Road Cycling - Cables: To lube or not?

What is the general consensus re: lubing road bike cables or leaving them be. I have never lubed my cables on either mountain bike or road but have heard various opinions on what is best. I realize that today there are many types of cables and housing materials and some are probably best left alone. I have the Shimano cables that came with my STI DA and ultegra bikes. Should these be lubed?

I have been lubing lately, but I think I'll stop doing it because it seems to attract far more dirt and 'gunk' than it's worth, and it's a pain in the a$$ to undo all the cables just to clean them.

I probably should've just left them or put on a bit of WD 40.

don't lubricate them. they are pre-lubed and teflon-lined.

You'd be surprised how much a good cable cleaning can improve your shifting performance. Just spray some liquid lubricant onto a rag, like Tri-Flow or (gasp) WD-40, loosen the cables to pull the housings off the frame bosses, and wipe with the soaked (but not dripping) rag. You'll be amazed at the gunk you wipe off. Make sure the cables are dry when you're done. And don't spray any lube into the cable housings. That will attract dirt. If your cables are coated with teflon or something, you can use a little citrus degreaser to clean the dust off the cables, occasionally.

There is no logical reason for lubricating the exposed section of the cables. However, there are very good reasons for servicing your cables every 3,000-4,000. Do this by removing the entire cable from the bike, sliding the "skinny" multi stranded metal part of the cable from the plastic cable housing, use an aerosol degreaser with one of those little swizzle stick looking spray nozzles to shoot the degreaser into the cable housing. Nasty stuff will run out the other end of the housing. When your satisfied that the housing is clean, either let it air dry for 10-15 minutes or blow it dry with compressed air. Then use the lube of your choice on that section of the metal stranded cable that will actually be inside of the housing. Another option istead of lubing the cable is to use a fairly thin lube and apply it to the inside of the cable housing. I've done it both ways and have no idea which is better.

Oh, don't even think of doing any of this unless you've installed cables before and you can reattach the cables to your front and rear derailleurs and adjust them properly.

I don't bother relubing the cables. Twice a year I just replace the shift cables and housings. Since they come factory packed with lube and they are relatively inexpensive it's an easy choice. BTW spend the few extra bucks and make sure that they use DA replacement cables.

You could lube the part of the cable that is in the housing with slippery wet by Shimano. It work's awesomely for Shimano cables. My LBS does this to all the bikes they put together. And I have to admit big difference.

More confused than ever. Why did I not figure this would be ambigous? While on the lube subject- I have always lubed the deraillers, front and back. I clean them with carb cleaner and compressed air after a few rides. Good or bad? The shifting is more supple in my opinion.