Subject: RE: oiling brake/clutch cables
Author: Lannis Selz
Date: Jul 27, 2003, 1:43 PM
Post ID: 1713930743
jason telford wrote:
So I'm dripping oil down the brake cable on the Eldo- same as I've always done it. It's messy, it's hard to get the oil to go down into the hole, .......> What do ya'll do? Jason |
Jason -
For all my cables these days, I use a bottle of graphite lube with a
steel needle attached. The needle will slide down next to the cable on
most bikes, and a little squeeze will send enough graphite on its way to
do the job.
I use graphite because I lube cables on several different old and new
bikes, and some cable types (like teflon-lined ones) will swell up and
quit working if you saturate them with oil. Graphite seems to work on
everything, so this way I don't have to remember what kind of lube to
use on what.
Unless you're lucky in your cable configuration, you're going to have to
take the cable loose from the lever to lube it in most applications.
The owners manual for many bikes tell you to take a clear plastic
sandwich baggie, cut a little piece out of one corner, slide the cable
housing up through the hole, use a cable tie or rubber band to wrap the
baggie tightly around the housing, fill the bag with oil, and hold it up
while it slowly runs down around the cable. Sounds like one of those
things that works better in theory than in practice; I've never tried
it.
OR you can buy one of those aerosol things that clamps onto the cable
housing and accepts the plastic spray tube from a can; just clamp it on,
squirt, and you're supposedly done.
My way works good for me, though, so I've never tried the others.
Lannis