I am going to service and make rideable a Schwinn volare that was abandoned with virtually zero miles and assuming I like and ride it enough, I will be later probably cosmetically restoring it since it looks like it was pebbled by concrete. The cables and housings look good, great in fact, so I'm not really wanting to replace them. However, I'm seeing advice not to lubricate cables, which on modern lined units I can understand. These are from 1977, on a bike with dura Ace, but still 1977, which I'm seeing people say are unlined and require lubrication. Please advise.

If the housings are unlined, then you will want to use a light layer of grease.

It sounds like you might not be sure that the housing is unlined, though. If so, you should be able to look into the end of the housing and see the lining (after removing the cable, of course).

Steve in Peoria

I’ve been advised, and I think it works well to take some grease (Phil’s) and a few drops of Tri-Flo and mix it up between your thumb and fore finger and then massage that into those C&V cables.

Personally, I've found it worth the effort to switch to modern cables and housings if it's a rider bike. Everything just seems to work much better with the advances in these items.

If those are the original cable housings then they are not lined. Standard practice with unlined cables, as others have noted, is to apply grease to the cable and try to keep the cable off the floor once greased. I'm only adding that about keeping it off the floor because I've done it and then I have to clean the dust and debris off the cable and relube it.

If later you decide to go with modern Teflon lined cable housings, I use Jagwire Ice Grey since it is close to the grey that Schwinn used. Not a match, but close enough for me.

I usually go the lube route to get a bike back on the road. If performance is fine, I'll keep the old cables. Most of the time I've wound up going with new cables and housing, though. Congrats on the Volare.

Thank you. I'm just looking to get it on the road for now. I'm already probably $200 into parts refreshing a cosmetically beat bike, so they'll probably get replaced if I ride it often. They are red, though, and there are not many options for red... Does jag make red?

I would rub grease on the cable and drop oil into the housing.

Here is Jagwire's red brake housing.

Jagwire Brake Housing 5mm KEB Slick-Lube

Amen--I was a working bike mechanic from 1974 to 2022. Modern cables are much better, I like SRAM and Jagwire.

Agreed. Modern cables are also often die-drawn, which also improves smooth actuation in the lined housing. Depending on the shifters being used, some modification of the cable end may be necessary to fit vintage levers.

I use a needle fitting on a grease gun to inject the grease directly into the housing:

Coil them up neatly, take pictures, and sell on eBay.

Sounds good, man. Once you get it back on the road, you'll know if you need to replace the cables at some point.

In addition to Jagwire, Velo Orange sells cable kits in multiple colors, including red. They normally do a good job of keeping the kits in stock, but they appear to be out of stock right now.

Post some photos when you're ready. We don't see many Volares.

Depending on the shade.....

Velo-Orange


Yokozuna

Italian Mesh Type:


French Ribbed Type


ETA: Annnnnnd, Jagwire

And of course porkchop bmx:

https://www.porkchopbmx.com/vintage-...brake-cables/#

And Simworks: https://www.sim.works/collections/cables-1

Personally, I wouldn’t use red cable housing on a red bike. I’d use white- for contrast and to avoid any possible mismatch.

But that’s me.

I've come to the conclusion that with 5 or 6 speed friction shifting with 70s brakes and 70s derailleurs, well lubed vintage cables and housings that are in decent shape work as well as modern. I even prefer some of the shift cables on the nice bikes I've come across. They are quite beefy and I don't know why but they resist fraying at the ends which often makes a modern cable single use.

I wouldn't, either. Not a red bike

Not a red bike. I enjoy the funky pop of color

I'm not in disagreement. That's why I didn't already order new. You'll notice from the picture there isn't much of it anyway. I'm only going to replace them if they feel spongy or sluggish after service

Macrame!
Sure it's gonna take more finger-strength than wimpy yarn but those "spirit catchers" are gonna be awesome!



I think I see some re-use opportunities for used headset races and BB lock-rings, plus finally something to do with old ball bearings!