A customer swore by a drop of chain lube on cable ends, and I had to try it

A regular at the bar brought in his gravel bike last month and mentioned he puts a tiny drop of wet lube on the very end of his brake and shift cables before installing them. I thought it was just an old habit with no real benefit. I tried it on a rebuild for a friend's mountain bike that had some sticky shifting. After the cable was cut and crimped, I added the drop, and the housing felt smoother right away. The shifting improved noticeably, especially in the cold morning air. Has anyone else found little tricks like this that actually work?

2 comments

2 Comments

rowan97216d ago

Read about that trick in an old forum thread... it really does help with cable friction.

jesse_nguyen16d ago

Which old forum was it? I swear the best stuff is buried in those early 2000s pages... I started using that trick on my old bike cables and it was a total game changer. Makes me wonder what other simple fixes we've all forgotten about over the years.