I love how this guy gives you the information straight, only later adding the details. Plus, his explanations assume his audience to be made of intelligent people! Thumbs Up!!
This is exactly what I've been looking for! Everyone else seemed to dance around dealing with the derailer. Nice hacks and tool recommendations.....need me that 3rd hand
Gee, just done it, took my time and was well worth it. New Tekpro levers and cables and housings on my vintage Mesa Ltd that just keeps on giving joy; cut here, cut there, adjust and readjust, test ride it, brakes like they never had before, feel safer than ever, beauty! Thanks for the pointers!
As a long-time bicycler and now a newbie home mechanic, I have found this process way more challenging than I imagined it would be 🤪 Thank you for the helpful video! -determined suffering rookie
Hello Seth! I always was afraid to mess with the cables. I’m going to give it a try on my 2005 HardRock. Love the channel and please keep it up for all of us who need it!!!
This looks pretty doable. I always thought this was really complicated but you broke it down nicely. In fact, looking at this, I think I would end up doing it all myself because I'd likely go crazy if someone else didn't do it the way I visualized it. I'm like that with virtually any cable (including electrical) because those stinkers get tangled, dusty, noisy/distracting when moving, etc... Also, my OCD with cables was very pleased with how cleanly you re-twisted that! It looked like brand new.
I’m watching this in 2021 and it helped me saved me from getting scammed at the bike shop and a really helpfull hack near the end if u don’t own that tool 👍
After a lot of research on YT to fix my bike's rear derailleur shifting issue I finally found the issue and solution! Couldn't find a YT video on this matter! I explain it below: 1) The most common type of housing has an inner thin wires tube and an outer plastic covering tube. Apparently after a while because of pressure the outer plastic tube jams and the inner tube wires are exposed that can get crushed by pressure on ferrels! This causes a serious metal-metal fraction between the cable and thin wires of housing, worse than any dirt or rust can do! 2) Loosen the shifter cable and release the cable at the derailleur (watch YT guides) and through all housings to free all housing parts. 3) You have to cleanly cut the exposed thin wires of housing to align it with plastic cover tube. Be careful not to block inner empty hole (where the cable passes) by crushing the wires. You need a sharp wire cutter (or a specialized tool from bike shop!) Then clean up both ends of housing and lube a bit. 4) Insert the cable in all housing parts and through the derailleur cable clamp. Since you lost some housing length, to have the same tension on the cable at a particular gear you need to pull the cable out of derailleur cable clamp a bit compared to what it was before. This needs to be fine tuned to have perfect correspondence between shifter and derailleur for all gear range (watch YT guides). Hope it helps someone.
Great video and I totally agree on the cable routing. It blows my mind that there are still bike manufacturers that don't get it correct or bike shops that don't route it correctly when building up a bike.
i do work in a bike shop . and never seen a even great detailed video like this 1 . even i know everything to swap or repair . i still like to watch ur video's!!!!! respect . great job .
Love this! Thanks I've been working really hard on my video and even got help from a friend... We had a lot of fun filming it and I really really hope you like it ;)
Yay. I've been waiting for you to make this video since you showed us how to change a rear derailleur, featuring your Trek 4900. Thanks Seth. This reminds me of how I installed my dropper post. I am soon going to replace my whole shifter, cable included. Great tips as always
Hey! Important info is, that the only reason to replace just the cable is when it starts to fray. Because contrary to common belief, the cable itself doesn't stretch, it causes wear inside the cable housing. That is why it's important to also change your housing regularly. And when it comes down to it, considering how cheap good quality housings are, always change your housings whenever you change the cable. Also, a good way to tension the cable just right is to manualy (as in by pressing on the derailleur by hand) shift into the second highest (smallest) gear, let go of the derailleur and tension the cable. I often get the tension perfectly right on the first go this way (though I use good quality housing and Teflon coated cables).
An old, sharpened spoke makes a great poker to get the plastic tube inside the housing clear, though that's more common in a shop, its not hard to make if you have a bench grinder.
Enjoy the channel, Seth. Every time I open TH-cam, the first stop is to see if you've uploaded a new video. Have you considered doing a video to show how you edit everything together on your computer (what your setup is, what programs you use, how you record voiceover, etc)?
Hey Seth! At 2:48 you did a mistake. You tightend the cable without going at the back of the curve in the hole. When you do that, the cable come out at the hole you can see in the video. Love your Vids! Greetings from Gremany!
Great how to vid Seth. Only thing I noticed was the way you turned the barrel adjuster all the way in and then put a lot of tension on the cable before tightening the retension bolt and indexing. I have never done it that way. I've found putting that much tension will cause the derailleur to move and with the barrel adjuster all the way in, will not allow for any release of tension should the cable be too tight in the highest gear. If the stop screws are adjusted correctly that much tension is not necessary. I usually back the adjuster out one turn then tighten and index. It allows for micro adjustment both ways and puts less overall tension on the cable so it lasts longer. Just my 2 cents. Cheers
Tip for outer cables with internal frame routing: tape the new cable to the old one that is still in the frame. Then pull it through until the new cable is fully in place. Then insert inner.
Don’t forget; A new cable is going to stretch and you’re going to need to adjust over time, don’t freak out when your derailleur starts clicking, just start by tightening the barrel adjuster.
I remember as a kid reading about Eddie Van Halen boiling his guitar strings before installing to reduce the amount they would stretch once installed and to help keep them in tune. I wonder if that would help with shift cables
just to clear things up: splined housings are for shifters. This housing gives more presition to the shifting. The hole is smaller because the gear cable is thinner than a brake one. coiled housings are for mechanical brakes. they are not as precise, but can stand hevavier loads, such as heavy braking. the hole is bigger, because break cables are wider. should be noted that brake cables will not fit in most derailleurs, due to its bigger size.
I use vice grips for end caps. I personally think they are most effective. Don't clamp the vice grips on exposed cable or you will risk fraying it. Right where the end cap starts just before the cable is the best spot to clamp it down.
Those fancy Teflon coated shifter cables work great for gyro cables. Especially if you do the v brake noodle mod for the bends. Use standard non linear brake housing. Figured it’d be worth mentioning since some mtb frames meant for street have u brake posts
But jag wire housing never have a problem cutting it with good cable cutter. Also stranded housing is linear housing. Works fine for brakes and prevents the issue of the brakes not working if you do a bar spin or tailwhip. It’s not as smooth however. For shifters it works fine. And is the best choice.nokon cables are overkill. They look super pretty though
Seth, solid housing isn't really meant for indexed gears. The stranded cables are "compressionless" and don't change length when under stress. The solid spiral type will and it makes shifting into lower gears sloppy.
would recommend screwing the barrel out slightly after screwing it all the way in. this way if by chance you tighten your cable too much then you can screw in the barrel if needed
Hey Seth, this is an old video so hopefully you see this. My bike has internally routed cables, and half of the cable frayed so I can’t shift into my smallest gear, will it just make it more challenging or do I need an entirely new shifter?
Seth do you think there is any differences on cable diameter 1.1 vs 1.2? I'm thinking 1.1 is more flexible and lighter so maybe it should improve shifting performance slightly? Any thoughts?
@2:47 he routes the cable incorrectly. after the pulley it goes through that channel to the clamp bolt, not just pushed around it. that's something I catch our newer mechanics doing. easy to overlook. other than that, pretty solid video.
You should tell people that if they need to remove cover of a shifter, that most of the time cable is under top cover. If somebody fairly new to bikes remove bottom cover, and spring fall out, they will not get that spring in any time soon. It has happened to few of my friends. :)
Can you please do a video showing all your camera gears and your cameras...? i wanna start up with recording my rides so i want to know what you use...
Small Cheese Gaming In my country, when you go to a bike shop you would expect to see bikes that are just broken in every way but still rideable. for example, I have found many people welding their handlebars to the stem, and stem to the fork, just to make the handlebar stay put and not spin freely.
When you un-frayed that cable, it looked like magic. I never knew you could do that.
haha, everyone keeps thinking it was in reverse! You really can do that
Yes i didnt belive too then i try it and it was succes haha
haha my cables never un-Frey that easy but with a small amount of messing with the cable it usually works out fine.
That trick has saved hundreds of electricians lives
you could try using a wire locking tool that aerospace technicians use.
I love how this guy gives you the information straight, only later adding the details. Plus, his explanations assume his audience to be made of intelligent people! Thumbs Up!!
This is exactly what I've been looking for! Everyone else seemed to dance around dealing with the derailer. Nice hacks and tool recommendations.....need me that 3rd hand
Gee, just done it, took my time and was well worth it. New Tekpro levers and cables and housings on my vintage Mesa Ltd that just keeps on giving joy; cut here, cut there, adjust and readjust, test ride it, brakes like they never had before, feel safer than ever, beauty! Thanks for the pointers!
As a long-time bicycler and now a newbie home mechanic, I have found this process way more challenging than I imagined it would be 🤪 Thank you for the helpful video! -determined suffering rookie
Hello Seth! I always was afraid to mess with the cables. I’m going to give it a try on my 2005 HardRock. Love the channel and please keep it up for all of us who need it!!!
This looks pretty doable. I always thought this was really complicated but you broke it down nicely. In fact, looking at this, I think I would end up doing it all myself because I'd likely go crazy if someone else didn't do it the way I visualized it. I'm like that with virtually any cable (including electrical) because those stinkers get tangled, dusty, noisy/distracting when moving, etc...
Also, my OCD with cables was very pleased with how cleanly you re-twisted that! It looked like brand new.
I know how to do this, but I just wanted to watch your video XD
can you put a derailer on a dirt jumper i have a specialized p1
Kevin Avalos yes. my snanfu has a 3 speed
Harry8642 Surname? Same
was going to write the same thing.
Jay MT
I’m watching this in 2021 and it helped me saved me from getting scammed at the bike shop and a really helpfull hack near the end if u don’t own that tool 👍
After a lot of research on YT to fix my bike's rear derailleur shifting issue I finally found the issue and solution! Couldn't find a YT video on this matter! I explain it below:
1) The most common type of housing has an inner thin wires tube and an outer plastic covering tube. Apparently after a while because of pressure the outer plastic tube jams and the inner tube wires are exposed that can get crushed by pressure on ferrels! This causes a serious metal-metal fraction between the cable and thin wires of housing, worse than any dirt or rust can do!
2) Loosen the shifter cable and release the cable at the derailleur (watch YT guides) and through all housings to free all housing parts.
3) You have to cleanly cut the exposed thin wires of housing to align it with plastic cover tube. Be careful not to block inner empty hole (where the cable passes) by crushing the wires. You need a sharp wire cutter (or a specialized tool from bike shop!) Then clean up both ends of housing and lube a bit.
4) Insert the cable in all housing parts and through the derailleur cable clamp. Since you lost some housing length, to have the same tension on the cable at a particular gear you need to pull the cable out of derailleur cable clamp a bit compared to what it was before. This needs to be fine tuned to have perfect correspondence between shifter and derailleur for all gear range (watch YT guides).
Hope it helps someone.
Great video and I totally agree on the cable routing. It blows my mind that there are still bike manufacturers that don't get it correct or bike shops that don't route it correctly when building up a bike.
I remember time when this guy had 1342 subs
good old days
MP Dope I
MP Dope olol
MP Dope yeah
I remeber when seth had 1342 subs
i do work in a bike shop . and never seen a even great detailed video like this 1 . even i know everything to swap or repair . i still like to watch ur video's!!!!! respect . great job .
Who would've guessed this bike would be worth 20k now 🤣
Sold with 70k lol
70k*
Dang that's a lot
Lol
🤗🤗
4 years ago and you were still the best bike youtuber
Hey Seth, are you ever going to visit or do some sort of ride in Australia? Also greetings from down under! :D
Love this! Thanks
I've been working really hard on my video and even got help from a friend... We had a lot of fun filming it and I really really hope you like it ;)
Amazing content on one of the best channels within all of youtube. Keep up the great work!!
I am glad I came across your videos.. you have a way to describing things.
All my favourite things, eating a burrito and watching seths bike hacks 😄😄
Anyone else love this guy
Mason Kendall everyone else loves this guy!
That 3" of cable end at the RD would freak me the hell out.
Ah yes,
I love how u have no problems working on ur bike but I cant even put air n my tire w/o have issues...
Caleb Denman no
Caleb Denman it means fuck off
Caleb Denman let me think bout that... no
Caleb Denman earn them then you dumb kid instead of asking and begging
Caleb Denman I already said fuck off, what part of that comment do you not understand?
I like how you tied the cables together. I looks very neat. I might try that myself...
I literally did this last night and you tube recommended me this
😂
Yay. I've been waiting for you to make this video since you showed us how to change a rear derailleur, featuring your Trek 4900. Thanks Seth. This reminds me of how I installed my dropper post. I am soon going to replace my whole shifter, cable included. Great tips as always
Hey! Important info is, that the only reason to replace just the cable is when it starts to fray. Because contrary to common belief, the cable itself doesn't stretch, it causes wear inside the cable housing. That is why it's important to also change your housing regularly. And when it comes down to it, considering how cheap good quality housings are, always change your housings whenever you change the cable.
Also, a good way to tension the cable just right is to manualy (as in by pressing on the derailleur by hand) shift into the second highest (smallest) gear, let go of the derailleur and tension the cable. I often get the tension perfectly right on the first go this way (though I use good quality housing and Teflon coated cables).
Thanks for this! I was able to switch out my shifter all by myself!
thank you for coming to the rescue seth
It has been so many years, thank you
An old, sharpened spoke makes a great poker to get the plastic tube inside the housing clear, though that's more common in a shop, its not hard to make if you have a bench grinder.
I used to cut the cable a pair of vice grips right where you want it cut and a hack saw, specificly with a metal cutting blade. It comes out very good
Outside the frame is always easy... You should provide some tips for inside the frame routing too! Great video as always!
Enjoy the channel, Seth. Every time I open TH-cam, the first stop is to see if you've uploaded a new video.
Have you considered doing a video to show how you edit everything together on your computer (what your setup is, what programs you use, how you record voiceover, etc)?
Thanks! and yeah, maybe. Now that so many people are making videos for the contest, they're all asking about video editing.
Absolutely stellar video from both a teaching and video / illustration perspective. Great job!
That HT geometry is just rad
hey Seth I just nearly tore my whole bike apart doing this exact same thing thanks for the great vids and keep up the good work!
Great vid man replacing cable Today. I know I can do this.
Thanks from North Georgia Mtns.
Hey Seth! At 2:48 you did a mistake. You tightend the cable without going at the back of the curve in the hole. When you do that, the cable come out at the hole you can see in the video.
Love your Vids!
Greetings from Gremany!
Great how to vid Seth. Only thing I noticed was the way you turned the barrel adjuster all the way in and then put a lot of tension on the cable before tightening the retension bolt and indexing. I have never done it that way. I've found putting that much tension will cause the derailleur to move and with the barrel adjuster all the way in, will not allow for any release of tension should the cable be too tight in the highest gear. If the stop screws are adjusted correctly that much tension is not necessary. I usually back the adjuster out one turn then tighten and index. It allows for micro adjustment both ways and puts less overall tension on the cable so it lasts longer. Just my 2 cents. Cheers
Great video! Trying to upgrade a 2001 Trek 6500 that I bought from a buddy! Derailleurs and cables are all jacked up!
This hardtail look so cool ! Please do more videos with it (like tricks or enduro riding)
Tip for outer cables with internal frame routing: tape the new cable to the old one that is still in the frame. Then pull it through until the new cable is fully in place. Then insert inner.
Don’t forget;
A new cable is going to stretch and you’re going to need to adjust over time, don’t freak out when your derailleur starts clicking, just start by tightening the barrel adjuster.
When you’re attaching new cable at the anchor bolt, where should your barrel adjuster be set to?
Shane Parker all the way in/loose/clockwise
I just did this last night I had problems this morning I got it right thank God!!!
You know it is a good video, when you know how to do all of this, but still enjoy the video!
I remember as a kid reading about Eddie Van Halen boiling his guitar strings before installing to reduce the amount they would stretch once installed and to help keep them in tune. I wonder if that would help with shift cables
This was just what I was looking for. Also a pair of fencing pliers will cut the sleeves plenty easy.
Not planning on doing it any time soon but its good to know.
just to clear things up: splined housings are for shifters. This housing gives more presition to the shifting. The hole is smaller because the gear cable is thinner than a brake one. coiled housings are for mechanical brakes. they are not as precise, but can stand hevavier loads, such as heavy braking. the hole is bigger, because break cables are wider. should be noted that brake cables will not fit in most derailleurs, due to its bigger size.
Great tip! The last time I needed to adjust my derailleur, I took off the rear wheel. It made it a lot easier to adjust without the tension.
Good, nice, tutorial. Better than some videos.. but this seems like it's a lot easier than doing the gear shifting adjusting tuning
I wanted to add to my initial comment because adjusting the gears is a whole another story! And I'll be watching thank you very much
a little tip: grind a point on an old broken spoke to poke the little tube in the outer cable open! this works great
I use vice grips for end caps. I personally think they are most effective. Don't clamp the vice grips on exposed cable or you will risk fraying it. Right where the end cap starts just before the cable is the best spot to clamp it down.
after watching two vids on changing gear cables, it seems incredibly simple to do.
As if it 2021 and am still going back this old video to be reminded how to do something been watching for years
I feel you Seth, everything on my bike that isn't absolutely perfect is freaking me out as well, so that's why I can't wait to afford a DI2 setup!
Those fancy Teflon coated shifter cables work great for gyro cables.
Especially if you do the v brake noodle mod for the bends. Use standard non linear brake housing.
Figured it’d be worth mentioning since some mtb frames meant for street have u brake posts
But jag wire housing never have a problem cutting it with good cable cutter.
Also stranded housing is linear housing. Works fine for brakes and prevents the issue of the brakes not working if you do a bar spin or tailwhip.
It’s not as smooth however. For shifters it works fine. And is the best choice.nokon cables are overkill.
They look super pretty though
Well done mate!
There's a new meme spreading with your 8 things anyone can do on a mountain bike video 😂 It's amazing
Seth, solid housing isn't really meant for indexed gears. The stranded cables are "compressionless" and don't change length when under stress. The solid spiral type will and it makes shifting into lower gears sloppy.
they work. They just suck.
finally i could ride my bike again i waited for more than 1 year finally.
Seth's shirt is so Florida. Reminds me of the ones Dexter wore on the show.
I did the same thing while overhauling the bike this weekend! Bothered the heck outta me
Great video! Just what I was looking for. Now I have work to do. Thanks and subscribed!
Please make a video on how to install gears in a non gear cycle
Great instructional skills, great video.
would recommend screwing the barrel out slightly after screwing it all the way in. this way if by chance you tighten your cable too much then you can screw in the barrel if needed
I like that frame!
Seth Iam following your vlogs from last two months ago
Very helpful, great job Seth!
Perfect as always !
Hey Seth, this is an old video so hopefully you see this. My bike has internally routed cables, and half of the cable frayed so I can’t shift into my smallest gear, will it just make it more challenging or do I need an entirely new shifter?
Have you done anything to fix it yet?
Thanks Seth for the help and I love you're videos keep it up👍
Skipped past threading on the rear mech. Got to get that right.
could u explain fixed gear bmx, pros and cons and whether or not just experienced guys should do it.
Thank you from Sydney.
Seth do you think there is any differences on cable diameter 1.1 vs 1.2? I'm thinking 1.1 is more flexible and lighter so maybe it should improve shifting performance slightly? Any thoughts?
Thank you. It's above my pay grade! I'll take bike to a shop!
@2:47 he routes the cable incorrectly. after the pulley it goes through that channel to the clamp bolt, not just pushed around it. that's something I catch our newer mechanics doing. easy to overlook. other than that, pretty solid video.
You should tell people that if they need to remove cover of a shifter, that most of the time cable is under top cover. If somebody fairly new to bikes remove bottom cover, and spring fall out, they will not get that spring in any time soon. It has happened to few of my friends. :)
Can you please do a video showing all your camera gears and your cameras...?
i wanna start up with recording my rides so i want to know what you use...
Just going to start working at a bike shop soon so this video helped alot! thanks man also does anyone have any tips for me?
Small Cheese Gaming In my country, when you go to a bike shop you would expect to see bikes that are just broken in every way but still rideable. for example, I have found many people welding their handlebars to the stem, and stem to the fork, just to make the handlebar stay put and not spin freely.
This video made it easier to replace my derailleur(setup part was killing me).
I love how he didn’t cut through the sram wording on the other cable
thanks for another great video seth!
i always wondered if it would be possible to drill holes in the bike frame and feed the cables through the frame for extra sleekness
oh wait that is a thing already
Great tutorial video
Thanks
Seth could you do a video on how to tighten your wheel bearings
Where are the competition vid at and the bike unboxing seth?
2:18 Lol my Shimano shifter has these microscopic screws, not that nice big screw head. So they're completely stripped from trying to unscrew them. :(
how or what can you do to cover the shifting cable? i lost the cover and now i have scratches all over my frame. i hope you get to see this
I don't even need to change a shift cable lol but it's a video by seth so i cant resist
Can you please make a review on the "se Om flyer" 🙏🏾
nice vid man keep up the good work
In Slovakia they Charge 80 EUR for cable replacement during COVID-19.
6:19 i almost payd $33 for only replacing the cable but this video is helpful
Thats one expensive cable
Yeah
again another great video
Awesome video! I just did this three days ago lol
I think that's my favorite bike you have.