Going on a trip overseas soon for some riding. Have been told to buy cable inners by the guide. Am thinking no chance I am going to need them, but wouldn’t hurt to have them. Also my cables are routed internally making it seem even more pointless.

What does the hive mind think?

P.S: Mechanic at the bike shop suggested taking a spare tyre because they cost a fortune on the continent. Is this true?

In 22 years I’ve never needed a gear cable on a ride. Needed a tyre in the Lakes a couple of months ago though.

I always carry a spare brake and gear cable on my Tourer. I’ve never had to use them but I’ve had to lend a gear cable to someone else….

yes

Never broken a gear cable on my mtb and never ridden with anyone who has in 20+ years. Tyres are generally about the same price as here but you often get a limited choice at full retail price.

managed to snap the nipple off a gear cable a couple of times, once a couple of miles into the Karrimor route at CyB, spent the rest of the ride with two usable gears. 46×12 and 36×12.

the other time was in the work stand, a brand new cable, i can only assume it was a dodgy not made quite right one.

yes but never had one.
Where are you going? I pop one in my tool bit when I’m off somewhere on a long trip. Even if it’s internal so long as you can thread it through then it will be fine.

Yep, 3 cables in three days in Morzine, all different bikes.

I went on a tour of the Lakes last year & one rider snapped a rear mech cable.
I always carry one since.

Yip.

No, but you never know.

I’d take a tire and spokes first tho.

Not exactly gonna overload your pac is it !

Managed to damage a cable outer as has a mate. Had a cable inner but in both occasions they were of no use.

If it does break and you don’t have one the guide will probably be annoyed with you 🙂

I take plenty of spares when i go away. much easier to fix it if you’ve already got it. + in a week away you can get through a months worth of riding.

if i’m going on a wilderness trip i might be tempted to carry on in the group; not much weight and could ruin a ride if onebroke.

Seen gear housing explode a couple of times and once rode with a guy who ran a very poorly maintained bike who snapped a front mech cable. I just uncounted it and then refixed it between the mech and the bottle cage bolt to give him middle ring.

bobsoff2 – Member

Not exactly gonna overload your pac is it !

+1

I’ve seen a couple of inner get snapped – it doesn’t take to much of a tangle. if you have a spare inner you can always fix the bike in an more desirable gear if all else fails.

Cheers for the responses. I will add spokes to the list of things to take too!

@mikewsmith Going to Spain. Trevelez to be specific if you know where that is?

I would closely follow whatever advice your guide provides.

No idea where that is but lots of places have fairly poor bike shops in comparison to the UK.

I’d never seen one snap until mine did in the Alps. Rear cable.
Probably due to the cable being pretty old and me using middleburn oilers to keep it running smooth – didnt think about the cable giving up/fatigue.
Having said that, it wasnt the end of the world, just adjusted the mech limits so I was in middle cassette and I still had 2 gears, fine until I got to a shop in the eve. The bike parts inc tyres,cables and pads were same price in the local bike shops as there are here. But if a guide recommends, then I would take his/her advice

Not gear cable but had a gear outer split.

Luckily a few cable ties sorted the problem.

Do carry spare gear cable on long trips though

Yes

back in the day with down tube routed cables I took a rock strike that dam well nearly severed the cable – was very odd !

More recently have had cables get kinked from being badly transported in mates cars and once some kinked outer and inner in a stack – so yes I would take some esp if abroad – spokes and a tyre a good idea and a tyre boot.

have a fun trip

I’ve never snapped a cable myself, but a guy we were riding with in the alps broke one.
Meant he had to limp back and get one at the shop, so we lost some riding time.
If he had one then it could have been fixed in 5mins and back to the riding.
Since then I always carry one in my backpack.
They take up no room and don’t weigh anything so why not.

+1 for doing what the guide says. don’t want him to take his frustrations out on your legs for the rest of the holiday……

Only ever once needed a gear cable and don’t think I will ever have a repeat. Sticky cables and far too eager with tightening the bolt. You know when the cable is completely frayed and flat! I was 13 so think I could be excused. Nowadays don’t think it would be an issue.

Isn’t it down to how far you are likely to be from the nearest shop/road / your car? I wouldn’t carry one around a trail centre or for any local rides. Heading off to be several hours into the “wilds” though?

I’ve broken 2 rear shift cables, both Gore ones! They rusted through.

If you’re going on a big trip, then surely its worth taking plenty of spares. Why risk missing a day or more of riding?

If you’re going on a big trip, then surely its worth taking plenty of spares. Why risk missing a day or more of riding?

i dont think he intended on not taking one. Just seems to me he wanted to start a thread about nothing much. if the guide had told him to bring a spare frame or something then that would be worth a discussion. imho of course

I was a guide in a past life. There is no harm as a client in carrying a spare mech hanger, gear cable, several tubes, a pump and gaffa tape, a small first aid kit and a multitool just like you would at home.
While any guide worth their salt will have the same, if you are self sufficient and prove it when needs must, you’re way more likely to get to ride those trails the ‘punters’ will never see.
I used to plan the week pretty much on how that weeks guests put their bikes together (and was rarely too far wrong) and I know climbing instructors who know how their clients will fair just from seeing how they pulled their rucsacs and put them on out of the minibus 🙂

In terms of spokes do people just carry the longest size you might need?

A properly adjusted rear mech is worth one hundred spokes of any size….

I never leave the house without a spare frame, I’ve cracked 2 so you never know

Never on a ride- well, I broke a cable once, but it’s not like it causes a real problem, you just have to ride on in whatever your mech’s end gear is (you could possibly bodge it over a bit with the end screws)

But, if you’re going on a longer trip, it’s more likely to be worth it since you can fix things between rides.

(PS- Curiousyellow, the film or the feather?)

I broke an inner rear gear cable midway round a loop on East Dartmoor a few months back, I’ve always carried a spare but this was the first time I needed it, so glad to have it as we were mid loop and quite some way from the car, plus it meant that I got to carry on with the rest of a great day in the saddle.
Not so great the morning after when I realised that the jumping gears weren’t down to poor gear set up post cable replacement but more down to the bent swingarm (and xtr shadow plus mech). Oops. Probably a bit overkill carrying a spare frame in your pack but you never know………

I’ve snapped a rear cable whilst on the Quantocks. Obviously this was as far away from the car as we could be. Always carry a spare since. I tend to look after my bikes much better nowadays too.

I always carry one, as do my guides. And a length of outer. I’ve had to use it twice now. IMO it’s not something everyone in the group needs to carry, if one person (the guide) has it then it’s enough.

Similarly with spokes. I’ve never had to put one in during a ride. I always tell people to take a spoke if they have funny sizes or Mavic wheels but otherwise I have a box of spares and a friendly LBS.

Tyres are expensive here. They generally cost around €40-60 for a decent tyre. I think if your tyres are good before going then you don’t need to take a spare, it would save you maybe a tenner or a tenner and a half so isn’t worth the hassle for the extra baggage. The same goes for brake pads, you will pay a premium in most shops for those so it’s worth taking a set with you.

Obviously mech hangers are essential. We have had a few people on my spare bike due to snapped mech hangers. I also ask people to take spare tubes and a pump but they don’t need to take shock pump, first aid etc.

Worth saying that your guide will know their area best so I’d go with their advice. Maybe it’s an area where there are lots of problems with snapped cables or there are no good bike shops. They’ll tell you what you need.

Mate snapped his rear gear cable a couple of weeks back, wasn’t even on a particularly difficult bit of track – twisty forest singletrack, not a rock in sight…

Had a quick google for bike shops near Tevelez – they all seem to be in Granada, which would be a bit of pain if you did break one and there weren’t any spares about. Like everyone else has said – they don’t weigh much, stick one in the pack!

I’ve replaced them for other people out on the trail, once somewhere in Wales ( I forget where) when it snapped the cable at the clamp on the rear mech & pulled through, so put a new one in so he could carry on his ride.
Changed inner & outer on Exmoor for a client on a weekend trip as the cables were so dirty & gritty it wouldn’t shift-that had just been into a large well known chain shop in London to be ‘serviced’ only three days earlier!
So yes, take spare cables.

Have purchased the cables already so I’ll take them anyway. People I’m riding with are on the lesser side of prepared so it won’t hurt to carry them like most have said.

Have added spoke to checklist too. Tyres are nearly new and tubeless (taking spare inner tubes too though). So are wheels. Already take shock pump, spare mech hanger and tyre boots with me on longer rides anyway.

Really grateful for all the advice and some interesting points in there. Thank you!

@Northwind feather 🙂