Bicycle Mechanics - cable caps/crimps

Ok . . . got a new bike - my first road bike. I have been learning quiet a bit on working on it - fairly good at working on derailers, brakes, etc. I have also re-run all the cable to learn some of it.

Question - where can I get cable crimp/end caps (whatever they are called)? Would like a home depot or lowes have these? I only casually glanced at my LBS (but did not ask) and only saw them with new cables.

You can buy them online, but I usually just ask my LBS for a few.

Instead of the end caps, try using heat shrink tubing--you can find it in the wiring section of your local hardware store-neater looking, and can cut it off later and it doesn't squish the cable end.

My LBS has generally been happy to just give me a handfull. Even if they aren't giving, it shoul donly cost a few cents. Just ask your LBS.

Depends on how cheap your LBS is. I noticed bearings online for around a dollar or so for 100 online, but the LBS wanted $1 for 10. If theres that kind of mark-up, I would definitely buy in bulk online for future work. Though I think I will go for the shrink wrap idea on those cables. Nice idea freeranger!

Freeranger has it right. Heat shrink tubing is the answer. Works great on bare inner cable ends too. bk

Depends on how cheap your LBS is. I noticed bearings online for around a dollar or so for 100 online, but the LBS wanted $1 for 10.

where'd you find that?

I had a long thread about this a while back. Took the heat-shrink tubing advice, and it's so much easier to deal with. Radio Shack is my other friend.

another vote for shrink tubing

any chance a pic can go up of the shrink tubing in place?

Depends on how cheap your LBS is. I noticed bearings online for around a dollar or so for 100 online, but the LBS wanted $1 for 10. If theres that kind of mark-up, I would definitely buy in bulk online for future work. Though I think I will go for the shrink wrap idea on those cables. Nice idea freeranger!

All bearings are not created equal. The grade 25 bearings I sell cost me 4 times that, .04 cents wholesale.

Solder your cable ends, it's the only method with both style and class.

Oh no, back to this. Go read the thread under my name for all the different methods. You can also crimp and make specific indentations as your 'signature' on the ends. Shrink tubing is cheap cheap cheap and easy to get. It also has a wonderful advantage of easily coming off if you need to readjust your cables later on (I often do.) The colors are fun, too.

Solder--sure. If you have a soldering iron. Otherwise, why pay $15 for something you use for one tiny task. I bought the soldering iron then realized I really had no use for it other than to do cable ends. Not worth the additional clutter for me. If you have a friend with one, go to it.

Dude a soldering iron is like $5 and has actual uses beyond soldering solder onto cables.

Okay, here in NYC, they're $15. Add a coil of solder to that, plus tax, you're up to $20. A pack of shrink tubing, OTH, is about $4 here.

I took the advice of someone who said to get a soldering iron, with no experience with one, and after doing a couple of cable ends (and going and getting the solder, which also costs), I've looked at that thing for months wondering how I got convinced to waste my dough like that.

Other uses, perhaps. But if you're only buying the iron to do the cable ends on your brakes and for some theoretical 'other' uses, it's nothing more than clutter. I don't go get the hammer to swat flies, either.
Dude.

Instead of soldering the cable ends, I often put a drop of super glue on it and then do the shrink tubing. I've found many cables aren't clean enough to solder and you can't clean between the strands without messing it up. bk