Imagine the scene, you are out on the trail, your gear cable breaks, and you thank your lucky stars that you always have a spare cable in your rucksack. Except in this case you are sent royally up the creek as the cable you hurridly ordered and hurridly stuffed into your rucksack has a blinking nipple on both ends. Did you bring cable snips too?
They say look before you leap and here I really had my eyes wide shut, how I wish I had looked at this cable more carefully before ordering. Ins my defence, I didn’t expect to have too, I assumed all cables came with one end soldered. Heed my warning, don’t assume anything, it makes an ass of you and me (mostly me)..
Thankfully this scenario didn’t happen to me, but I still had a bitch of a time in the workshop threading mr rapidly fraying end through my full length cable outers.
What idiot thought this was a good idea? Both nipples are identical, surely it must be more expensive to put a nipple on rather than a tiny bit of solder to make a decent end. More money for an inferior product. GRRRRRRR
I though of this, but not long enough (not on my bike) and it says on the packet rear wire, but still the invention of soldered ends has to be the greatest thing ever, no? Why change it. Even a perfectly well cut end is likely to fray (I managed to thread it but I am awesome), mucho annoyed..
so it’s one really long wire with a nipple on either end? what would it take to snip this in the factory or is it that this was a second’s product that skipped QC at the factory?
the cable is 2275mm long? thats enough for rear and front mechs on some bikes. measure the length of cable you need, using the old one as a rough length.
I had this also, but fortunately I was carrying a very robust Park tools cable cutter – i use it to remove *illegal* fences/dangerous semi buried wire while out on rides… it happens loads at my local ride spots.
And to preempt the geeks, I’m well aware of the weight penalty for carrying the cutter, but as I am a big strong boy & not racing professionally I don’t regard it as a problem. HTH
PJ201> what you need my friend is a SingleSpeed – do it, do it NOW! in 6months time you will be taller, broader shouldered and your nob will be red raw from shagging!! 😉
Soldered ends went out when the stainless cables arrived….solder simply will not wet it.
Most gear cables I have seen in the last 15 years have been welded at the end so it flows through the outer nicely, then needing the alloy cap to be crimped on after cutting, after installation.
This idea of one long cable with 2 nipples will not be adopted in my cave or rucsac.
PaulD thanks for the tech updated, please forgive me for my misuse of jargon. I too want an end that is fixed in some way to prefent fraying during installation, soldered or welded either would keep me happy..
If my gear cable broke out on the trail I would use the limit screws to put it in the middle and continue my ride as either a 2 speed or 9 speed bike ( 2×9 setup)
In decades of riding I have broken a gear cable once when riding.
Teej, it was a hypothetical situation, it never happeneded, my point is a cable with two identical nipples is dumb no?
Anyway in two decades of riding I have broken cables at least three times, mostly DH, but a cable is so light I’ve been able to fix every time, how lovely. 🙂
I’m just guessing here as they aren’t the clarks cables we stock but I would have thought one end with be a shimano sized and the other will be Campag (although the normal clarks cables we have in the workshop actually fit both despite being labelled as shimano). A bit like the universal brake cable mentioned above, but less obvious what the difference is
Are you sure both end are the same?
Gore cables come like this one end for Shimano/Sram the other for Campag, the difference in size is 0.5mm!
TBH I don’t have a problem with this why not decrease the SKU count to decrease costs?
If the ends are fraying after you’ve cut them you need better cable cutters!