So I was installing a new rear gear cable for the first time, fairly new to bike mechanics. Got it to the rear derailleur. It went through the first part fine, the second part too. I was tightening a bolt on the second part that I assumed was supposed to tighten to tighten the cable, holding it so it would actually shift. Any ideas what I did wrong? Solution? PS this is all friction shifting... Here are some pics...

https://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/...e/DSCN1076.jpg

Got housing? I.e. - the rigid, nearly incompressible outer coil tube that's about 5mm diameter which you thread the cable through (after greasing cable)? Otherwise, how does the cable exert tension when it's routed through a curve and not a straight line?

Probably not... All I have is what is in the pic. Bought this bike yesterday and it didn't come with a cable at all so kind of going off nothing here.

Well, you need some housing to provide the tension. Comes in all sorts of colours. Black is pretty standard. Derailleur cable housing is 4mm or 5 mm. Looks like this:


You can buy it at Walmart, Local Bike Shops, by the foot, or so. Should need less than a foot. LBS might have some throw away housing you can use.

OHHHH! I do have that haha my fault