avhed

I would like to lower the friction on these. What could I use to smooth these out? I want to keep them in service because of the low stretchability of this 1.8mm cable.

CliffordK

Are those brake cables? I thought everyone used pear shaped cable ends.

You can grease up the cables before putting them into the cable housing.

However, I'm a big fan of the new stainless cables.

trainman999

Use some 300-600 grit sandpaper then pull them over a block of paraffin to lube them

avhed

Yes 1.8mm is lot thicker than shifter cables.
Greasing/oiling is not as good.
You cannot get 1.8mm stainless for a road bike.

Salamandrine 

I guess you could rub them a bit with some 0000 steel wool or scotchbrite, lightly. You don't want to remove the plating. I don't think it's necessary and I wouldn't myself.

If you are using them with vintage unlined housing, they should be quite heavily greased.

Not a great idea to use with modern lined housing. Modern cables are thinner and I think they'd bind. Anyone know if campy ever make lined housing for 1.8 cables?

PS I agree the ends look like derailleur cables.

randyjawa 

Start by rubbing them with crumpled up aluminum foil. You will be amazed at how well this works. Not only does it smooth the cable, but it also brightens it up also...

Rocket-Sauce 

Would these work? It looks like they might.... And for $1.95 plus $1.95 shipping, it might be worth trying. You may have to file the barrel a bit -which I think is easier than trying to polish a whole cable!

Grand Bois

I'm guessing that it takes more force than it is possible to apply with a brake lever to stretch even standard brake cables.

noglider 

I thought I'm the only one crazy enough to do this. It rarely pays off.

Bad Lag

Personally, I would not polish the cable. If you have a cable friction problem, either something is wrong or you should lube the cable.

1. Get some motorcycle chain lube spray.
2. Remove the cable from the housing.
3. Remove housing from frame (or protect frame and brakes from excess lube, to come).
4. Using the extension tube attached to the spray nozzle, fill the housing with chain lube. Keep going until it drips out the far end.
5. Let the housing dry (a solvent needs to evaporate).
6. Reinstall the housing and cable.

The cable should move effortlessly through the housing after installation (check by pulling/pushing on cable by hand before installing in lever). If not, something is worng with the housing installation.

Very often there is a kink or poor routing or wrong housing length that causes flex when braking. This can be mistaken as cable flex. Sometimes, you can see the problem. If you apply the brake and the housing moves, something is wrong with the housing not the cable.

Be sure the ends of the housing are smooth and don't bind on the cable. After cutting to length, file them or grind them to be both smooth and perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

Grand Bois

I never lube lined housings, but I use only stainless cables.

Salamandrine 

When teflon lined housing first came out, most of the tech sheets said lubing was no longer necessary or advisable, IIRC. IME different shops each had their own preference for grease or no grease, as a hired mechanic BITD I had to do it the house way. Many, actually most, continued to grease. My own preference is for light grease.

AFA vintage cables w/ unlined housings, they absolutely must be greased. It's possible the OP did not know this, as these days many people don't use any lube on cables, and that's where the issue arose.

repechage

Those are shift cables. They are plated steel, so I would not do any polishing. Way too easy to cut through the plating.
To smooth cables the tried an true method is die forming. Some new cables are even described as such and stainless to boot.
Campagnolo cables were always thicker than the other brands way back for both shift and brake.
If you want shiny, sell those off, folk pay handsomely for the C in a diamond stamped cables.

I have rounded the heads of modern cables to be more Campagnolo looking, paint the ends to be bike shop rat coolio.

davester

Does anybody besides me think it's humorous that we're calmly discussing the pros and cons of polishing brake cables of all things. If my wife found that I was out in the garage polishing my brake cables she'd have me committed.

avhed

Thanks, never seen these. They are available on ebay. Any where else?
Sorry I put up the wrong pic on the OP. Now corrected.

Classtime 

Salamandrine 

This should be emphasized. Wrong cables.

jcb3

jyl

SteelCharlie

The very thot x'd my mind as well. Sides of the rims must be about worn thru! Lemme see now - maybe four feet of housing and a couple new cables we're prolly looking at maybe $20. Go crazy with DA and it'll be more. The cables on the Caylor are DA7400 and pushing 35years old now. I don't recall ever having had to adjust them for stretch. But I set the brakes pretty loose and prolly wouldn't know if they'd stretched or not. Sometimes being an insensitive clot really has some up-sides, eh?

Salamandrine 

There's your problem. Grease is as good. Oiling not as good. No lube is ridiculous. Use grease on the brake cables. Absolutely no one BITD would have used no grease on cables.

If you are trying to use them with modern lined housing intended for 1.6 cables, that's a problem too. Vintage unlined housing is really your only option that I'm aware of for original 1.8 cables.

I see you changed the pic to show brake cables. Good.

FWIW I also prefer the old 1.8 mm campy cables. It's part of the feel of the old brakes, and it does make a difference.

noglider 

Cables don't stretch, but housings do compress. That gives the illusion of stretching, especially when new.

avhed

In 1981, I replaced the stock Suntour Superbe cables (same housing) with the Nuovo Record. I cannot conclude cables do not stretch with that before and after.

michael k

It also makes them fireproof too!

tkamd73