Possibly a daft question…

I need to replace at least the rear derailleur cable – the mech doesn’t move to smaller sprockets but is perfect going up (so I guess it’s all gummed up).

I suppose it’s worth replacing inner and outer, but I’m a bit bemused by the various kinds of ferrules available – the shimano cable kits have what look like plastic ones, the jagwire kits have about 3 different kinds and buying them seperately (coloured alloy) seems very expensive.

Can anyone take pity on me and explain what is best to go where – plastic or alloy? Is it OK to mix different brand endcaps and outers? Can I just reuse the OEM jagwire ones that are on the bike? Are the ones with a plastic seal worth having (like these : http://www.alltricks.fr/vtt/cables-et-gaines/jagwire-embout-de-gaine-etanche-4mm-a-l-unite-noir-100-160857.html which seem to be brass??)

Thanks

Just pull them off the old cable outer and reuse them

The old ones are probably worn and will let more crap into your brand new cable set.

Fit new ones, if they don’t have a seal put a spot of grease in the end of the outer, if you want coloured ones, buy them instead.

just bought some plastic ones in Halfords today for about £1.50

Depends on the housing. Shimano SP41 is 4 mm dia and uses plastic ferrules. Some other housing is 5 mm dia and need metal ferrules. The ferrule outside diameter is the same as the cable stops on the frame are all the same size.

I’m not a big fan on the seals on the ferrules. They really don’t work as dirt hides in the spaces between the strands in the cable. I’d go full length housing or Jagwire seal liner between frame stops.

If you cut a “plastic” shimano SP41 ferrule apart you’ll find a ceramic washer and an o-ring, so it’s not as simple as you think.

Metal ferrels kept breaking (shearing) on me so I went back to plastic.

If you need to replace the cable then you probably need to replace the outer as well.

Have you checked the limit screws don’t just need a tweak to allow the chain to drop into the lowest gear.

Just in case: good set of inners & outers dead cheap 8)

Ahh all is clearer. I was wondering why some ferrules have sizes.

Full-length housing on the bike, so the CRC xtr set won’t work. I think I’ll just buy a full SP41 set, then I’ll have enough of the right size ferrules for next time.

Thanks all.

LBS not keep it all in stock?

Agree with Core, exactly the type of stuff I buy from LBS…

That XTR cable set is a bargain, thats why I got two sets for spares last year. The teflon coated cables alone cost nearly that, EACH.

It’s annoying that some of the shimano cable kits come pre-cut tbh, nothing to be gained by that and it stops you using them on full cablerun bikes. Stupid.

I reckon the SP41 ends do make a difference to lifespan though- I use them on all my bikes, very rarely have any bother with cables. In fact I tend to replace them for non-wear reasons, ie new bikes or new parts. I’d more or less forgotten that cables can be a problem, til I used a cheap set recently and it played up in no time.

Ditto, I used some Aztec gear cables in the past, they were bloody awful, even when newly fitted, the friction was too high, so you had to “over” index to get it to change up, then it wouldn’t change down properly. Utter toss.
SP41 outer, teflon coated cables, sealed Shimano ferrules (if not using full length outers) and Middleburn cable oilers every time.