a question for the cyclists

[Norrin Radd]

as part of my physio for my knee my doctor said a push bike would be a good idea . so a trip online to free-cycle to see if anybody was getting shot of one ,well my luck was out as somebody did ,so i have now got a 21 speed mountain bike. dont know if its any good as a make ,the frame says Claude Butler.
anyway the brakes were shot so i bought a new set of cables and stripped the old cables off ,sorted some new brake blocks and set to work to put the new cables on .looked dead easy job on youtube and being a bloke that can do this sort of thing standing on my head ,it was going to take ten minutes tops.
well....................
first and only problem i came across was the lack of a decent pair of wire cutters, no probs ,a quick trip to halfords for a pair ,£2.49p later im back home and away we didnt go.
they were bloody useless. i did in the end get the job done but what a struggle to cut a bit of wire . the inner cable was fine but the outer ,what a game that was,it just kept crushing up and would not let me cut it .
now what do you hardened cyclists do for new cables .how and what do you use to cut the outer cables ?
i have got another bike to do yet and dont want to go through my repertoire of swear words again as the neighbours must think i have tourets.
[its my sons bike that i have got to do ]
any help gratefully accepted.

 

[Deleted member 16999]

as part of my physio for my knee my doctor said a push bike would be a good idea . so a trip online to free-cycle to see if anybody was getting shot of one ,well my luck was out as somebody did ,so i have now got a 21 speed mountain bike. dont know if its any good as a make ,the frame says Claude Butler.
anyway the brakes were shot so i bought a new set of cables and stripped the old cables off ,sorted some new brake blocks and set to work to put the new cables on .looked dead easy job on youtube and being a bloke that can do this sort of thing standing on my head ,it was going to take ten minutes tops.
well....................
first and only problem i came across was the lack of a decent pair of wire cutters, no probs ,a quick trip to halfords for a pair ,£2.49p later im back home and away we didnt go.
they were bloody useless. i did in the end get the job done but what a struggle to cut a bit of wire . the inner cable was fine but the outer ,what a game that was,it just kept crushing up and would not let me cut it .
now what do you hardened cyclists do for new cables .how and what do you use to cut the outer cables ?
i have got another bike to do yet and dont want to go through my repertoire of swear words again as the neighbours must think i have tourets.
[its my sons bike that i have got to do ]
any help gratefully accepted.

Claude Butler are excellent bikes, to be honest a bike service is normally between 20-25 quid and can be money well spent to get a decent knowledgable bike shop to give it the once over.

 

[MegaSteve]

For outer cables if your cutters/snips aren't up to the task a junior hacksaw should do the job...

 

[Ross61]

A pair of cable shears should cut the outer nice and clean. Only problem is a decent pair will set you back more than £2.49! Or a pair of decent cutters by the sound of it.
Fortunately I only have to walk to my van on the drive to get the tools.

 

[larmen]

Bike repairs are really annoying. To change a £5 component a bike shop wants £40, but if you want to do it yourself for free you have to buy a £60 tool.
It comes down to how often do you think you need do something, and you have tibiae on elf the 2 bullets. Or see if you can borrow a tool from a friend.

There are bike workshops about where you can go, book a stand and fix your bike, tools and guidance included. Maybe they are worth a look. You pay a little, but don't have to shell out for tools. Never been to one, so can't really judge them.

 

[Aztecs27]

Replacing cables is probably the one thing I wouldn't attempt myself on my bike because I'd just make matters worse! It doesn't help that all my cabling is internal also.

Not worth the hassle!

 

[Deleted member 17920]

as part of my physio for my knee my doctor said a push bike would be a good idea . so a trip online to free-cycle to see if anybody was getting shot of one ,well my luck was out as somebody did ,so i have now got a 21 speed mountain bike. dont know if its any good as a make ,the frame says Claude Butler.
anyway the brakes were shot so i bought a new set of cables and stripped the old cables off ,sorted some new brake blocks and set to work to put the new cables on .looked dead easy job on youtube and being a bloke that can do this sort of thing standing on my head ,it was going to take ten minutes tops.
well....................
first and only problem i came across was the lack of a decent pair of wire cutters, no probs ,a quick trip to halfords for a pair ,£2.49p later im back home and away we didnt go.
they were bloody useless. i did in the end get the job done but what a struggle to cut a bit of wire . the inner cable was fine but the outer ,what a game that was,it just kept crushing up and would not let me cut it .
now what do you hardened cyclists do for new cables .how and what do you use to cut the outer cables ?
i have got another bike to do yet and dont want to go through my repertoire of swear words again as the neighbours must think i have tourets.
[its my sons bike that i have got to do ]
any help gratefully accepted.

Take it to your local bike shop, they have the tools and the knowledge and the prices will be very reasonable.

 

[srixon 1]

Don't let Halfords do it. I bought a bike from them once for my daughter. It was already assembled by them. Once I had taken it home I gave it a once over to make sure that it was assembled properly, (I'm an ex helicopter mechanic) and found that they had assembled the brake blocks wrongly. One good application of the brakes and the brake blocks would have come flying out of the shoes.

 

[patricks148]

I used to do all my own bike maintenance, have all the tools for every job you are ever likely to need... now i take it to the bike shop, its far easier

 

[Norrin Radd]

well i ended up going to halfords with my outer cable measured up and got them to cut it for me .no cost and done in ten seconds .
now all i have got left to do is put a new saddle on when it turns up .
i cant be doing with one of those skinny split ya arris type ,no ,ive gone for one described as a fat bum . built for comfort rather than speed .
which seems to mirror my image these days.
many thanks for your replies chaps