Can't honestly say, drepends on how much you ride the bike. Changing the cables should be on the yearly tuneup list and every time in between check to see if they are stretched out, and if you see any fraying anywhere before between the levers/shifter and the pinch bolts, if you see fraying in those areas, promptly switch out those cables. Also once the first retightening comes into play, the teflon coated cables will come into their own.