Changing the gear cable on a Brompton

[rogerzilla]

OK...how do you get the cable out of the shifter, or is it obvious?  I can do a normal SA trigger - in fact, I have a NOS chromed one from the 1960s which I might use instead.  And while I'm at it, it is a standard SA cable with the thin longitudinal barrel on the end?

[Moloko]

OK...how do you get the cable out of the shifter, or is it obvious?  I can do a normal SA trigger - in fact, I have a NOS chromed one from the 1960s which I might use instead.  And while I'm at it, it is a standard SA cable with the thin longitudinal barrel on the end?

There's the schematics on the Brommie website HERE. Don't reach for the lump hammer, just yet!

[rogerzilla]

Right, done it.  For future reference:

Put the shifter into top gear and push the cable from the loose end.  There is a little cutout in that gear position to allow the nipple to escape through the top of the shifter.  Fitting the new cable is fairly obvious, if a little fiddly to get it into the small pulley box on the rear triangle.  It is a standard SA cable.

Disappointingly, I also discovered that the funky black OEM inner cables are in fact just black-painted (or maybe passivated/dyed like DT spokes) steel ones.  The "kevlar" bit only applies to the outers.

[Moloko]

I handle my bike with kid gloves. Some of the components are shockingly wanky.

[rogerzilla]

Mine is rusting and the paint is flaking after less than a year.  Hard life?  No - it's never been ridden in the wet.  Argos want £180 to respray one fully, including the frame, forks, stem and rear triangle.

[Moloko]

Put the shifter into top gear and push the cable from the loose end.  There is a little cutout in that gear position to allow the nipple to escape through the top of the shifter.  Fitting the new cable is fairly obvious, if a little fiddly to get it into the small pulley box on the rear triangle.  It is a standard SA cable.

I now see what you mean. You've got to be a bit of a locksmith.