What are these cable things?
 

This may be a fairly dumb question, but what are the rubber bead-like things on the exposed sections of cables on mtbs? Are they supposed to be in some special position?

They are for sex. Wash your hands after you touch them.

Ignore the troll. They are to keep the cable from rubbing the paint off the frame.

prevents cable slap.
you'll know what this is when you hear the slapping on bumpy sections.

LOL!
This was as wrong as it was entertaining. Now if I only could stop thinking about how they would be used for that purpose...

I wouldn't call this a troll at all, just entertaining. He (presumably male) figured that someone else would answer the OP's question soon enough. Thanks for adding some fun here :)

Apparently a VERY SMALL male figure. :D

But they only fit the roadies :roflmao2::roflmao2:

Do note that the precise method of usage was never specified....

Maybe he's using them as abacus beads, to keep count?

Perhaps they can be snorted?

"Now if I only could stop thinking about how they would be used for that purpose"

ask Metzinger ----- odds on he knows. :roflmao2: Lp

Usually I'm an inquisitive guy, but this time I think it's safer to remain in blissful ignorance. Sometimes it's better not knowing;)

:roflmao2::roflmao2::roflmao2::roflmao2:

Ben-Wa Balls for the amorous mouse in your life.

They always seem to eventually migrate to one end on my bike, rendering them useless for their intended purpose. I take them off when I change cables. FWIW cable slap has never been a problem that needs addressing on my bikes.

^ I have learned that the clear looking ones are tighter and tend to stay better than the black round ones.

And for me they stay in place a little better if I leave them connected in groups of three instead of separating them out.

I believe they are available in two hole sizes with the smaller ones for derailleur cables and the larger for brake cables.

BTW, I don't like them either and I cover the bare portion of the cables with thin cable housing liner. Shimano sells it in 6' lengths for about $2.

Not quite right. Their intended purpose is to fool you into thinking they're there to stop cable slap so that you reposition them before every ride because the useless rotten things have migrated to the end of the cable. They were specifically designed after a long lunch by a committee put together by Shimano to investigate new things to occupy obsessive compulsive riders.

Richard

I believe you may be right about this.

I took a 10 year vacation from bicycles/mechanics to attend to "life." There are quite a few changes that have me doubting the sanity of corporations AND their consumers. Those little doughnuts are one of them.

It was about a year ago that I built my first bike from parts.

After painstakingly tightening every bolt and using loctite everywhere, I took it out only to hear "jingle, jingle, jingle" on every damned bump. After tearing my hair out trying to find the source, I finally realized it was the rear brake cable slapping against the bottom of the top tube. A trip to the LBS for a few rubber donuts solved the problem. The shifter cables are always tight enough they don't slap, but the rear brake cable needs them.

I want to appologize in advance for this, but I can't help it.

That's what SHE said

I don't like them either. I don't even wait for my first cable change, I take them off straight away and install those small thin plastic straws that HillRider mentioned, over the entire length of the exposed inner cables.