Can we talk about the guy at the shop who said I should use fishing line for cable housing?

Last Tuesday I was struggling with a sticky shift cable on a 2008 Trek 1.5 in my garage, and some random dude walking by told me to ditch the stock housing and run fishing line through the frame instead - has anyone actually tried this or is he just messing with me?

3 comments

3 Comments

fox.jesse23d ago

Man that's rough, especially on a 1.5 where you just want a smooth ride. I've never used fishing line for housing, but I did have a guy at a swap meet tell me to wrap electrical tape around the cable ends to stop fraying. It just made a sticky mess inside the frame after a few rides. Shifter cables need that smooth liner, not something that's gonna melt or stretch in the heat.

wren80623d ago

I once used kite string because I was out of fishing line and my bike shifted like a broken toy for three days before I admitted defeat and walked to the shop in shame. Pretty sure that guy is either messing with you or secretly works for a tackle company.

the_robert16d ago

I had a buddy back in Denver who swore by using weed trimmer line for shift housing on an old beater bike. I was skeptical but tried it once after a camping trip where my cable snapped and I had nothing else. Honestly it worked for about two days before it started feeling like I was shifting through gravel. The line just didn't have the stiffness to push the cable right and it frayed inside the housing within a week. So yeah, anything not made for that liner is a gamble at best.