New cables- How often?

[gearoidmuar]

I've 27000 miles on my Rohloff, internal cable, unchanged. I carry the quick kit and the spare cable when touring. Maybe I'll change it the next time I change the oil, but I'm tempted to see how long it'll last!

[Bill]

Andre ,
I think you should write a Rohloff maintenance manual. I love reading your mechanical cogitations.
You've obviously thought deeply about the mechanical aspects and you express yourself well.
Keep it up.

[il padrone]

The external cables to the shifter last ages as they are not stressed.  The current ones have been on nearly as long as yours.  Previous ones were changed more regularly as the outer casing had a tendency to fracture at the head tube.

I reckon part of the reason my cables are lasting so long (with zero attention) is that I have full cable housing all the way from the bar grip-shift to the EX box. I have also used old-school brake cable housing - spiral wound - rather than the multi-layered STI cable housing. Indexed housing is only required for the precise positioning requirements of indexed gears. Brake cable housing is much less prone to any sort of fraying or fracturing at the cable stops.

[il padrone]

Rewiring the EX box is almost as odious a job as rewiring the internal routing, just slightly less tedious. You still have the same problem that every time you get it wrong, you can't reuse the wire, or any of the fiddly bits, so you'd better have spare cables and fiddly bits at the outset, before you start.

I have only ever cabled up two EX boxes. And I managed to get it wrong both times  * In both cases I was able to carefully retwist the cable end and refit, so do not despair folks; you can get a second chance 

* Left the barrel adjusters out after the measure/cut phase    With the wife's bike I even managed to get the cables swapped so her top gear is 1 and bottom is 14. I thought a third-bite at the cable-ends was a bridge too far. Every now and then I suggest that I should "fix up her gear shifter" but after riding the bike for 6 years she says "NO...... don't fiddle with what ain't broken!!"

[Andre Jute]

Andre ,
I think you should write a Rohloff maintenance manual. I love reading your mechanical cogitations.
You've obviously thought deeply about the mechanical aspects and you express yourself well.
Keep it up.

Thank you, Bill. You don't have any hang-ups either about expressing yourself forcefully.

Actually, this whole forum is pleasure to read after the illiteracy, ignorance and incivility one finds on the rest of the net. I've often wondered whether that is because Thorn basically makes only two kinds of bikes, so the interests are closely focussed, or because the cost of the bikes implies a certain maturity. Whichever, it is a most welcome change.

[Andre Jute]

...she says "NO...... don't fiddle with what ain't broken!!"

Smart woman. Only men obsess about minor details like aligning the pointer with the gear. in use.