We’ve fitted brakes and we’re just about to fit gears, but if you don’t add the cables that join controls to the actual mechanisms they aren’t a fat lot of good.

Control cables use multi strand steel wire inners – often impreganted with some kind of lubricant – running inside cable outer. Brake cable inners have a barrel (for MTB levers) on one end and a pear shaped nipple (for road levers) on the other. Makes sure you leave the right one on.

Gear cable inners just have a very small barrel end that fits MTB or road shifters. The outers can be recognised by looking at the end section where they’ve been cut. To stop them compressing and spoiling shifting, gear cable outers use a gradual spiral so you can see the end of all the strands in section. Brake cable outers normally use a more flexible coil wound outer where you can just see the end of one coil in section.

Avid Flak Jacket cables £19.99, 031 4402010

Not just because they match the handlebars, mainly because they are fairly well weather sealed, which means you don’t have to strip and rebuild them after every winter ride. Gore Tex cables are better sealed but are harder to fit and less tolerant of tight cable guides and the like, so we’ll see how we get on with these. Shame about those gaudy red liners though, what with the copper brakes as well, the Scoopmobile is starting to look like a right dogs dinner.

The cleaner the cable cut the better the cable will sit in position. Always use the best quality cable cutters you can rather than an old pair of pliers. Park and Shimano are great, and a good investment in the long run. Supporting the cable on both sides of the cut also stops it twanging sideways.

Make sure you cut the right end off the brake cable too. That’s leave the barrel end on and junk the pear end for mountain bikers. For the cables to run smoothly the outers have got to be the right length. Big loops can catch branches and stuff, while if the cables are too short to cope with bars turning right round in a crash etc. they just rip out or kink. Cables with really sharp turns in them won’t run smoothly either. Always double check outer cable length before you cut and if in doubt err on the long side.

Once you’ve cut the cable outers, make sure you open the plastic liner back up inside, with something pointy like an awl or ball point pen nib. Then you can slip the cable ends on.

On the top tube stops and other sections where the inner would normally be exposed, the Flak jackets use end caps with extended liner sleeves that the extra sheaths (the red bits) slip over to stop dirt getting in. Normal end caps are used at the shifter ends, while outer that inserts into V brake noodles never uses cable ends. That’s probably not as clear as it should be but there’s instructions on the Avid packet if you get lost.

Now you have to cut the sheaths that fit in between the outers. Again, the sharper the cut, the better. A dab of grease on either end of the sheath holds them in place and helps stop water seeping in too.

You are now ready to thread the inner through. To make it easy slide it through each section at a time rather than trying to push it through the lot. If it sticks don’t force it or you’ll fray the inner, just pull it out and work out what the obstruction is (normally a flattened liner at the end of the outer).

Different mechs. / brakes have different routing patterns so refer to them for fitting instructions. Make sure you capture the cable firmly, and use any tabs or grooves that are there to help you. If you get two guide noodles (as you do with Avid) choose the one that gives you the smoothest line. Make sure all the outer is securely seated into the cable guides along it’s length before you tighten things up.

If you’re fitting to brakes we find winding the lever adjuster halfway out and then tightening the cable with the brake blocks pushed against the rim. Then when you unscrew the lever adjuster your brakes will have enough clearance to let the wheel spin freely.

Once it’s right snip off the inner, leaving about 5cm or so that can be tucked behind the brake arm out of the way. Don’t forget the end nipple to stop it fraying either.

We’ll do gear cable and attachment when we get to gears next…