com/system/videos/3/28/63/13/136328.flv DIY, Instructional, tutorial, Do It Yourself, Tips, Essential Skills, Learn to, sports, fitness, bike Sports & Fitness Bikes & Biking Bike Repair & Maintenance 4 http://img.howcast.com/system/thumbnails/136328/Picture_3_xxlarge_maintained_aspect.png http://www.howcast.com/videos/136328-How-To-Patch-a-Bike-Tire 1355 153454 Roadside Bike Flat Repair YoutubeGuide 175 Thu, 26 Feb 2009 17:10:03 -0800 0 Mindbitesdotcom ]]> 124 bicycle, bike, fitness, flat, howto, physical, repair, tire, training, DIY K5Qrvog9xTM Sports & Fitness Bikes & Biking Bike Repair & Maintenance 0 http://img.howcast.com/system/thumbnails/153454/0_xxlarge_maintained_aspect.jpg http://www.howcast.com/videos/153454-Roadside-Bike-Flat-Repair