Lubricating Cables

Steve Walford posted ...

Quoted message said:

Having just renewed all the cables on my mountain bike and noticing they have a plastic/nylon
liner inside the steel outer what is the best lubricant to use

Depends on the make and what the inner material actually is ..

Many are Teflon covered and need no extra lubrication. If they are plain nylon, then they may need
some extra lube, though most grades of Nylon are self-lubricating to an extent. A very light oil
would do for these, but sparingly. If they're a polythene or othee plastic inner then almost any 'three-in-
one' type oil will do .. 😉

--
Paul

Quoted message said:

Steve Walford posted ...

Quoted message said:

Having just renewed all the cables on my mountain bike and noticing they have a plastic/nylon
liner inside the steel outer what is the best lubricant to use

Depends on the make and what the inner material actually is ..

Many are Teflon covered and need no extra lubrication. If they are plain nylon, then they may need
some extra lube, though most grades of Nylon are self-lubricating to an extent. A very light oil
would do for these, but sparingly. If they're a polythene or othee plastic inner then almost any
'three-in-one' type oil will do .. 😉

Agreed, and cable lubrication is not so important these days anyway because inners (and outers?)
tend to be stainless steel. I think part of the traditional reason for lubricating is to prevent or
deal with corrosion.

A method to sparingly lube is to wipe oil on the inner cable before inserting rather than drop a
load into the housing.

~PB

Pete Biggs <[email hidden]> wrote:

: Agreed, and cable lubrication is not so important these days anyway

True enough. I don't bother lubing new cables. However if old cables have got stiff and I don't want
to replace the outers (on a commuting bike say) then I'll put some grease (the same stuff you put on
ball bearings) on the inner before sliding it in. Does wonders for dodgy shifting.

Arthur

--
Arthur Clune

On Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:55:24 -0000, "Pete Biggs"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

🙂Agreed, and cable lubrication is not so important these days anyway )because inners (and outers?)
:tend to be stainless steel. I think part of )the traditional reason for lubricating is to prevent
:or deal with )corrosion.

And I thought it was to reduce friction within the cable !
--
Comm again, Mike.

pmailkeey said:

🙂Agreed, and cable lubrication is not so important these days anyway )because inners (and
:outers?) tend to be stainless steel. I think )part of the traditional reason for lubricating is
:to prevent or

^^^^^

Quoted message said:

deal with 🙂corrosion.

And I thought it was to reduce friction within the cable !

Think about it. Preventing corrosion will minimise friction (as well as risk of broken cables) but
stainless cables never corrode and certain lined and prelubricated new cables don't need any added
lube, so so lubrication is less important than it used to be.

~PB

On Sun, 22 Feb 2004 19:23:24 -0000, "Pete Biggs"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

🙂pmailkeey wrote: ) )> 🙂Agreed, and cable lubrication is not so important these days anyway )>
:🙂because inners (and outers?) tend to be stainless steel. I think )> 🙂part of the traditional
:reason for lubricating is to prevent or ) ^^^^^ )> deal with 🙂corrosion. )> )> And I thought it
:was to reduce friction within the cable ! ) )Think about it. Preventing corrosion will minimise
:friction (as well as )risk of broken cables) but stainless cables never corrode and certain )lined
:and prelubricated new cables don't need any added lube, so so )lubrication is less important than
:it used to be.

These plastic/teflon coated ones, are they the ones which powder to the point the plastic/teflon
jams in the outer ? Is this why I hear of cyclists frequently changing cables ?
--
Comm again, Mike.

pmailkeey said:

These plastic/teflon coated ones, are they the ones which powder to the point the plastic/teflon
jams in the outer ?

What brands do that?

Quoted message said:

Is this why I hear of cyclists frequently changing cables ?

I don't frequently hear of cyclists frequently changing cables.

~PB

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Steve Walford
Having just renewed all the cables on my mountain bike and noticing they have a plastic/nylon liner
inside the steel outer what is the best lubricant to use

Thanks

Steve

You should read this as it will give you some useful insights.

Sheldon Brown - where would be without bearded cycling fanatics 🙄

On Wed, 25 Feb 2004 18:56:33 -0000, "Pete Biggs"
<[email hidden]> wrote:

🙂pmailkeey wrote: )> These plastic/teflon coated ones, are they the ones which powder to )> the
:point the plastic/teflon jams in the outer ? ) )What brands do that?

Dunno - but it became habitual replacing handbrake cables on cars for this reason. The plasticky
bit used to jam forcing the inner cable to slide in it - before it to then jammed in all the
generated powder !

🙂 )> Is this why I hear of )> cyclists frequently changing cables ? ) )I don't frequently hear of
:cyclists frequently changing cables.

Neither do I, but I have hearrd it !
--
Comm again, Mike.