 |
After installing a bicycle cable and crimping on an end cap, removing it usually results in a frayed cable which is difficult to remove and reinstall. For maintenance reasons I want to be able to do this, so I’ve begun looking at methods to seal the end of a cut bicycle cable as is done with factory cuts.
My first experiments with cyanoacrylate glue (aka Super Glue) seem to work well, and when Erik suggested that I solder them, I decided to give that a go. Some research online indicated that a silver-bearing solder works well, so after acquiring some plumbing solder (with silver in it) I gave that a try, and it wouldn’t wet the surface nor wick into my test cable. Normal lead/tin solder for electrical work didn’t work either. I next tried a blowtorch, and while fun it only resulted in ablating the wire resulting in what is seen on the right.
So, right now I think that wetting the ends of the cable with cyanoacrylate glue is the best solution. This is what is shown on the left, and it results in a rigid, solid piece of cable. Disappointingly the cable could be crushed (and promptly frayed) when squeezed with locking the pliers that I use to pretension cables, but this should be acceptable.