Shifter Cables are tight
 

I'm finally installing the shifter cables for my Varsity but I find that the cables I picked up at the LBS are a little tight when trying to get them into the brazed-on cable router thingies. Clearly the original cables were of smaller diameter than the standard ones sold today. Is there a source for a narrower shifter cable or do I need to enlarge the holes?

Bob

are you using brake cable housing for the shift housing? maybe try SIS shifter cable housing for the shift cables, i found that if you are using brake cable for shift cable sometimes the brake housing is thicker diameter than SIS housing. just a suggestion hope it helps

:beer:

I have recently done a Continental. The top routers by the head tube might fit, if you use shifter housing. The ones by the BB? FORGET IT! Nothing will fit but the housing Schwinn put there. I have not found a shifter cable housing yet that will fit. You also can't drill them, unless you have a really small right angle
drill.,,,,BD

Maybe they have some really thin shifter housing at your LBS. I can't find it without
ordering, and didn't want to go through the hassle.

I save the original Schwinn ribbed housing, or purchase some from the fellows on the Schwinn forum. Comes in handy.

-Kurt

What is the specific problem? Are the holes too small for the center wires, or will the end of the cable housing not seat properly into the stop? The solution to the latter problem is simple -- just strip back a bit of the rubber/vinyl outer casing. Assuming you are using indeed using shifter center wires instead of the thicker brake center wires, you may be able to open up the hole a bit with an awl.

I am using brake housing. I had some left over and decided to use that for practice before I hacked apart the shifter cable. I will mic them and see if the shifter cable is smaller. It doesn't have to be much smaller to get through the holes but I can't use cable ends - they'll never get through. If I stripped off the outer plastic it will fit just fine. I think a couple minutes with a small file would enlarge them enough to let the whole cable through and maybe I could even get metal cable ends through as well. I will tonight (and should have last night) posted some pictures.

Just for reference, for a mountain bike project I used Clark's compressionless cable set, and the housing included in the set is very narrow (about 4mm - 1 mm less than something like Jagwire).

Even standard shifter cable housing is too small to fit in the guides at the BB on old Schwinn ten speeds from the 60's-70's. Maybe even 50's. The factory stuff is VERY thin OD. That is the problem. The 4mm might fit, no one I tried in Houston had it in stock. I tried compressionless standard, no good,,,,BD

Thanks for the idea intron! I found some SIS housing at an LBS that caters to old bikes. It fit perfectly. Actually I used a combination of standard shifter housing and the SIS I'd never have gotten the stuff to work at the BB without something as thin as that SIS. Here's a picture of the final result (in which you can just see the crank adapter that put the Shimano 600 in there) -- more pictures when I finish!

Wow, it does work! Good info for the future. I think I'm done with older Schwinn heavy road bikes, though.;),,,,BD

glad to hear you got it to work .

:beer: