My wife was riding her bike on the trainer this week, and was having a lot of difficulty shifting in the big chainring.  Knowing the history of this bike, I suspected that it was time to change the shift cables.

My wife’s bike is actually our son’s old road bike.  He rode it for a few years, and then it sat idle for a while. Eventually I started to use it.  It was riding this bike, while rehabbing a running injury, that made me start to love cycling.  This love of cycling turned into a love of triathlon, and I did my very first triathlon on this bike.

The bike is many years old, and I don’t recall ever changing the shift cables on it.  So when my wife was struggling with changing gear, I suspected the cables might be an issue.  They have probably stretched a little over the years.  When I went to adjust the front derailleur on the bike, and tried to pull the cable a little tighter, it immediately frayed and almost snapped.  There was no doubt the bike needed new cables.

Shift cables are not that expensive and should really be replaced every 2-3,000 miles, or as soon as shifting issues appear that are not easily resolved.  I am not sure if the cables on this bike have done that many miles, but they are definitely old, and that is a good reason to replace them too.

I will also replace the cable housing at the same time.  This is good practice when changing cables.  The lining of the housing breaks down over time and dirt also makes its way inside.  Replacing the cable without also replacing the housing, doesn’t make sense on a bike this old.