smd4

You'd spend $10 bucks to splice cables to "save money," when a new cable might run half that? Now I've heard everything.

juntjoo

well if I found something that worked I'd get a bunch and keep some on my bikes.

smd4

Judging by the condition of your bike in the derailleur thread, trying to "save money" is actually going to cost you in the long run.

dedhed

https://scion.contentdm.oclc.org/dig...d/690/download

juntjoo

well what do ya know, it's a frigging art

Eric F 

How often area you breaking cables when you ride? How often is it a clean break that would allow you to splice the 2 pieces with a connector? In my 40+ years of bike riding and wrenching experience, I have NEVER seen a bike cable break that way.

The responses to your original question have been pretty unanimous - DON'T DO IT!! You have been given the reasons why. If you stubbornly insist on proceeding, why did you bother to ask for our input?

Eric F 

Based on the history of this place, I doubt it.

juntjoo

well initially it was for saving money then I had a thought it would be good to know in case I had to do a repair at a time when ordering cables wouldn't be possible.

I'm going to keep my eye open for.the perfect splice and try out the knot suggested earlier and you can't stop me lol

smd4

I know. I was going to say "today."

smd4

I'm not sure there's enough blood in my fingers to play around with shredded cable ends.

Next question: Can I use the twist ties from a loaf of bread to secure my water bottle cages to the frame?

spclark 

Is there an 'ignore' button on this forum?

macstuff 

Of-course the answer hell no.
But....
Back in the good old days when things were drab, cable was cable and ends were ends.
Brake and shifter cables came in 3 inch increments. Special lengths or configurations were made up by the bike shop/ mechanic. All soldered. Just as ends are today, except it was both ends.
I have a couple old bikes with these kind of brake cables and the calipers that accept only these cable ends. (European)
I'm always on the look for these cables. The only fix for these bikes is to change the brakes entirely or splice (solder) the old cable ends onto new cable. Same for shifter cables like the push/pull Cyclos.
Gonna need old high tin solder to do it.
Even with solder, I wouldn't splice the middle of a cable tho.

Eric F 

I ask again...how often are you breaking cables? How often are you in a place where a broken cable won't allow you to get back to a place of safety or repair (car, home, bike shop, etc.)? If you can splice a cable in the field, why can't you just replace the entire cable?

Eric F 

Yes. You can ignore individual users. Apply as you feel necessary.

AndreyT

You mean, to use your brake levers to control shifting? I always marveled at the idea, but never got around to trying it. Please, post your results.

_ForceD_

A knot…OK. Maybe. But I agree with the other who’ve said that he splicers/connectors are a bad idea. And also, as alluded to, for the price of those splicers you can get a department store brake/shifter cable replacement that would be better than the splicing you want to do. And instead of having extra splicers on hand for unexpected repairs…you can just as easily have extra (new) cables on hand for those repairs instead. So…please don’t use the splicers for this application. It would be bad news if that splicer doesn’t withstand the stress when you have to jump on the breaks HEAVY during a hill descent. — Dan

Dan

dedhed

Done on a regular basis in the lifting and rigging world.

smd4

Guess you're lucky that most cable breaks occur in the middle of the cable, and therefore are much easier to splice or tie together (I suggest a square knot). They hardly ever break at the shifter/brake lever, or where they attach to the brakes/derailleurs.

juntjoo

I'm poor. and I seem to fray cables somehow and I like figuring things out even if there's nothing to figure out. I'm curious

SurferRosa

Shouldn't this be in Foo's "Florida Man" thread?

RCMoeur 

I completely understand this. For most of my life, I didn't have much in the way of "excess cash", and even now that the inflow (for the moment) exceeds outlay, my penurious habits die hard. And bicycles are in general are a great way to save money on transportation - used bikes are currently plentiful and inexpensive, many parts are interchangeable, and you don't need an OBD-2 reader to ask your vehicle what's going on. For over 40 years, I've been a proponent of a "use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without" mindset, especially with bikes - hey, most of my bikes have been in my possession for nearly 30 years, and I have a Strategic Stockpile of parts for fixes and builds.

But there's "thrifty", and there's "cutting it too close". Like the time in high school when I took the one fork I had, put it in the one frame I had, and rode it - until the steerer tube snapped (due to the wrong/clunky fit) and almost put me through the plate glass window at the Circle K.

Another example: someone provided a helpful link to my friend Mr. Allen's page of "get you home" fixes. Some of them, like knotting a cable, I would trust for 30-50 miles, but not for much longer. Plus there's a difference in the safety-criticality of cables. If you snap or strip a shifter cable, it's an annoyance. If you strip or snap a brake cable, it can be life-threatening, especially as the failure may occur at the worst time (emergency braking).

If you want to experiment with saving money by splicing shifter cables, it probably won't be a disaster, and a long-term report on your experiences (months or years of in-use time) could be quite useful. But I'd caution against doing it on brake cables, or on other items such as mismatching forks, incorrect brake reach or adjustment, poor bottom bracket fit, questionable chain splices, axles that don't quite match the hub, big differences in wheel overlock, and so on. And set-screw electrical connectors may be stronger than crimp-type, but they are designed to hold under thermal shifts and vibration, not serious tension such as a cable.

In short, experimenting is fun, but not if it hurts, maims, or kills you or someone else on the bike.
(stop snickering, crazy C&Vers...)

Have fun, don't let how people respond to you affect how you look at others, and enjoy the ride.

Eric F 

You might consider that there are folks who have responded to this thread who have figured things out, because they've been figuring things out for a very long time, and have a deep understanding of the fine points of building, maintaining, and repairing bicycles. Based on this thread, and the one posted about your rear derailleur, we aren't seeing a lot of indicators that your understanding of these things has come very far. Good luck. I hope you don't die.

Eric F 

It's also a good thing that proper function isn't at all dependent on cable length and tension. Shortening a cable by an inch or more to tie a knot (or some other splice method), without making an adjustment at the anchor bolt end will work fine, probably.

juntjoo

Thanks. Yeah, I'm not doing anything very dangerous on my bikes. I get the danger in compromising the brake cables. So this is why I'm asking l fishing for ideas.

pdlamb

I don't know about water bottle cages, but I did beg a twist tie to hold my fender for three miles. Of course, I put another bolt on with Loctite once I was home.