My mom has had this old Nishiki Apache bike sitting in her garage from around '92 and from what i understand its a mediocre bike but iv rode' it a few times and i really like the way it feels.
The yellow has turned to a more mustard color and it has a lot of scratches down to the metal so im going to refurbish it. Mostly it will just be new paint and tires.
But after i started taking it apart i notice that that the break and the shift cables go through tubes of metal that dont have any slits or anything and the cables have metal caps on the ends.

So is cutting and replacing it my only choice?

And does any body have any more information about this bike i couldn't find anything online.

oh and BTW this is my first post.
Thanks

Cutting and replacing it is not only your only choice, but the best choice.

If it's been sitting for that long, I'd be doing a full overhaul. But yeah, considering it's age, I would be replacing the inner cables, and possibly even the outers, depending on condition.

Welcome to the forum! Yes, replace both the brake cable and its housing. I'm assuming this will be a good first project for you in bike repair. Do you know if you have a "Bike Coop" in your area? Check around whatever college campus is closest to you, almost guaranteed to be one.

If so, just take your bike down there and the volunteers working there will walk you through the repair free of charge. Bike Coops are a great thing to participate in for hands on guidance. You can give back by helping out others as you become more experienced too.

YouTube tutorials are also very good for visual guidance. Buy Park Tool Repair Manual for written instructions, and of course you have the best community for web interactions right here, and remember, the search button and archives here are your friend.

You can loosen the cable at the brake or derailleur, and pull it out from the lever end. But reusing 20 year old cables is a really bad idea. You can buy a complete cable kit for $6 at Walmart.

Yeah, cutting it is your only choice to get it off - but do it right at the end of the cable, then maybe you can reuse it and replace the metal caps. You need to cut it clean tho with decent cutters, so you can thread it back through and reconnect.

The advice given so far is a mix of good and bad.

The good: Replace your cables and housing

The bad: Cutting is your best/only option

The reality: You most likely don't have to cut anything.

The how To:
1. Take a pliers and pull the metal end cap off each of the cables.
2. Find the anchor bolts on the brake calipers and the derailleurs.
3. Loosen the anchor bolts.
4. Pull/push the cables free of the brake levers and the shift levers.

Park Tools website should have directions for replacing or installing cables. OR you can purchase a decent repair guide. There is a good one published by Bicycling Magazine called "Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Maintenance and Repair".

The only time you would need to cut the cable and housing during removal is if the two are badly rusted together.

-j

1. Another poster mentioned you may not have to cut the shift or brake cables. That's contrary to my experience. An 18 year old bike is almost sure to have frayed or kinked cables that won't slide through the housing or anchors. If it was my bike I'd cut the cables but keep the housings intact so that you can use them as templates for sizing your replacement housings.

2. Repainting a bike is a fairly labor intensive project. If you're going to do that much work, you'll probably want it to operate smoothly when you finish. New cables and housings will work wonders in that regard.

I decided to cut and replace the cables because it sounds like i should replace them anyways and cutting them is much easier.

Now im taking the cranks off with a parktool crank puller.
How much resistance should i expect because i feel like im going to break the handle off?

alot of resistance. just besure the threads are clean before you put the tool in. then be sure the tool is fully seated before trying to remove the cranks.

Bingo.

Don't just make the puller finger-tight, actually tighten the puller into the crank before you start pulling.

Cranks can be pretty stubborn sometimes.

I don't suggest actually tightening the puller into the crank cap threads but you certainly want to use a wrench to ensure that the puller is fully seated. You want to have every thread possible helping to share the load when you're bearing down against the taper spindle.

got the cranks off, definitely the hardest part to take off, and i did use a wrench. Right now theres paint remover on it so i'll let that soak in tonight and i'll wipe it off in the morning.

thanks for all the help.

Yeah, that's what I meant. Snug it down with a wrench before starting to pull stuff off.

Fair enough. Sorry Luke, wasn't sure what you meant by what you typed.