# Oil or Grease Brake Cables?



## TomBrooklyn (Mar 15, 2008)

Should brake cables be oiled or greased?

i.e. slide the sleeve off, apply oil or grease, slide the sleeve back

If so, is special oil or grease needed that doesn't affect the sleeve material?


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## TomH (Oct 6, 2008)

normal cables can be lubed with a dry lube, like chain oil.. the teflon ones are supposed to be kept unlubed. 

grease and wet lubes will make a nasty dirt paste!


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## CleavesF (Dec 31, 2007)

Or you can keep 'em bone dry. Works either way. Friction is relative.


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## TomH (Oct 6, 2008)

they seem to work just as well bone dry too..


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## TomBrooklyn (Mar 15, 2008)

I don't know what dry lube is. I just googled it and it said it's graphite or similar. 

Dry lube goes on chains? I've been putting oil on my chain.

What about a little oil on the middle of the cable but keep it away from the ends so none gets to where any dirt might contact?


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## jmlapoint (Sep 4, 2008)

White Lithium Grease works for me.


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## TomH (Oct 6, 2008)

TomBrooklyn said:


> I don't know what dry lube is. I just googled it and it said it's graphite or similar.
> 
> Dry lube goes on chains? I've been putting oil on my chain.
> 
> What about a little oil on the middle of the cable but keep it away from the ends so none gets to where any dirt might contact?


like prolink, or finishline. its a wet liquid lube that dries dry, and leaves a non sticky film behind.. bike specific, not graphite or anything. 

they dont need lube.. if you have some dry chain lube laying around, sure try a couple drops on the cable. if you dont, just install them as-is.


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## Bill Silverman (Apr 2, 2007)

I stay away from grease for the brake cables. I usually give the cables and housings a few squirts of Tri-Lube. Seems to work OK for me.


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## Kuma601 (Jan 22, 2004)

I leave mine dry. If it doesn't feel smooth enough for you, check for sharp bends/kinks. Otherwise I'd replace the cables and housing. 

A bit back, I picked up a cable set from a store like Wal Mart...it performed fine but then I decided to try a teflon coated cable inside the housing. Really smooth so I've been happy. Have also used Aztec without issue.


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## BentChainring (Jun 23, 2005)

Grease, Lube, Spit...etc.. just keep em lubed.


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## cxwrench (Nov 9, 2004)

BentChainring said:


> Grease, Lube, Spit...etc.. just keep em lubed.


this is really not true...lubing cables and housing does very little for performance...all it really does is attract dirt and road grit and cause more friction. new cables and housing don't need it, the cables are very smooth and the lining in the housing is also smooth and they slide against each other very well. to be honest, when installing new cables/housing, lubing them won't hurt, either...BUT...once they get dirty, the cable starts to cut into the liner and no amount of lube will make that better. the dirt/grit is inside the housing and no matter what kind of manouvering you can manage w/ slotted cables stops will allow you to get all of it out. at that point you need to replace the cable AND the housing. i think they perform better for a longer time dry. they should be replaced anyway on a regular basis...they're not supposed to last forever. the cables will fray and break from the bending the do inside the shifter. brake cables and their housing will probably feel better for a longer time because their performance isn't reliant upon the tiny movements that derailleur cables must make and how accurately they must make them. during cx season if it's wet and muddy i do new cables and housing every race. during the summer on the road bike, probably every 2-3 months.


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## neil0502 (Feb 11, 2005)

From time to time, I use one of these cable oilers ....










... usually with WD-40.

WITHOUT trying to wage the WD war , it displaces water, degreases a bit, removes some corrosion, and leaves a touch of lubricant in its wake.

'sworked fine for me, for years. YMMV.


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## jmlapoint (Sep 4, 2008)

I just pull out the cable and flush the housing with straw on WD40 Can, and then blow it clean with Air Gun form my air compressor. Flush onto a light colored rag. When stuff coming out the cable end is clear/clean, your done.


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## xxl (Mar 19, 2002)

I was under the impression that modern brake cable housing is almost always Teflon-lined, and therefore shouldn't need lube. Sheldon Brown's website echoes this.

I used to lube my cables, but stopped because of this. I haven't noticed any difference in braking performance.


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## Puchnuts (Oct 9, 2008)

I use a Teflon-based oil - like Tri-Flow - on the cables and down inside the housing before assembling. Grease can change consistency inside the housing and become like paste. So I don't recommend it.


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## Mr. Versatile (Nov 24, 2005)

I've always used grease on mine. When I install new cables & housing I put a little grease on my thumb & forefinger, then draw the cable through them.


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## zmudshark (Jan 28, 2007)

Just keep it greasy so it'll go down easy.


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## jmlapoint (Sep 4, 2008)

Mr. Versatile said:


> I've always used grease on mine. When I install new cables & housing I put a little grease on my thumb & forefinger, then draw the cable through them.


+1.....I use the exact same Thumb-Index Cable Greaser!:thumbsup:


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## rbart4506 (Aug 4, 2004)

You guys slay me...

Here we are riding around on multi-thousand dollar machines and you are nickel and diming on cable and housing that costs...what?? $50 maybe, if you buy a set of Dura-Ace...Cheaper if you buy the bulk stuff...

For me..No lube and swap out the cable and housing every winter...


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## fast ferd (Jan 30, 2009)

I couldn't imagine lubing cables on any of my bikes. Maybe it makes sense on the a crummy kid's bike stored outside the garage. 

Yeah, replace the cables routinely. Before they fail. It gives people the warm and fuzzies, but it's a waste of lube.


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## wunlap togo (Oct 1, 2004)

cxwrench said:


> this is really not true...lubing cables and housing does very little for performance...all it really does is attract dirt and road grit and cause more friction. new cables and housing don't need it, the cables are very smooth and the lining in the housing is also smooth and they slide against each other very well. to be honest, when installing new cables/housing, lubing them won't hurt, either...BUT...once they get dirty, the cable starts to cut into the liner and no amount of lube will make that better. the dirt/grit is inside the housing and no matter what kind of manouvering you can manage w/ slotted cables stops will allow you to get all of it out. at that point you need to replace the cable AND the housing. i think they perform better for a longer time dry. they should be replaced anyway on a regular basis...they're not supposed to last forever. the cables will fray and break from the bending the do inside the shifter. brake cables and their housing will probably feel better for a longer time because their performance isn't reliant upon the tiny movements that derailleur cables must make and how accurately they must make them. during cx season if it's wet and muddy i do new cables and housing every race. during the summer on the road bike, probably every 2-3 months.


Gets it, atmo.


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## drewmcg (Sep 19, 2005)

I do not think this question capable of a single answer. In other words, "it depends . . . ".

For example, from Campagnolo's published instructions for installation of its Ergopower levers (and cables):

“2) Front and rear deraillers’ casings have been pre-lubricated with a special grease, which has been inserted in the half of the casing where there are no “Campagnolo®” logos and on which an end-cap has been pre-mounted. This is the end of the casing that must be inserted into the appropriate slot in the Ergopower™ control lever body; if the casing needs to be shortened, the other end (with the double “Campagnolo®” logo and without the end-cap) must be cut.”

http://www.campagnolo.com/repository/documenti/en/7225316-Ergopower_ESCAPE-0109.pdf

Obviously, Campy thinks *derailleur *housings should be "lightly greased" _*at the lever end of the housing*_. Installing a new set of these cables, it would be a mistake (IMHO) to spray an oil/lubricant (especially WD-40, which cuts grease) into the pre-lubed housing that fits into the levers--it might only break down the grease that is already there.

It also makes sense to me that Campy uses a grease, and not an oil, in this application. The part of the housing that is inserted into the levers is relatively immune to the dirt/grime/roadspray that assults other segments of housing (e.g., the rear derailleur loop attached to the chainstay; rear brake cable housing). Also, coming off the hoods and taped to the handlebars, this part of the housing experiences some 90-degree bends for which grease may provide a better long-term reduction in friction, as compared with a light oil.

Campy does not indicate that it uses grease in the brake cable housings, I do not suspect that this is accidental. The brake cables/housing are beefier (5mm vs. 4.5 mm housing diameter), and the return springs on the calipers are stronger. Thus, the brake cables are less sensitive to friction problems than the derailleur cables/housing.

I suspect that Campy does not use grease in the brake housings and rear derailleur loop because the risk of premature "gunking up" of the housing through dirt-embedded-in-grease outweighs the performance benefit in those applications. 

After several months, I tend to use Tri-Flow sprayed into the rear derailleur housing loop, the rear brake caliper housing (by the seatpost), and, if necessary, the front brake housing at the brake end--all in an attempt to extend the life of these cables by helping them overcome the water/dirt/grime that has worked its way into those parts of the housing.

My Shimano/compatible experience is mostly with older/more cost-sensitive applications (read occasional recreational riders being re-introduced to road biking on a resurrected downtube-shifter steed). There, I use Tri-Flow more liberally. While it might not be necessary with Teflon-coated casings, I don't think it will hurt, and might displace some of the water that can work in there and sit for months--leading to corrosion and premature cable failure.


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