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Old 12-31-14 | 08:26 AM
  #37  
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StevePGN10
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Joined: Sep 2008
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From: Wilmington, Delaware
Originally Posted by poprad
The first time you go back to that bike and do an overhaul you'll be rewarded with not having to cut off old alum caps and shorten the cable each time you remove it. It's also just one of those slightly more involved but ultimately more satisfying methods of doing something. I figure our group would appreciate that philosophy.
Thank you for the well done tutorial.

Regarding the ease of removing a cable and reusing it, I find that the bend in the cable caused by the anchor bolt is far more a factor in preventing reuse than the cable end. If the cable has a crimped-on end it is almost always in good shape (even on bikes manufactured in the 70s and that have never been touched since). It is the bend caused by the anchor bolt that does not want to go through the housing. That is why I don't bother with soldering. I can gently remove the crimp and get the cable out on my own bikes because I don't overdo the clamping down of the anchor bolt and cause a permanent bend in the cable. I find the cable is easy to reinstall because the crimped end is still in original condition, and the bend from the anchor bolt is minimal. It is a different story down at the bike coop. I find that people will naturally torque the hell out of anchor bolts and cause a permenant bend that will prevent the cable from being reused, and the cable end is not a factor. Soldering the ends of customer bikes would do no good, so I always crimp an end on them. I also use lube (typically Tri-flow) on the end of the cable (from the housing end to the crimp) to prevent rusting. A rusted, inflexible, cable also makes it hard to remove/reinstall a cable.

The tutorial is very good, I just wanted to give a different perspective on why soldering may not be useful.
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