soldering bicycle brake cable ends

Colin

Hmmm, bowden cables are used for clutches, throttles etc, etc, Frank Bowden was also the founder of Raleigh. I agree there might be different types but they are all Bowden Cables

Regards Jeff

These things are Victorian in origin. Bowden's innovation and patents' were in finding a way to make them so they'd accurately transmit a position. he was fortunate to do this at a time when expanding aircraft production made a demand for them as control cables.

I dare say you can find suitable brake cables "made by Bowden". Some of the Teleflex ones are double layered, one of each wrapping. But in the generic sense, be careful and use the right sort.

Indeed, and the reason it is used is to keep modern indexed gears working correctly.

Get proper end-caps (cost next to nothing) and just crimp them gently on. It does not need to be soldered. The end-caps are designed to be crimped. Trust me, I've done a great many in my time and they've never come off accidentally (you do want to be able to remove it sometimes to strip the bike down without destroying the cable).

Erm.. I'll have to battle to the back of my shed where the tandem has been languishing while I find a cable. I don't think its more than 3m though. However none of the bike shops in Norwich had one long enough when I last did a trawl knowing the actual length.

This was the full range from small specialist shops to Halfords. Do you know of an on-line supplier?

Peter Scott

I'd try

Also try the other suppliers listed on the Tandem Club's website -

HTH - Stefek

I've _never_ seen a brake or gear cable set that was long enough for a tandem. Tandems are rare, why make it in sets ? If you're a tandemist, then you're expected to be capable of finding a Real LBS with long reels.

Now, who knows a good source for Goretex or PTFE-lined gear cables for tandems? I've only seen these in sets, not reels.

In message , Andy Dingley writes

Places that deal in Tandems sell the cables. St. John Street Cycles list them for one.

Gore do (or did anyway) brake cable sets for tandems. Dunno about gears

No. ;-) The heat required for these will weaken the cable - or loose the flexibility. All that's required is to splay out the strands at the nipple and stop them pulling through. The shear strength of soft solder more than matches a 'solderless' nipple of the type which relies on friction.

He's talking about nipples, not cable tidies.

The shop I worked in many years ago always carried tandem inner wires and bulk outer cable - I'd have thought that "proper" shops still would.

Solderless nipples.... the screw-on type. Dangerous for anything critical IME. You can get cables to solder better by unravelling the end 1 1/2" (not straining the individual wires!), cleaning, and re-winding them before trying to solder.

Aha! "Modern indexed gears", hmm.... that's why. One would have to be a bit of a dunce to use these cables for brakes! Surely Mr. Blackburn does not mean that the outer of spiral-wound Bowden cable is really compressible? That would sort of render brake cable pretty useless!

It is compressible > Tension cable outers use a single wire spiral. This is more flexible,

This effect is used for secondary braking systems (cross levers on the tops of drops) that push outer rather than pull cable.

Colin

Ignore this last line I am talking rubbish.

Colin

Thanks to all for the addresses. I'm sure I'll find what I want. Now to find the key to the tandem lock!!!!

Peter Scott

Thanks all for your thoughts, time to go and put theory to practise

Roy