Switching Chain Housing To Go All The Way Without Bare Wire

[Bikeman]

My Ride1up 700 has a shifter cable that has the black housing all the way down until the middle of the back of the bike. The housing ends and has a bare cable for a few inches, then goes back into the housing.

I see this was common on bikes 20 years a go. At two bike shops (Trek and Specialized) almost all the bikes in the shops have the cable housing all the way back to the derailleur.

My bike has a few inches of bare cable running across the bottom tube in back. I need to replace the cable and was thinking of "upgrading" to a housing all the way back like almost all bikes are now a days.

Has anyone "updated" a bike with a bare wire to a housing all the way?

Is there anything I need to know?

What is the purpose of a bare wire? If I owned a bike company and in a meeting someone suggested, hay, why don't we cut the cable housing down wheere all the dirt is, have two places where dust and dirt can enter the cable, I'd throw the guy out.

I don't understand why they did this.

Thank you,
ebikeman

 

[m@Robertson]

@Bikeman You are judging cable and cable housings by modern standards. Back 20 or so years ago, we didn't have the ultra slick cable treatments, or the kind of slick housings we take for granted today. Full length housings equalled a lot of unnecessary drag back then.

I recently built up a vintage bike and decided to go full housings all the way thru. There are some special issues to overcome when converting, including special cable mounts.

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[Ebiker01]

at is the purpose of a bare wire

apply wd-40 at both ends for rear shifting

 

[Jason Knight]

apply wd-40 at both ends for rear shifting

WD-40 is a cleaner and water displacer, not a lubricant. Use 3in1, another light machine oil, or silicone lube instead otherwise you'll have to keep applying WD-40 over and over and over again. Its lubrication properties over time range from minimal to nonexistent.

In fact, WD-40 cleaning away actual lubricant can cause damage. That's one thing I remember back a decade ago when did bike repairs for people, having to scream at them over and over that "WD-40 is a cleaner, not a lube!" when their drivetrains were mucked up stiff garbage worn down to nothing.

Great for cleaning, great for penetrating rust, but make sure you follow up after with an actual lubricant!