Thanks for everyone's quick replies!
Originally Posted by
aggiegrads
[...] Or if you know what type of cable end you need (mtn vs road for brake cable; Campy vs Shimano/Sram for shifter cable) you can buy cables with only one end and the other is pre-soldered.
Yeah, I noticed that the cable I bought was nicely soldered at the end--and rounded too. But it's way too long..
A couple of you mentioned buying a good pair of cable cutters. I think that might be the best solution. I have a pair of wire cutters, but they're not very good. And I have a very high quality pair of pliers from my father (vintage ~1950) that has chisel jaws built in. They are hard and tough enough to cut cables but I suspect that they are not sharp enough to make a clean cut--or, rather, not designed to do so b/c they spread the individual wires out as the cut is made. That's why I have trouble re-threading cables after cutting them.
Can anyone recommend a good pair of cable cutters?