I got new brake and shift cables put on my road bike, except I didn't have cable ends to crimp on to prevent fraying. How big of a deal is fraying of the end of the cables?

It is so much of a big deal that for years mfrs never put anything on the end of cables. You do not need to be concerned. If you think you must do something put a few drops of superglue on the ends. Happy trails ....

Got Krazy Glue?

Got heat shrink tubing?

Got clear nail polish?

Any of those will work.

It's a big deal if you're working on your bike and stick your finger with the frayed cable. You'll get blood everywhere.

Yeah, did that a few times

Looks I'll be getting out the glue I just get paranoid about that kind of thing.

go to your LBS and ask for some ends.

They usually will give them to you as long as you ask nicely.

You can solder (or tin) the tips with a soldering iron and some solder. This is my preferred method.

If the cable do fray and unravel, you could end up jabbing yourself, or have a hard time adjusting the cables if you were to loosen the fixing bolt.

If they fray, it makes for an untidy appearance.

So basically cable fraying doesn't potentially propose a dangerous situation as far as the cable breaking or coming loose?

If a frayed end loosens a bit in the bolt and a strand pops out, comes undone or breaks, that can be a problem. I've read somewhere that a cable with one broken strand loses 50% of its strength. I'm not enough of a physicist or engineer to know if this is correct, but I have noticed that as cables come unwound, the process seems to snowball, and what was one loose strand becomes a mess of broken ones much more quickly. YMMV, of course.

No danger to the cable, but not much fun when you scratch or prick yourself with the frayed end. Another thing, if you ever have to pull the cable out, you'll never get it back in the casing or where it was clamped if the end is badly frayed. That's why I solder my ends. Even when you use those crimp-on caps, if you have to remove them, the end will fray.

It also makes it difficult to feed the cable back through housings and anchor bolts if you ever have to disconnect it.

More like impossible.

I prefer heat shrink tubing, but I'll use the crimp-on ends if I've got some.

Soldering probably produces the best result when done correctly, but it takes a good skill level (and torch) to do it correctly. Otherwise you can end up with a partially cold "joint" where a few wires will quickly come loose, and/or (usually 'and') a joint that's too large to fit through the fittings. When done right, though, a soldered end is a thing of beauty.

Yep!

what's your method for soldering your cable ends? I've had a hard time doing it properly.

Me, too. Though I have zero training in soldering.

After cutting off the cable with a pair of hardened jaw side cutters, I thoroughly clean the end with acetone or brake cleaner. This is important, especially if the cable is old and soaked with oil. Brake cleaner is a great degreaser you can buy at any auto supply store. Next, I cover the end of the cable with paste flux used for plumbing. Heat the end of the cable with a propane torch and touch it with some wire solder. When the cable end is at the right temperature, the solder melts and is sucked in. It's best to hold the cable with the end pointed down, so a lump of solder doesn't run along the cable. You shouldn't use so much solder that it forms a lump anyway. Then just clean off the remaining flux with degreaser.

Soldering steel cable isn't as easy as electrical soldering because you need a more aggressive acid-based flux. The rosin flux used in electronics won't always work.

I've also used silver solder, which looks nicer, but most people don't have that and the flux required.

Superglue: cheap, easy, invisible.

Every home-mechanic should have a pair of bicycle-specific cable-cutters. This, if you follow my suggestion, will cost you some coin. But they will last you a lifetime with some care and common-sense. I suggest the Shimano cable-cutters. You can buy cheaper ones from places like Harbor Freight, but you will likely have to replace them. Or your cables, too - after cheap cutters are finished mangling them. Good cutters will cut a clean path through cables & housing without making a mess of them.

https://www.spadout.com/p/shimano-ct10-cable-cutters/

thanks, oldyeller. i'll try that out!!!

I have great success using a soldering iron, flux and solder. I've only tinned the ends on new cables.

1. Apply flux to freshly cut cable end.
2. Touch with hot soldering iron for 30 seconds (I'm guessing at the time).
3. Touch the solder to the wire end above the soldering iron and once the solder melts and wicks into the cable, you're one.

Note: steel cables take any type of solder. stainless steel cables require a silver solder (I forgor the % silver). The solders I use have "flux core", which adds flux to the joint as the solder is used.

Note: once the solder melts, onto/into the cable, you're done. Don't add anymore for "good measure" since additional solder will drip out. I prefer to finish mine so that solder doesn't appear on the external of the cable, but I know it's wicked into the crevices of the wire bunch.

Solder? Wow, that's like saying I need a new tire, so I'm going to rebuild a wheel from scratch! Also, have you seen some people deal with blow torches?

Go to your LBS, get some cable ends, crimp them on the end of the cable, 2 seconds, done. I have a pair of Shimano cable cutters, and they a flat section designed to put a nice crimp in those cable ends.

Besides, soldering stainless is a pain in the A**

EDIT: following what Panthers007 said, this is the cheapest place I've found those cutters online https://www.outsideoutfitters.com/p-2...g-cutters.aspx well worth the money, IMHO.

One of those little butane pencil torches will provide the pinpoint heat you want (and more) and costs next to nothing, even with an igniter. Just a second or two in the flame is enough. Be damn sure you don't get any finished or painted surface behind one!

Solder with the cable attached if you can. The attachment point is a great heat sink and will protect the plastic parts above it, like housing lining and the BB slide bearing. If you can't solder with the cable attached and there's any of the above within a foot, clamp on a heat sink of some sort.

I've been soldering stuff since I was a kid. It's second nature to me, but I concede it might be a challenge for some. Yes, the crimp-on cable ends are what the pros use because they're quick, but they also never service cables, just throw them away and replace them.

I solder all the time (mostly for work) occasionally for plumbing. I just think it's way more work then necessary when you can get cable ends for cheap (I've never actually paid for them) and crimp them on with just about anything.