Bicycle Mechanics - Cutting cables, do I need the special cutters??

I have to cut one dang cable to finish the basics on refurbishing an old bike. I had a hell of a time using a pair of pliers with a cable snipper when I was taking the old cable off, any advice on shortening the new cable?

Do I actually need to spend 20 bucks for a specialty tool that I'm going to use all of once in a blue moon? Any reasonable substitute? I guess I could just cartop the thing over the LBS and have them snip the brake cable, but it seems kind of absurd...

dremel.....

If you're talking about cutting the inner wire, any good pair of needle-nose pliers with a sharp cutting section should be fine. On the other hand, if you are referring to cutting the casing, a dremel with a cutoff wheel works awesome.

Sometimes cutting a multi-strand wire like that can be tough with plain old diagonal cutters. You could try some garden shears or tin snips if you have some.

Just the inner cable... I did it with needlenose pliers with a clipper to get the old cable off, but it got pretty frayed. Any trick that I was too thick to catch on to?

I've had them fray using needlenose pliers too. The trick is to make sure they are sharp: close the pliers and hold them up to a lamp to see if part of the cutting section shows light shining through. If so, don't use that section. The best section to use (if it's sharp) is the part closest to the joint. When you make your cut, do it fast and hard using a sharp section of the cutting area.

Any good cable-cutter (non-bike-specific) will do the job. The needlenose pliers have 2 straight blades pinching the cable, which tends to flatten it and get the strands unraveling; cable cutters have v-shaped blades, and shear the cable rather than pinching it. A $5 cable cutter from the hardware store will work on inner cable and brake and shift housings.

Do you *need* them? No. As discussed, there are many other ways to cut the cable (and housing). However, having tried all of the above alternatives, then eventually a pair of dedicated cable/housing cutters ($12 @ Performance?), my conclusion is that they're the best (fastest, most efficient, best quality) for the job.

Truth be told, I don't mind buying them, just can't find anyplace locally that sells them, and I want to ride the rebuilt bike, not wait yet another three days for yet another small piece of the puzzle to get delivered. The one thing that I assume is that it's a big difference for cutting housings, which would be nice to have over time (though I have rare use for it, I guess you need it occasionally.)

Edit: found a place locally that has a few different ones. Is the Park version worth the upcharge for a "civilian" user? They have the Cyclepro cutters for $24.95, and I might just go ahead as I'm too impatient to wait for a delivery.

I've been very successful with the brute force approach, a pair of linesman pliers and a big hammer. Put the cable in the pliers, place the pliers on a hard surface and give em a good sharp whack with the hammer.

Truth be told, I don't mind buying them, just can't find anyplace locally that sells them, and I want to ride the rebuilt bike, not wait yet another three days for yet another small piece of the puzzle to get delivered. The one thing that I assume is that it's a big difference for cutting housings, which would be nice to have over time (though I have rare use for it, I guess you need it occasionally.)

Edit: found a place locally that has a few different ones. Is the Park version worth the upcharge for a "civilian" user? They have the Cyclepro cutters for $24.95, and I might just go ahead as I'm too impatient to wait for a delivery.

The Cyclepros should be good for a number of years. Not that different from the Park actually. And they are tons better than regular wire cutters.

Go to your local hardware store and get a pair of aviation snips, also commonly known as Metal snips...

You probably have two brake cables and two gear shift cables on each bike. These will need periodic replacement, and with a nice pair of cutters you wont procrastinate when the job should be done.

If you mean avaiation shears, don't do it. they're like scissors. it has the strength to cut it but the scissoring action will cut the strands unevenly. Any good wire cutter will do the job fine, Read that Good! The cable wire is hard and not all cutters are hard enough to hold an edge on any wire harder than copper for which most of them are made. A good one will work on the cable as well as the housing. then just hold the end lightly to a grinding wheel to true up the end.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but for cutting the housings you definitely need a pair of real cable cutters, correct?

The wire cutters I've seen that aren't "bike specific" aren't that much cheaper to make it seem a reasonable trade-off if the housings need the real cable cutter anyhow.

you can get a good pair of bolt cutters in the $20 range too, and not only do they cut cables + housing really well, but they also cut through 8000 other things too. and they're fun to use.

Wrap the cable with electrical tape enough times to double the thickness... then cut it with a pair of side cutters.

Perfectly clean cut.

you can get a good pair of bolt cutters in the $20 range too, and not only do they cut cables + housing really well, but they also cut through 8000 other things too. and they're fun to use.

Side cutters, aviation shears, dremels, bolt cutters, lineman pliers ????? A good pair of bicycle cable cutters cost about the same as all of the above and much less than some (Dremel!?). They'll last almost forever and cut housing and cable cleanly. Why mess with the other stuff. Right tool, right job.

I've been known to use a rock for a tool but never at home;)

Side cutters, aviation shears, dremels, bolt cutters, lineman pliers ????? A good pair of bicycle cable cutters cost about the same as all of the above and much less than some (Dremel!?). They'll last almost forever and cut housing and cable cleanly. Why mess with the other stuff. Right tool, right job.

I've been known to use a rock for a tool but never at home;)

Thank you for your sanity.

I prefer the Shimano cable cutters to the Park ones. They crush the housing less and gives a nice clean slice without any fraying.

+1 on the linesmen' pliers. Theres a cutter on the outside edge that is very precise. No frayed ends and a very clean cut.

I use a pair of heavy duty wire cutters. If it frays, just twist the strands in the direction they're wound. They fall right back into place usually.,,,,BD

I ;use side cutters on brake cable with no problems. I then use needle nose pliers to squeeze the cable back to round, file the end smooth and insert an awl point to open up the inner cable. Heat shrink tubing on the end finiishes it off. Easy as pie. bk

I've been very successful with the brute force approach, a pair of linesman pliers and a big hammer. Put the cable in the pliers, place the pliers on a hard surface and give em a good sharp whack with the hammer.

I know your method works...but you cannot carry them in a toolkit. As mentioned before, a dedicated pair of cutters, with a V shaped notch will pinch and cut, as opposed to spead and cut. I work on the assumption that at sometime I will need to cut a cable whilst by the roadside, so I need something I can pack in a small toolkit. In a workshop it is different, you can then maybe use a tried and tested alternative method.. that is maybe not the prescribed method.

Wrap the cable with masking tape, then cut with any old pair of dykes. The tape keeps the wire from fraying.

Nothing will beat the standard bicycle Pro cable and housing cutter. Over the years you will have many occasions to use them if you continue to bike. They are much cheaper than a Dremel unless you already have one. Order it mail order from Nashbar or other company even if you get away without it temporarily in the present. It saves you time and easier than getting out your Dremel and tooling it up.

The poor man's solution is to use a pair of tin snips if you have them already. Depending on how many bikes you work on, cable cutters are something of a luxury. If you have, say two bicycles, you will only be changing cables once every two or three years at the most. It is kind of difficult to justify buying a specific tool for a job like that.

With most cutting tools like tin snips, for example, the cable housing gets a little crushed or at least has a rough sharp edge. You need to file that edge smooth and round. A quick and easy way to do this is with a grinding tool. If you don't have the luxury of a bench grinder, get yourself a knife sharpening wheel that mounts to your hand drill. You can use it for cleaning up you cable housing ends as well as keeping your knives sharp.

Side cutters, aviation shears, dremels, bolt cutters, lineman pliers ????? A good pair of bicycle cable cutters cost about the same as all of the above and much less than some (Dremel!?). They'll last almost forever and cut housing and cable cleanly. Why mess with the other stuff. Right tool, right job.

I've been known to use a rock for a tool but never at home;)

+1 on cyc-co's advice. Beating on tools with hammers and squeezing tools in a bench vise were experiments we did as kids that usually yielded broken parts and broken tools. Spend the money and get the right tool. Even at top dollar you aren't out much and the peace of mind of having them available even if you use them every 2 years will be worth it. I have both the Park (early version) and the Shimano and they're both great. The German company Felco should be mentioned on a side note. They make the worlds best gardening pruners and I believe they also make a really great general purpose cable cutter - not sure of the model number though (these might cost like 50 dollars though).

I've always used Wiss compound action snips. We used Wiss snips at the bike shop where I worked in the '70s. I finally got around to getting a Park tool and I still prefer the Wiss snips. Maybe it's just because Ive used the snips for thirty years and I'm used to them, but they work better for me. The park tool is fine for cables, but it doesn't seem to be the right tool for housings. I have a Dremel, but the way it melts the liner and seals the end means an extra step. I saw Wiss snips at Home depot for $10.

Well I may as well throw my 2 cents in here. I've always used sharp diagonal cutters for derailer cable and spiral wound housing, followed up with a grinding wheel cleanup on the housing end burr. For the compressionless housing and brake cables the Park cutter with a firm snap cuts them clean. I then reshape the end of the housing with a fine tipped awl. Right tool for the job is the way to go and makes it so much more fun to work on.

Get the cable cutter. I goofed around for 1.5 days trying to get a brake cable (- housing) cut nice and clean, tried everything I could think of (everything frazzled the end, couldn't get the cable in the housing). When I finally caved in and plunked down the $25 for a real cable cutter (Park at REI), I had a new set of brake cables installed and ready to roll in 30 minutes.

i bought a set of cable cutters from Home Depot for $12. They are exactly the same as the ones you will get from the bike shop, but half the price. They work fantastic, and havent dulled at all after putting together 5 bikes worth of cables.

I've been known to use a rock for a tool but never at home;)

I've had to adjust the eccentric on our tandem once out in the bush. I had to search for a suitable rock to do it. :D

And I agree with the part of your post that I deleted - get the correct tool. No taping, hammers, grinding, or Dremels needed. Snip. Done.

+1 on cyc-co's advice. Beating on tools with hammers and squeezing tools in a bench vise were experiments we did as kids that usually yielded broken parts and broken tools. Spend the money and get the right tool. Even at top dollar you aren't out much and the peace of mind of having them available even if you use them every 2 years will be worth it. I have both the Park (early version) and the Shimano and they're both great. The German company Felco should be mentioned on a side note. They make the worlds best gardening pruners and I believe they also make a really great general purpose cable cutter - not sure of the model number though (these might cost like 50 dollars though).

I believe it's the Felco C7, which are indeed in the $50 range.

I have the Park, though I've been less than impressed with the cleanness of cuts, especially on brake housing. I don't know if the C7 would be enough of an improvement to justify the cost though.

I also have a Dremel tool, which does a great job, but the problem I have with it is that the heat generated by the cut melts the plastic jacket around the housing, causing it to flare out and making it nearly impossible to slip it cleanly into a ferrule. I suppose you could cut away the melted jacket and rewrap the exposed housing with electrical tape though.

If you have a high pain threshold, just mold the hot plastic coating back onto the housing with your fingers. It's fairly easy, and tends to hold it's shape after a few seconds.,,,,BD

I believe it's the Felco C7, which are indeed in the $50 range.

I have the Park, though I've been less than impressed with the cleanness of cuts, especially on brake housing. I don't know if the C7 would be enough of an improvement to justify the cost though.

I also have a Dremel tool, which does a great job, but the problem I have with it is that the heat generated by the cut melts the plastic jacket around the housing, causing it to flare out and making it nearly impossible to slip it cleanly into a ferrule. I suppose you could cut away the melted jacket and rewrap the exposed housing with electrical tape though.

I have a couple of dremel tools with several styles of cutoff wheels and never tried to cut cable or housing with it because I was always able to get the job done other ways. I use the Park for cable, the Shimano for housing - its just a little cleaner, not sure why. I've found that compressionless derailleru housing is easier to cut cleanly, it just needs to be made round again after cutting by shaping with the provided hex jaws. Spiral brake cable can (and usually does) have a sharp burr on it, especially if you orient the curvature of the cutters the wrong way up the spiral. Being a woodworker, I have a combo belt/disc sander right there with which to fine tune the end of the spiral housing square and to get rid of the burr. It works great. I use my 1"x42" skinny belt sander the most with like a 100 grit belt, it takes like 20 seconds.

As I'm still recovering from a broken right wrist from an August cycling accident, I have functionality, but still do not have the muscular strength for using diagonal cutters. I've gotten around it by utilizing my Dremel tool with a cutting disk. The end result cuts so neatly, with so few instances of fraying, need to put the cable casings on the grinder to even up the ends, etc., that I'm never going back to dykes as long as there's an electrical outlet nearby.

I'm fairly fussy about cutting the cable housing. I use a park cutter for the housing -- which has a tendancy to ovalize the housing if you don't get the cutter in just the right location. Next, I square-off the end with a Dremel. Then, because the heat from the Dremel tends to melt the plastic inner housing, I use an awl to ream out the melted plastic and to remove any sharp burs left by the Dremel.

The Park cutter works great on the cable. It cuts it nice and clean with no frayed ends. Usually, I like to finish the cut end of the cable with a drop of two-part epoxy. Otherwise, I use the built-in crimper on the cutter and install one of those little cable-end pieces, if I happen to have any on hand.

All these replies and still no fool proof way to cut the inner cable without fraying. Apparently no one here ever worked on electronics. The cable is just a wire. You want to cut a wire without fraying? Get a soldering iron. 'Tin' the wire in the spot you want to cut. "tinning" joins the wires together (alot better than electrical tape) and they'll stay that way. You'll get a very clean cut with a half decent pair of wire cutters. And if the end flairs a little from cutting, just pinch it back into shape with a pair of pliers.

All these replies and still no fool proof way to cut the inner cable without fraying. Apparently no one here ever worked on electronics. The cable is just a wire. You want to cut a wire without fraying? Get a soldering iron. 'Tin' the wire in the spot you want to cut. "tinning" joins the wires together (alot better than electrical tape) and they'll stay that way. You'll get a very clean cut with a half decent pair of wire cutters. And if the end flairs a little from cutting, just pinch it back into shape with a pair of pliers.

Uh, my Park cutters work fine, no fraying.

Uh, my Park cutters work fine, no fraying.

Ditto my Performance-brand cutters. People like to come up with all sorts of crazy-ass ways to avoid using the right tool for the job...

diagonal pliers always work for me

diagonal pliers always work for me

If you ever need to borrow any tools, or my stand, send me an email.

The right tool for the job, is only a requirement for those who lack finesse with the improper tool. :D

Or for those that need to do it only once, in a short time... while making money.

Scratch that, the right tool for the job is only required while making money. :D

all it took for me was one try cutting a set of avid flack jackets, all the sudden that pedros tool sounded like a bargain.

All these replies and still no fool proof way to cut the inner cable without fraying. Apparently no one here ever worked on electronics. The cable is just a wire. You want to cut a wire without fraying? Get a soldering iron. 'Tin' the wire in the spot you want to cut. "tinning" joins the wires together (alot better than electrical tape) and they'll stay that way. You'll get a very clean cut with a half decent pair of wire cutters. And if the end flairs a little from cutting, just pinch it back into shape with a pair of pliers.

Welcome to why I love the Dremel - 99% of the time, I get the same neat result as if I'd gone through the tinning process. Without the work. Built too many Heathkits 25 years ago to want to pick up a soldering iron again.

Welcome to why I love the Dremel - 99% of the time, I get the same neat result as if I'd gone through the tinning process. Without the work. Built too many Heathkits 25 years ago to want to pick up a soldering iron again.

I have a background in electronics from the days of vacuum tubes. Was a TV repairman for a couple years, then went to work for Ma Bell for 31 years. I've done my share of work with a Weller gun and various irons . Found out late in life that I was much better suited to things mechanical. :rolleyes:

I've begun to use a Dremel for cable housings, and I'm lovin' it. Although a good pair of dikes, a reamer and a file are sometimes quicker than getting the Dremel out.

All these replies and still no fool proof way to cut the inner cable without fraying. Apparently no one here ever worked on electronics. The cable is just a wire. You want to cut a wire without fraying? Get a soldering iron. 'Tin' the wire in the spot you want to cut. "tinning" joins the wires together (alot better than electrical tape) and they'll stay that way. You'll get a very clean cut with a half decent pair of wire cutters. And if the end flairs a little from cutting, just pinch it back into shape with a pair of pliers.

Clean, bare steel cables will allow you to tin the ends but any coated or previously lubed cable will not take solder (at least not without spending a significant amount of time cleaning the wire first). I've tried, more than once just to see if I was being dumb the first time, and it just won't work. I do some electronics repair so I have a nice Weller iron and good solder too.

I used a Dremel for cutting housing and cable. Depending on how much of a hurry I'm in, if I'm just cutting cable, I'll use any of the various cutting plier that I have. They all do the job just fine. To cut housing with a Dremel without making a melted mess of the inner and outer liner just cut slower (give the plastic time to cool as you cut). At worst, I've had to give the cable a little shove to get it through the cut end of the housing without doing any other clean up.

All these replies and still no fool proof way to cut the inner cable without fraying. Apparently no one here ever worked on electronics. The cable is just a wire. You want to cut a wire without fraying? Get a soldering iron. 'Tin' the wire in the spot you want to cut. "tinning" joins the wires together (alot better than electrical tape) and they'll stay that way. You'll get a very clean cut with a half decent pair of wire cutters. And if the end flairs a little from cutting, just pinch it back into shape with a pair of pliers.Dude, just get the Shimano TL-CT10 or the Park CN-10 cable-cutters. They DO NOT work like traditional electronics cable-cutters that SQUEEZE the cable between two sharp blades. This causes some flattening and fraying. Instead, they SLICE the cable using shearing curved blades that pull the cable into itself as it cuts, thus no fraying. Having the right tool for the job makes a huge difference. The shimano tool gives a cleaner cut with less crimping of the housing, inner cable is clean 90-degree cut with Shimano, slightly angled with the Park.

I've been using an old rotary phone and electric mixer combo unit for 37 years. Built up at least 450 bikes. Never any problem.