Finishing cable cuts (manually)

[Archie]

BTW the new Campag Ergos have no cable end caps on either the brake or gear outer casings. Older Ergos used to have caps on the outer gear cables.

Confusing. The Campy Ergo manual says "1998 and later Ergopower control levers do not require a brake casing end." These are 2007 vintage so I thought I'd be OK without. Maybe it's best just to whack one in there and not worry about a totally polished finish like the supplied cables have?

 

[mickle]

They are referring to the end of housing which goes into the body of the shifter/brake. You'll need ferrules everywhere else.

 

[bonj2]

park tool says use a flat file
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=77

you will also need a ferrule, but don't ask mickle as he doesn't know what they are.

 

[Archie]

Sorry to be a pain about this guys, BUT. Campy Veloce brakes, and the cable guides don't accept the ferrules for 5mm cable I've got. Even the 4.5mm gear cable ferrules (which don't fit over the brake cables) aren't accepted in the space available. So surely cable finish must be an issue? Or have I got the wrong ferrules and I need "special" ones for Campag?

Good tip on using old cable in the inner which helps keep the outer round, but I still get burrs which need smoothing out. I can't be the only one, surely?

 

[jpembroke]

as I said above, put the pre-cut neat end of the outer cable in the ergo (without a ferrule) and the cut ends that you make in the frame's cable stop with a ferrule on the end. When I cut (I have Park Tools cutters) I do get burrs. I snip these off with the cutters and then round out the end with an awl. Once you have a ferrule on the end then you won't notice the raggedy bits.

 

[Archie]

as I said above, put the pre-cut neat end of the outer cable in the ergo (without a ferrule) and the cut ends that you make in the frame's cable stop with a ferrule on the end.

I've done the brake cables now. What I've done is put the raggedy end in the ergo lever with a ferrule and the neat end in the cable stop on the brakes. As I said the brake cable stops won't accept a ferrule so I'll need to think some more on this when the outers are replaced,which is why I've gone against the above advice, good though I'm sure it is.

I've used a couple of small files per the Park link Bonj gave, a pointed one as an awl and a flat to smooth the edge. It's nowhere near as neat as the supplied cables - which are so neat they're nearly a work of art - but it'll do for now. There's a cable outer guide within the frame top tube which allows me to connect the brake outer direct to the rear brake so there's no frame stops involved in the brake connections.

The next issue will be the cable for the rear mech. Unlike the brakes the mech cable stop WILL accept a ferrule, but the frame stop won't. It's an older style frame with downtube shifter braze-ons, so it probably pre-dates the modern style gear cable, so was expected to accept the steel coil type outer. Unfortunately the new style cable,with it's pointy metal bits, will quickly strip the paint from the frame stop without some protection. Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks for all the suggestions so far, and please bear with me. I'm a novice just trying to do a good job.

(Not a quick job though, obviously )

 

[jpembroke]

Is this an old bike? I worked on an old road bike recently whose brake cable stops weren't wide enough to take ferrules. I was wondering if cable outers/inners used to be narrower.

 

[Archie]

It's a NOS frame, early-mid 90's. I guess the framestop was designed to act as the ferrule, before SIS gear cabling became the norm.

 

[mickle]

You'll be needing a 'step down ferrule' in each of the frame stops. A decent shop will stock them.