Re-Cabling Your Bike
Just a little note aside any other topic. How do you thread a cable through your frame? Well assuming you still have the old cables in place it is relatively simple. You can attach a piece of thread to the old cable and pull it through and then attach the new cable to the other end and hay presto. But here are 3 tried and tested methods for completing this tedious task.
Inner Cable Sheath – This is a clear tube just bigger than your cable, that you feed over the old cable while it is still in the bike. Once you have the sheath protruding from either hole on the frame you can go ahead and remove the old cable, followed by introducing the new cable into the sheath. Then simply remove the sheath from the cable leaving it in place.
What…. You have already removed the cable?!!!
Magnets – Introduce the cable and use a magnet to draw it inside the frame towards the exit point. You may need to fish around a bit at the exit point but at least you know the cable is there somewhere. You may also need to use gravity as your helper to ensure the cable goes the right way.
Internal Cable Routing Kit by Park Tool
If you do a lot of cable routing this is a handy bit of kit, but you’ll also need a spare £50!!!
This is the link for this tool: http://www.parktool.com/product/internal-cable-routing-kit-ir-1-2
A Vacuum Cleaner (Yes, a vacuum cleaner)
Put your bike in a bike stand and again use gravity as your helper by facing the exit point down to the ground. Tie a piece of cotton around your handle bars and feed the cotton into the frame. Seal up other holes in the frame with pieces of tape and then using the correct nozzle on the vacuum cover the exit point and turn it on. Then with a bit of luck the cotton will appear just like magic. Simple tie the cotton around your new cable and draw it through the frame.
Plenty of Photos
We all have smart phones with cameras, so let’s be a bit smart about things. Take plenty of photos as you dis-assemble your bike. How did that headset go together? All those washers on your rim brakes. Which way where the bearings in the cup? Just slow down on your excitement in taking your bike to bits and take a few photos. Be methodical when stripping things down, lay them out on a clear surface in the correct order than take a photo. Then when you are putting things back together you can refer to your pictures.
Instruction leaflets
We all like adding new shiny bits to our bikes, and in the box along with your shiny thing is a piece of paper with very small writing on in loads of languages. Which we all ignore and take our bikes to the bike shop to have the shiny piece fitted. Well not any more. That piece of paper should now be treated like a gold bar. It has all the information on that relates to the shiny bit. Torque settings, reference codes, replacement parts, the correct grease to use. Everything you need to know now and in the future. KEEP IT, USE IT. It is your friend. Make sure you read it before attempting to install that shiny thing.
