How to Replace Cable Housings
Measure, cut, lubricate and replace your old seized or damaged cable housings.
If your cable housing is old and stiff, or damaged, it’s a good idea to replace them to improve your braking and shifting. So how do you know how much length you will need? It’s easy if your old cables are still attached as you can simply measure them, but sometimes you’ll need to measure them manually.
Materials
It’s quite difficult to evenly cut cable housings with regular pliers, so I’d recommend picking up a proper cable cutter before you begin. However, you will need some regular cutters on hand to cut off any sheared spiral housings, and a scribe or some kind of sharp poking device is handy to poke out the inner lining clear. You’ll also need to install ferrules on each end of your housing, so you’ll need two for each section of housing.
Types of Housing
It’s also very important to know that there is a big difference between brake and shift housings. Brake cable housings have a coiled metal spiral embedded in them, while compressionless shift cables have a series of tiny round wires running parallel along the length of housing. If you were to use brake cable housings on shift cables the result would be very poor shifting.
Calculating Length
As I mentioned before, if your old housings are intact you can simply take them off and measure them for the exact replacement length. However, if there are no existing housings, you’ll have to buy more than you think you’ll need and then trim it down. For example, if I needed to replace the rear derailleur housing, I would take a ruler and move it along the estimated path and then add another few inches just to be safe.
Housings should make a smooth curve, with no sharp bends. For example, the length shown here is ideal. This would be too short, and this would be too long. The sections that run from your handlebar to your frame shouldn’t be too long, but there should be enough room to turn the handlebar all the way in both directions.
Cutting Cables
Once you’ve measured twice, cut the housing clean across using the cable cutter. The inner spiral on brake housings will sometimes shear leaving some metal poking out. Trim this with your wire cutters until the end is flush. Then clear a hole in the plastic lining with your poker. Shift cables usually cut clean and just need the lining poked through.
Installation
Once all of your housing sections are cut and trimmed, slide a ferrule on the end of each. I like to also squirt a drop of Tri-Flow into the housings to keep them operating smoothly. Now you’re ready to install the housings and reinstall the inner cables. I’ll demonstrate how to replace your inner cables in an upcoming tutorial.
Related Links
Recommended Tools
- Shimano TL-CT10 Cable Cutter
- Tri-Flow Superior Lube
- Park Tool HBH-2 Handlebar Holder
- Park Tool SA-3 Heavy Duty Shop Apron
- Park Tool SK-3 Starter Mechanic Tool Kit
- Park Tool PK-3 Professional Tool Kit
Categories
Discuss this topic in the Bicycle Repairs and Mechanics Forum
Columbia 3 wheel differential
Latest post 9 hours agoHello everyone and thank you so much for having me! I have an older Columbia 3 wheeler adult tricycle and she has a differential, somewhat like a car. I wanted to open up the differential for cleaning and oiling but cannot find any info on her, as to how much oil to add, and where the oil fill point is. Can anyone help me in this endeavor? I'd really love to get her going but don't want to ris...
Read moreFront derailer not moving
Latest post 6 days agoHi, I been upgrading my old bike with new brake and shift cables. I got my brakes working and now trying to get my shift cables working. I was able to install new shift cable, I made sure to hold the cable tight and tighten the Bolt to keep in place. But it doesn't move the derailer at all when shifting. I have a feeling it's a simple fix that I'm missing something. I thought it might be the new ...
Read moreWhat are the best cost effective ways to prevent chain rust?
Latest post 6 days agoI live 5 km from the ocean (not sure if that's relevant), and I pretty much only mountain bike. After every ride, I hose down and clean my bike. I wipe them down with a cloth. After a few days, the ones not ridden have what looks like surface rust appear on the chain. Do you have any cost-effective remedies to solve this issue?...
Read moreHow to deal with rusty chain
Latest post 1 week agoThe best thing is not to let your chain get rusty in the first place. Chains for most 6,7,8 speed bikes can be had for $15 to $20 all day long. For me my first choice is to just replace it and the reason is simple. If finished it does not meet the level of 95%+ perfect it will get replaced. If the chain you are trying to save does not have a quik link then that is an extra cost to figure...
Read moreRear v-brake repair
Latest post 1 month agoHi everyone, I'm new here and I've been trying to avoid taking my bike to a mechanic and save some money. I succesfully fixed my front but struggle with the rear, I got new brakes for the rear. I notice i think it might be the housing causing the noodle to be off centered and making the left brake pad to close to the rim. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!! My next project is to attemp...
Read moreCustom Bike part manufacturing
Latest post 2 months agoHello, Not sure if I should post this in buying advice or repairs, but here we are. I recently bought Schwinn cruiser an old one and I can't find the rear dropout bracket replacement. So I decided to try out a custom bike part manufacturer. Still waiting for my part, so if anyone has tried out a custom on demand manufacturer, please share your experience....
Read moreRemoving and refitting rear wheel on belt drive bike?
Latest post 2 months agoI have a Gazelle Esprit belt drive bike with hub gears which has a rear puncture. Can someone advise me on how to remove and refit the wheel? I'm aware that it can be quite complicated, but I have no option other than tackling it myself. The photos were taken with the bike upside down. IMG_20250122_105320.jpg (Size: 77.51 KB / Downloads: 54) IMG_20250122_105428.jpg (...
Read moreBest way to thoroughly clean a chain?
Latest post 3 months agoHi everyone! I hope you're enjoying a great start to 2023. I'm curious to hear your go-to method for getting a chain truly clean. I don't mean, just looks shiny or is good enough for a quick clean after a ride. I want to know what you do when you want to get every last morsel of ground-up, link-destroying, roller-eating, tooth-gnashing crud out of your chain. The Best Chain-Cleaning Recipe Ever?...
Read moreWhat jockey wheel Red 10 Speed
Latest post 3 months agoCan anyone advise what type of replacement jockey wheel I need for a 10 speed Red rear mech (it's got 11 teeth)? Bonus points if it's a link to a cheap (ish) one! Thanks...
Read moreGrip Shifters
Latest post 3 months agoCurrently renovating a child's bike. It has 24 inch wheels and is a suitable size for a 7-10 year old. Anyway it has grip shifters. it is a six speed with three chain rings on the front derailleur. On the rear derailleur the shifter does not appear to move the gear cable at all when shifting from 6 to 5 and 5 to 4. I am actually holding the cable with my finger and thumb against the cable cas...
Read more9 speed chain on 8 speed bike
Latest post 3 months agoAll of my bikes are 7 or 8 speed and sometime in the past I bought a 9 speed chain for some unremembered reason. is there any reason not to use it on an 8 speed bike?...
Read moreOperation of Santa Monica Ebike
Latest post 4 months agoHello - new owner with an How to Operate the bike question. Hopefully, this is easily answered I Bought this bike a few weeks ago - Tested many bikes and finally landed on this particular Santa Monica. However, got busy with Christmas shopping, Life, and not so great weather days distracted me from riding. I also test drove so many that I forgot how to operate it.... I "thought" I remembered, ...
Read moreGears and derailleur misalignment
Latest post 4 months agoMy Trike.jpg (Size: 57.65 KB / Downloads: 53) Wife Trike.jpg (Size: 60.74 KB / Downloads: 53) Although I have ridden bikes on and off since a kid (75 years old now), I have very little experience with anything other than a single speed bike. I recently purchased a new 7-speed Gospel adult tike, which needed assembly. My wife has the same model trike but older and p...
Read moreHow often check or change mechanical disc brakes
Latest post 4 months agoI'm curious—how often or after how many miles do people typically check or change their mechanical disc brake pads? I've been bikepacking for a while but never really followed a maintenance schedule. A few weeks ago, I took my bike to a mechanic because I heard some noise. The mechanic did a quick overhaul, and I was sent on my way. However, a few weeks later, while descending steep hills, I s...
Read moreShifting is almost impossible
Latest post 5 months agoMy wife's road bike has Shimano Sora shifters with a triple front derailleur (stock). The thumb switch on the front shifter is VERY hard to use and she can't do it when she's riding. I did a full adjustment of the front derailleur but it didn't change anything. One thing that I noticed is that the shifter works smoothly when the shifter cable is unattached from the derailleur, suggesting that the ...
Read more
