# How often should cables be replaced?



## Pieter

The local Bicycling mag advocated yearly replacement 'as cables can stretch and casings can compress'. 
I tossed the mag in disgust after reading this nonsense and scoffed at the advice - after all, my 1988 Cannondale is still on most of its original outer casings and cables have been replaced only when broken, which was seldom.

But lately my road bike has suffered from poor shifting and after messing about in ignorance, I discovered the curving casing leading to the RD has been causing drag. 
When deflecting the exposed cable by hand (rear wheel removed) , the RD would advance in juddery steps instead of the absolutely butter-smooth action that is required for at all acceptable shifting.
OK, no new casing yet : I regreased and rotated it 180 degrees so the inner cable runs on an unworn side of the inner wall. 

It could be a case of abnormal wear. But maybe the blindly-replacing school gains the occasional victory even if their motivation is flawed ?


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## rx-79g

Cables need to be replaced on the same schedule as frames - when broken.

Housings don't wear out from the inside, but they do get bent and cracked from either external bumps and snags, or just too much bend when installed.

Internal cables don't wear and certainly don't stretch after the initial seating. And if they've been protected they won't corrode much, either.


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## Juanmoretime

Housing liners can get roughed up over time from shifting and braking. I replace cables, liners and housing once a year to give my bike that new bike shifting and braking again. Nothing makes your bike seem new again like changing bar tape, new tires and tubes, cables and cable housing and a new chain.


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## brblue

Pieter said:


> The local Bicycling mag advocated yearly replacement 'as cables can stretch and casings can compress'.
> I tossed the mag in disgust after reading this nonsense and scoffed at the advice - after all, my 1988 Cannondale is still on most of its original outer casings and cables have been replaced only when broken, which was seldom.
> 
> But lately my road bike has suffered from poor shifting and after messing about in ignorance, I discovered the curving casing leading to the RD has been causing drag.
> When deflecting the exposed cable by hand (rear wheel removed) , the RD would advance in juddery steps instead of the absolutely butter-smooth action that is required for at all acceptable shifting.
> OK, no new casing yet : I regreased and rotated it 180 degrees so the inner cable runs on an unworn side of the inner wall.
> 
> It could be a case of abnormal wear. But maybe the blindly-replacing school gains the occasional victory even if their motivation is flawed ?


A quick fix would be just to replace the last part of the housing. The upper parts can only become gunked up if your ride in bad weather. If you feel guilty of that, then you can replace the upper housings and cables too. If you lube them, then gunk will accumulate more easy.


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## JCavilia

Pieter said:


> maybe the blindly-replacing school gains the occasional victory even if their motivation is flawed ?


Seems to me there is rather a wide range of options between yearly and evry two decades.


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## andulong

I don't believe "time" is a good way to schedule any maintenance. Some people ride 10-15 thousand miles in a year while others may do only a couple hundred. Should they all replace cables at the same time?? Probably not.


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## cxwrench

housing does wear internally. a twisted steel cable rubbing against a plastic liner that gets increasingly dirty from road grit mixed w/ whatever lubrication is used will definitely cause wear. this is why most mechanics replace cables AND housing when they do a tune up. cables don't stretch, housing compresses. most, if not all of this compression can be taken care of by the mechanic when installing the cables/housing and adjusting the shifting. not saying it happens 100% of the time, but it should. you really shouldn't have to bring your bike back to the shop a week after a tune up for a 'touch up adjustment'. 

when using the now standard brake/shift levers, shift cables will fatigue inside the shifter from the repeated flexing that happens inside the shift mechanism. this happens mostly w/ up to 7800/6600 shimano and the older 10 speed campy ergo shifters. i haven't noticed it being a problem as much w/ any of the 'new' shimano shifters, or the newer 11 speed campy shifters. if you ride w/ any regularity, it's probably a good idea to replace both cables and housing (for the shifters at least) on a yearly basis. we see people in the shop that have either broken the cable inside the shifter or can't get their derailleur to index properly becasue the cable has started to fray inside the shifter. replacing them yearly should keep this from happening. 

i replace mine every 4-6mos, and on the extreme i replace the cables/housing on the team race bikes about once a month, or on a cx race bike every time it's raced in the mud it gets new cables/housing. 
this stuff is cheap and easy to do...why would you let it go for years, or even until it breaks? makes no sense to me...


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## Kerry Irons

*Ding! Ding! Ding!*



andulong said:


> I don't believe "time" is a good way to schedule any maintenance. Some people ride 10-15 thousand miles in a year while others may do only a couple hundred. Should they all replace cables at the same time?? Probably not.


Winner, winner, chicken dinner.


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## bike_guy

In a normal year, 3 - 4k miles, I'll replace the cables yearly and the housing every other year.


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## frdfandc

Since I ride my MTB more than my road bike, the MTB gets new cables and housings every year, or if shifting starts to degrade. The road bike is only as needed. Probably every 2-3 years for housing and cables.

As cxwrench said, its fairly inexpensive and easy to do to keep your drivetrain/brakes operating in top performance.


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## MR_GRUMPY

If I was riding in the rain a lot, out in the PNW, I might change cables every 1-2 years (if I was doing 8-10 K a year). 3 years for housing.
Since I don't, I don't change housing. I still change cables every 3 years, because it can really screw up your STI's if the cable breaks at the head. Small pieces of cable tend to jam up the works. I know two people who have had that happen.


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## FBinNY

Given the stakes, there's no logical preventive maintenance for cables. The wires don't stretch or weaken over time, but the area that winds on the lever drum will fatigue, then fray then break. It does give some notice by stretching a bit before it fails. So if your derailleur starts needing trim adjustments after being stable for a while, check the wite at the lever.

Housings likewise don't weaken or compress over time, but the linings wear at the insides of the curves, especially the short chainstay to RD loop, increasing friction. If you don't ride enough to wear them out first the outer cover eventually breaks down from UV, plus the various kinks that happen from general handling.

Generally I get something in the 5,000 mile range from my cables, and if I'm nearing that at the end of the winter will often replace all four cables, when I do my post winter/pre-spring service.

One other time to replace cables, before a long, only because the inconvenience factor is higher.


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## Gevorg

I never had to replace brake cables on my MTB or Road bikes, they are still original after 12,000 and 20,000 miles respectively
Shifter cables and housing I replace together whenever I start getting iffy shifting, it usualy manifests itself when you go from 4th to 5th gear you need to go 6th and then drop back to 5th, basicallly there is hesitation in the middle of the cassette. 
On my MTB it is usualy happens after 2-3000 miles on my road bike after 6-7000 miles.
I use Aztec teflon coated cables and housing
http://www.performancebike.com/bikes//Product_10052_10551_1086517_-1___


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## hikertoo

Hydraulic XT brakes on MTB, they have different maintenance requirements 
Road bike has less them 800 miles on it, so we'll see


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## looigi

When I don't like the way it's shifting anymore (after adjustment and cleaning the cables and guide under the BB) , I replace the cable and housing. It's really just the housing that needs replacement but it's tough to get a used cable with smooshed frayed end trough a new housing. 

It's usual the rear loop housing that causing the problem so I replace that more often than replacing the the housing at the shifters. I've tried lubing etc. but the improvement is usually short lived. It's pretty fast, easy and cheap to replace the cable and housing so why not? Of course on the new bikes my wife and I just got the shift cables run under the bar wrap so we'll need to redo the wrap when changing the housings at the bars.


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## jsellers

5000 to 6000 miles is a good time frame to replace the cables. Other wise wait till they brake and either have a good stiff pedal in or nice easy spin, depending on the broken cable. Most likely it won't be the brake cable that will go.


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## cxwrench

jsellers said:


> 5000 to 6000 miles is a good time frame to replace the cables. Other wise wait till they brake and either have a good stiff pedal in or nice easy spin, depending on the broken cable. Most likely it won't be the brake cable that will go.


ok...i just don't get advice like this. 5000 miles? over how much time? what if the rider never washes their bike? or never rides in the rain? or lives in portland and always rides in the rain? you can't really throw any particular number of miles or length of time out there as a recommendation for anything, really. it's so dependent on the rider and the particular conditions he/she rides in. and advising people to wait 'til their cables BREAK(not brake) is just nuts. if you break a shifter cable in a shimano sti shifter and have any bad luck at all, the shifter is ruined. and if you're talking BRAKE cables...well, you can imagine the carnage. 
please, if this is the only advice you can come up with, don't post it. :mad2:


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## |3iker

This depends on each riding conditions. Different from everyone. For me, I will not likely change out my roadbike's cables for another 2-3000miles. Because it only sees fair weather conditions.
My commuter bike more often. It sees all weather duty. 
Also check for brake/shifting feel.


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## jsellers

cxwrench said:


> ok...i just don't get advice like this. 5000 miles? over how much time? what if the rider never washes their bike? or never rides in the rain? or lives in portland and always rides in the rain? you can't really throw any particular number of miles or length of time out there as a recommendation for anything, really. it's so dependent on the rider and the particular conditions he/she rides in. and advising people to wait 'til their cables BREAK(not brake) is just nuts. if you break a shifter cable in a shimano sti shifter and have any bad luck at all, the shifter is ruined. and if you're talking BRAKE cables...well, you can imagine the carnage.
> please, if this is the only advice you can come up with, don't post it. :mad2:


Came out wrong on waiting till it brakes sarcasm and yes there are conditions but in good conditions you can get more mileage. I have riders that sweat like crazy so put that in to. Have a man that still tries to force shifts and broke a cable in a month. Guess we just need to get read of the wrenching topics because average guesses will never be perfect for ever situation. No one can fix what they can't see but for a good average you can only give a "round about". :idea:


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## cxwrench

jsellers said:


> Came out wrong on waiting till it brakes sarcasm and yes there are conditions but in good conditions you can get more mileage. I have riders that sweat like crazy so put that in to. Have a man that still tries to force shifts and broke a cable in a month. Guess we just need to get read of the wrenching topics because average guesses will never be perfect for ever situation. No one can fix what they can't see but for a good average you can only give a "round about". :idea:


thank you for that clarification, good job. :thumbsup: 
we just have to be on the careful side when giving out advice, you really never know how some people will take your advice. what may seem perfectly clear to us can be read in a completely different context by someone else. i think that if those of us that have a lot of experience keep that in mind when advising those that don't have as much knowledge...things would go much more smoothly. there is a lot to be learned on forums like this...:thumbsup:


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## rx-79g

cxwrench said:


> ok...i just don't get advice like this. 5000 miles? over how much time? what if the rider never washes their bike? or never rides in the rain? or lives in portland and always rides in the rain? you can't really throw any particular number of miles or length of time out there as a recommendation for anything, really. it's so dependent on the rider and the particular conditions he/she rides in. and advising people to wait 'til their cables BREAK(not brake) is just nuts. if you break a shifter cable in a shimano sti shifter and have any bad luck at all, the shifter is ruined. and if you're talking BRAKE cables...well, you can imagine the carnage.
> please, if this is the only advice you can come up with, don't post it. :mad2:


This is not a recommendation, or even an argument, just an alternative POV:

Cables are strong, simple and do not really wear out OR break under normal circumstances. I have never broken a cable, or had degraded shifting performance in 24 years. The Campy cables on one bike I ride are 22 years old, and still lovely.

Thoughts:
Unless your equipment is poorly made, the shifter should not damage the cable running through it. Especially the modern shifters that are have larger radiuses than my old Campy Syncros.

Grease - evil, corrupting, dirt attracting grease - does a nice job lubricating the inside of the housing, preventing appreciable wear on the teflon/nylon linings. Modern bikes with slotted housing guides can be relubed in moments without adjustments as often as you wish.

(Speaking of the housing linings; they are made of a similar plastic to that of the BB cable guides. Has anyone seen a worn out BB cable guide?)

Most of the broken cables I've ever seen were not old. In fact, most of them were relatively new, and in all likelihood, defective (heads broken off). From this I have jumped to the rather hasty conclusion that changing cables often is more likely to end in a broken cable than just staying with a proven one.


My recommendations for fellow heretics:
Use quality (not necessarily premium) housings and cables. Perhaps more important, use thick, metal ferules with rubber seals were appropriate. I like the brass ones. Be generous with your housing to produce smooth, natural curves outside and under the tape.

Lube with waterproof grease, frequently. If you have sealed ferules, slide them out of the way so the lube gets into the housing. Remember to grease the guide under the BB every time. It's not going to get any grittier than it already does, but it will allow the cable to slide despite the grit. 

Avoid bolting and unbolting cable attachments. Pinch bolts beat up cables, and you have those handy slotted guides for lubing, so leave the allen wrenches alone, if possible.

Solder or superglue your cable ends and leave them bare. If you have to pull them they are less likely to snag or damage the housings then after having cable ends squeezed on them.


Cables do get wear and tear, and will not last forever. The same could be said of spokes which stretch and contract with every rotation of the wheel. Make your own informed decisions about how often you replace the parts on your bike, and maintain them between replacements. Despite using both, I find a well used carbon steerer tube more suspect than a well used derailleur cable. But a cable is easier to replace, and cheaper.


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## cxwrench

rx-79g said:


> Thoughts:
> Unless your equipment is poorly made, the shifter should not damage the cable running through it. Especially the modern shifters that are have larger radiuses than my old Campy Syncros.
> 
> 
> (Speaking of the housing linings; they are made of a similar plastic to that of the BB cable guides. Has anyone seen a worn out BB cable guide?)


1) shifter do indeed fatigue cables to the point that they fray and then break. i see it on a regular basis. i find it odd that you have never seen this. 
2) it seems to me that housing liners are a bit softer than a bb guide. they definitely wear. and get dirty. and then wear some more. 

all i am trying to say is that cables and housing are a consumable...they wear out and need to be replaced, just like brake pads and drivetrain components. in my opinion it's incorrect to think that cables and housing will perform as new for extended periods of time.


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## rx-79g

cxwrench said:


> 1) shifter do indeed fatigue cables to the point that they fray and then break. i see it on a regular basis. i find it odd that you have never seen this.
> 2) it seems to me that housing liners are a bit softer than a bb guide. they definitely wear. and get dirty. and then wear some more.
> 
> all i am trying to say is that cables and housing are a consumable...they wear out and need to be replaced, just like brake pads and drivetrain components. in my opinion it's incorrect to think that cables and housing will perform as new for extended periods of time.


No argument. But what is "extended periods"? 3 months?

I do worry about getting bad cables - seen too much of that.




Last suggestion for cable prep: 
When you install housing, file or grind the ends flat to prevent burrs and seat the cables squarely in the ferrules or stops.


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## rbart4506

I'm with you!

I replace all my cable and housing at least once a year and may replace the RD cable and the last section of housing once or twice more. If I start feeling friction in my rear shifting then I replace it.

In a race the last thing I want is a mis-shift...It's not like it's going to cost me a win, but it can cost me some teeth or worse...


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## Sisophous

I'm leaving my bike off at the shop for a thorough cleaning in a couple of weeks. I snapped my right cable one year after purchasing my bike. I figure to let them replace both cables, even though all is fine now. Because I bought the bike new from the same shop I am taking it to, they did not even charge me for replacing the broken cable. Likely they will charge me this time because nothing is wrong with the cable. I don't want to get the bike back from the shop and have to return soon after because of another snapped cable.


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## MikeWMass

Sisophous said:


> I'm leaving my bike off at the shop for a thorough cleaning in a couple of weeks.
> Likely they will charge me this time because nothing is wrong with the cable. I don't want to get the bike back from the shop and have to return soon after because of another snapped cable.


Why not learn to do it yourself? It is not hard, the parts are not expensive, and you don't have to drive your bike to and from the shop.


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