| Author | Message | ||
     Biknut |
here's a good way to lube a cable. you will need a baggie, a rubber band, and lube of your choice. i like wd 40. first unhook one end of the cable you want to lube. fill the baggie with about 1/2 oz of lube. put the cable end into the baggie and wrap the rubber band tightly around the the baggie and cable. try and leave as much air in the baggie as possible. now just invert the baggie and squeeze it. this forces the lube into the cable under pressure.  | ||
| Biknut |
i have these kits available for for the very affordable price of $10 free shipping anywhere. just send me the money. also ask about my SUX 4000 deluxe motorcycle wheel balancer.  | ||
| Newfie_buell |
I paid about $5.95 Canadian for a bonafide cable luber. Clamp it on, place the end of the hose thingy into the nib on the luber and squirt away. | ||
| Phillyblast |
newfie - that's like $.50 'merican, right?  Where'd you get it? On a lighter note, I was sooooo dissapointed to find out this was a technical thread. | ||
| Rocketman |
The easiest and best way to lube a cable is to Jubilee clip a length of rubber hose to the outer cable end. On the opposite end of the rubber hose, fit an air line coupling. Fill the hose with WD40 then attach the air line. Pressure is optional depending on how much mess you want flying out the other end. Once WD'd repeat with oil. Works on seized cables too, providing they're not damaged. If you're clever, you can use a rubber hose fat enough so as you can move the inner cable in and out at the opposite end to help the lube process. Once done, remove air line fitting from rubber hose, leaving hose still attached to cable. Stand vertical somewhere and fill the hose with oil of choice and leave standing over night. One more thing. If cable has one of those plastic inner liners, be careful of too high a pressure as you can sometimes blow the plastic liner out the opposite end an inch or three. Rocket | ||
| Newfie_buell |
lol Not these days The Canadian Dollar closed over $0.81 today so its more like $1.50 now | ||
| Blake |
Wouldn't grease be the ideal lube for a cable if there was a way to reliably deliver it? Seems like Sean's air pressure idea might work to pump grease into a cable too. I've been using the aerosol white lithium grease and the little cable luber tool/clamp that Newfie mentioned. The white lithium grease seems to outlast any oil I've ever tried. | ||
| Biknut |
i like my throttle and clutch cables to have a light feel. a light oil, like wd 40 works great for this. a good thing about light oils is they are easy to deliver and work real well. you can use wd 40 to wash out the cable if you squirt it through till it comes out the other end. the main draw back to wd 40 is it doesn't last real long. i've also tried a type of white lithium made specially for lubeing cables. it squirts out of the can in liquid form about like wd 40 which makes it easy to deliver. after a couple of minuets the liquid evaporates and leaves the grease behind. it seemed like that stuff kinda gummed up the cable a little compared to wd. it might last a little longer, but not much. after you use it a few times it's a good idea to wash out the cable with wd 40. i've also tried a graphite based cable lube thats been around a long time. i think it's in a black and silver can. it comes out of the can as liquid. i really didn't like that stuff at all. it gummed up the cable real fast and i wanted to wash it out. if you try using motor oil don't use a detergent oil. it will gum up the works too. i'm sure there are other products out there that i haven't tried yet that may work well. this is just what i've tried. | ||
| Biknut |
i'm running a super e which has a light pull and i don't run a return cable, so i'm sensitive to cable drag. | ||
| Ingemar |
What Blake said. Grease is far better than oil or wd40. Very simple, oil leaks down and out and grease does not. You know these grease pumps to fill the grease nipples (whatever you guys call that, I don't know)? Use that and a small rubber hose. Keep pumping till its squeezing out on the other side. No mess, no fuss. | ||
| Rocketman |
Gun oil works great. It doesn't run out as fast as you think Ingemar - lasting months - and the cable action is super smooth and light, but if you want your well greased 'truck' not to run as nice with less maintenance....... Rocket | ||
| Rockbiter1 |
Try Royal Purple "Maxfilm" aerosol lube. Slippery as hell, and easy to apply. to quote the web site: Maxfilm® contains Royal Purple's proprietary Synerlec® additive technology, which is proven to make equipment run smoother, cooler, quieter, longer and more efficiently. Maxfilm® is a high film strength, multipurpose, synthetic lubricant / penetrant that excels in a wide array of applications. Maxfilm® deeply penetrates, cleans and loosens rusted parts. Once applied, its solvent carrier evaporates and leaves a tenacious, thixotrophic lubricating film on all metal surfaces, which provides long-lasting protection against wear, rust and corrosion. Maxfilm® is Recommended For: Loosening stuck parts such as nuts, bolts, locks, hinges, etc. Lubrication of power tools, hinges, chains, rollers, open gears, guns, fishing tackle, lawn equipment, etc. Preserving and protecting parts in storage, disassembled machinery parts, wire ropes, etc., against rust and corrosion. Use as a manual cutting fluid to facilitate the ease of hand drilling, tapping, metal cutting, etc., of both steel and aluminum. I'm finding alot of good uses for the stuff. (Message edited by rockbiter1 on October 26, 2004) | ||
| Ingemar |
Gun oil works great. It doesn't run out as fast as you think Ingemar - lasting months - Did I mention anything about oil not lasting long? I know it does and I know it works fine. But I know also from experience grease works longer. and the cable action is super smooth and light, but if you want your well greased 'truck' not to run as nice with less maintenance....... I'll doubt if you will notice the difference. But I admit, I said far better and that is slightly exagerated. It lasts longer and applies with no mess, whereas oil is messy but might be smoother but lasts less. Good points I'd say for both. Whatever one prefers I guess. Btw, I once made the mistake of using some unidentified grease in my cables. My dad had left it in the garage. This stuff was thick and sticky as hell but what did I care... grease is grease right? I spend the rest of the day trying to clean this junk out of my cables  | ||
| Newfie_buell |
There is a product called "RustCheck" here in Canada that I have been using for everything with the exception of the Chain. | ||
| Road_thing |
Rocket, what's a "Jubilee clip" in American? rt | ||
| Biknut |
this is a good grease, but i mainly only use it for wheel bearings and head bearings.  | ||
| Henrik |
I've been using cable lube from the mountain biking industry. They dissolve "the stuff" in a really thin liquid solvent, which makes it fairly easy to keep injecting the lube until it starts dripping out the other end. Some of the lube cans even come with a needle like attachment. Henrik | ||
| Bomber |
Note Bene -- most grease will thicken more dramtically when the ambient temp falls -- not an issue fo those in AZ and the south of France, but something to consider | ||
| Crusty |
I like Lock - Eze. It's graphite suspended in a liquid carrier that evaporates. The graphite does a great job of lubricating and isn't temperature sensitive. Everybody has their favorite lubricant and method of application, and one thing is certain. They all are preferable to not lubing the cables at all. | ||
| Marks3tbillet |
I use a small balloon. Blow it up a little bit, put some oil in it. Then put the cable end in the balloon, put a rubber band around the balloon to hold it on the cable, and walk away. I couldn't get the ziploc bag to seal well, the balloon works great. | ||
| Biknut |
way back in olden times bikes came with a thing called a speedometer cable. grease works good for lubing speedometer cables. tachometers had cables too. | ||
| Glitch |
what's a "Jubilee clip" in American? We call 'em hose clamps. | ||
| Biknut |
it's seems pretty obvious, a jubilee clip is what you use to hold your jubilee in place with. | ||
| Reepicheep |
I dated someone named Jubilee briefly while I was in college, she was a smokin hot med student. Closest I came to the biggest mistake of my life... |
