I build bikes the old school way- I don’t like those cable end crimps. I actually hate them. I usually solder the ends to keep them from fraying. I do crimp them in a pinch, if I don’t have the time to solder. But I would usually solder the ends later.
While I was bonding an aluminium piece into a carbon widget I was building, I had quite a bit of epoxy left. I was also rebuilding one of my bikes when a lightbulb turned on.
“Hmmm”, I said to myself. “I wonder if I could bond the cable ends rather than solder?”
It works great. All you have to do is clean the end of the cable with acetone. I used a special two-part metal weld system, but JB Weld would work just fine. Just apply to the end of the cable with a chopstick, and you could tape over the just applied epoxy to smooth things out. Let it dry for a day. You could even make some pre-cut cables for brakes and changers with this and change cables in a hurry.
Ah Bunnyman…bless you once more. Nothing interupts the beautiful flow of a bike like those ugly ass cable crimps. I haven’t been in a bike shop in over 10 yrs that takes the time to solder then ends of cables anymore. And our city has no less than three very old school cyclist shop owners. I hate having to adjust a cable that has been crimped only to have the stupid thing popmoff and the cable end fray all over. No amount of twiddling the little cables ever seems to get them to fall back into line either. Now I have never used jB weld or anything of the like but just at your mention I may have to go out and get some just to give it a try. And your idea of having a set of cables pre cut and bonded is pure genius…might have to do that as well. throws his hands into the air and wonders where have all the old schools gone…
Go to your local hardware store and buy the heat shrink insulation for electrical wiring. One package will last a life time. It looks great and works great too. I have used this trick for years ( and I am old!)
JB weld is the grey mix right? Do you use the overnight or 2hr formula. I switch my right side alot so I can do the aero shifter and go back to road shifter on monday, so I’d also like it to slide in and out easy, does this work for that? Also,I like the idea of solder but have no clue how to make the stuff stick. Is it the solder or flux or how is it done. I can solder wires together but have no clue how to do the cables. Thanks for any info.
Never actually attempted the procedure myself but I imagine it would go something like this:
clean the tip of the cable you plan on soldering…probably with an alcohol based cleaner or something that doesn’t leave a residue (teflon based)
dip the tip in some soldering flux (not too far in as the solder will flow as deep as the flux goes)
heat the cable…starting at just the tip since that is really where you want the majority of the solder to penetrate anyway…add solder a little bit at a time so the end of the cable doesn’t get bulky with solder
let it sit and cool…maybe take a Dremel tool with a grinding wheel to any excess solder you think might cause a problem passing through the cable housing
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A while back I switched out all my cheap-ass stock cables for stainless but was frustrated cause I couldnt solder as before. Had to go back to caps. All hail JB!
you ever try shrink tubing? epoxy is a good idea, but it seems that it would be hard to remove it when the cables have to come out and through their housing (if you plan to reuse said cables).
As long as you make sure that the JB Weld does not turn into a huge glob, I see no problem with it. That’s why I recommend the tape to keep it smooth.
Flux is what makes metal-to-metal connections stick, whether you weld, braze, or solder. You have to watch buying it at Auto Zone as for some stupid reason, they don’t stock flux. It works brilliantly.
I like the overnight stuff rather than the 2 hour stuff, though on an application like this, I see no difference.
Never thought of that, but it sounds great as well. You don’t have to mix it up, either. Just get out the Bic and flame it, right? I guess a blow dryer would work, as well.