Cable Change.

[AderynGlas]

I'm thinking of stripping down the gear cables (and eventually the brake cables) as they've not been done for over a year now and nothing seems as smooth as last summer.

As a complete novice I've many questions, but the main ones are:
1) Is it worth cleaning out the sheath or simply buying new?
2) I presume I won't need to buy new gear cable and a good clean and grease/lube should suffice?

The frame of the bike has cable runners on but who ever serviced it last time didn't run them in, rather kept the entire cable in it's casing (brake is hydraulic, but would still slot into the top clip on the frame):



Is it worth me doing the same or running it the same as the other side:



Any other bits of advice that come from experience welcome!

[thistle]

If you're not having major problems with them now then if you just give them a wipe they should be fine.
When you take the inner out, if you see any bits that look really dirty or rusty (e.g. at the derailleur end) then you probably need a new inner wire, and unless the new wire goes through really smoothly you might as well replace the last section of outer while you're at it.

I've found if the inner comes out dirty you can try cleaning it all but they just clog up again in a couple of weeks.

I used to have Flying Snakes, but they didn't live up to expectations and I had to ditch them. The guy at the bike shop at Glentress sold me some new outer which was just cut off a reel and sold by the metre so it was quite cheap. The ferrules had a diaphragm in them to keep dirt out (like XTR cables I think) so they were more expensive than the outer sheath.

My rear brake hose is basically cable tied onto the mounting lugs on the frame, but has a rubber surround to protect the hose a bit. That's how my bike came from new and it's worked OK for me so I wouldn't worry too much about squeezing the hose in the runners unless you really want to and there's plenty of space for it.
If the brakes are hydraulic, you shouldn't need to drain and clean it as it keeps itself nice and smooth. If the brakes feel crap you might need to bleed them, but it could be another problem (and some brakes are just crap - like mine)