Am I cooked or can I seal and cap this wire and go?
Fitted this brand new wire a few days ago and today I’ve noticed it’s fraying. Can I get away with winding it back up and heat shrinking some tubing onto it then capping it?
I usually do when this happens, but I’m interested what pros will say about that.
Meowriano on
Re twist it, throw a crimp on it, and keep going. Or leave it, and keep going. Its no biggie. But def wanna clean it up when it’s convenient. Forager Cycles makes a great reusable cable end crimp, adds a lil bling to your bike too.
National_Estate_5761 on
You probably can. Just try twisting it back and if it can be twisted back just cap it.
OptionalQuality789 on
If you rewind it and cap it with a cable end it should be ok
uh_no_ on
ride on. Only danger is poking yourself.
jkakua on
I’m no pro, but I would roll with it. Wind it up and cap it. It doesn’t look too bad yet. I’ve done brake cable ends like that in worse shape.
dreday7 on
Thanks a lot for your replies. I’ll twist it and cap it and go 👍❤️
MattR0se on
if it doesn’t fray where it gets into the housing, it should be okay. And it looks like the clamp prevents it from fraying further. So you should be okay for now.
oldbox on
no biggie,do what you intended, and thx for the heatshrink tip .
teakettle87 on
a new cable is so cheap and easy to replace that you may as well just do that.
In a pinch you can twist them back up and crimp a new end on, but if you have to go buy a new end then you may as well just buy a new cable as well.
I just replaced my cable a second ago. It’s easy.
Megatronnn23456 on
You can put zip tie re twist it and then melt the zip tie
Pimpstik69 on
Rubber gloves first and then re-twist it while dripping some thin regular super glue on it. I’ve done this a few times. Then you can cap it
dougmc on
It’s fine for now — cap it somehow so it’s not poking you and ride on.
However, the next time you need to adjust your shifting back here at the derailer it’s quite likely to all go to pot, and so make sure you have a replacement cable available *before* starting that. If you don’t have the cable you can probably still make it work, but it can get awkward and that’s a good time to just replace it and make sure it’s properly capped so this doesn’t happen again.
AngeloPappas on
If you can, definitely just try and re-twist it and cap it.
Blazergb71 on
Wrenched at a shop for 17 years and still maintain my 5 bikes. Spend $6 on a new cable. Be sure to cap the properly cut new cable. A frayed cable won’t hurt anything unless you need to tighten the cable due to too much cable stretch.
farrellart on
It’s only a cable – you are not cooked – lol.
Twist it back together and cap the end, even a bit of tape will keep it together.
povlhp on
Solder with solder grease first.
AggravatingGap712 on
Toast. Dumpster the whole bike.
Apprehensive-Ad9210 on
Put some tape on it and carry on, makes no difference.
WVA1999 on
Carefully twist the unwound cable, then crimp a new cable end on with some suitable pliers.
Saw someone using a zip tie to fix this. Zip it around end by derailleur tite. Then twist while moving it out twords frayed end. Turn in direction to make wires lay down. Google
Dracla1991 on
bike shop metal cap and crimped my shit.. no fray no more
Proper-Ad-2585 on
Any bike shop will have those tiny cable end things. That’s the correct part. Crimp it with any pliers. Cables have finite life anyway (the Teflon sleeves in the outers get shredded). There’s a good chance a repair to this will last the natural remaining life of the cables/outers.
treadtyred on
If you can’t do it with your fingers.
Use the smallest zip tie you can get.
Tighten at the top and spin clock wise down the cable.
I’d then use a cable ferrule.
On new cables I use a drop of super glue on the end instead of ferrules so if I need to remove the cable for any reason it’s easy to reinstall.
1234golf1234 on
Na. It’s done. Whole bike. Lost cause. Start over fresh. Ask if the bike shop will give you a credit if you trade in this wreck.
Professional-Suit-72 on
Twist in the opposite direction of it unavelling, put on a cap end if you have it, crimp, and keep riding. If no cap end, put some tape on. Plan on replacing the cable in the near future.
oldfrancis on
You can gently retwist it back together and put a cap on it.
30 Comments
I usually do when this happens, but I’m interested what pros will say about that.
Re twist it, throw a crimp on it, and keep going. Or leave it, and keep going. Its no biggie. But def wanna clean it up when it’s convenient. Forager Cycles makes a great reusable cable end crimp, adds a lil bling to your bike too.
You probably can. Just try twisting it back and if it can be twisted back just cap it.
If you rewind it and cap it with a cable end it should be ok
ride on. Only danger is poking yourself.
I’m no pro, but I would roll with it. Wind it up and cap it. It doesn’t look too bad yet. I’ve done brake cable ends like that in worse shape.
Thanks a lot for your replies. I’ll twist it and cap it and go 👍❤️
if it doesn’t fray where it gets into the housing, it should be okay. And it looks like the clamp prevents it from fraying further. So you should be okay for now.
no biggie,do what you intended, and thx for the heatshrink tip .
a new cable is so cheap and easy to replace that you may as well just do that.
In a pinch you can twist them back up and crimp a new end on, but if you have to go buy a new end then you may as well just buy a new cable as well.
I just replaced my cable a second ago. It’s easy.
You can put zip tie re twist it and then melt the zip tie
Rubber gloves first and then re-twist it while dripping some thin regular super glue on it. I’ve done this a few times. Then you can cap it
It’s fine for now — cap it somehow so it’s not poking you and ride on.
However, the next time you need to adjust your shifting back here at the derailer it’s quite likely to all go to pot, and so make sure you have a replacement cable available *before* starting that. If you don’t have the cable you can probably still make it work, but it can get awkward and that’s a good time to just replace it and make sure it’s properly capped so this doesn’t happen again.
If you can, definitely just try and re-twist it and cap it.
Wrenched at a shop for 17 years and still maintain my 5 bikes. Spend $6 on a new cable. Be sure to cap the properly cut new cable. A frayed cable won’t hurt anything unless you need to tighten the cable due to too much cable stretch.
It’s only a cable – you are not cooked – lol.
Twist it back together and cap the end, even a bit of tape will keep it together.
Solder with solder grease first.
Toast. Dumpster the whole bike.
Put some tape on it and carry on, makes no difference.
Carefully twist the unwound cable, then crimp a new cable end on with some suitable pliers.
https://youtu.be/j1x9DOhE2mY?si=4PiHAkKJFzi01y91
Get a zip tie, tighten it around the frayed cable and slowly twist it towards the end in a circular motion. It should re-twist pretty well
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1x9DOhE2mY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1x9DOhE2mY)
Saw someone using a zip tie to fix this. Zip it around end by derailleur tite. Then twist while moving it out twords frayed end. Turn in direction to make wires lay down. Google
bike shop metal cap and crimped my shit.. no fray no more
Any bike shop will have those tiny cable end things. That’s the correct part. Crimp it with any pliers. Cables have finite life anyway (the Teflon sleeves in the outers get shredded). There’s a good chance a repair to this will last the natural remaining life of the cables/outers.
If you can’t do it with your fingers.
Use the smallest zip tie you can get.
Tighten at the top and spin clock wise down the cable.
I’d then use a cable ferrule.
On new cables I use a drop of super glue on the end instead of ferrules so if I need to remove the cable for any reason it’s easy to reinstall.
Na. It’s done. Whole bike. Lost cause. Start over fresh. Ask if the bike shop will give you a credit if you trade in this wreck.
Twist in the opposite direction of it unavelling, put on a cap end if you have it, crimp, and keep riding. If no cap end, put some tape on. Plan on replacing the cable in the near future.
You can gently retwist it back together and put a cap on it.