Bowden cables

P

parmalee

peripatetic artisan
Valued Senior Member
I need a bowden cable for a particular application. Roughly 3 foot of length, and the inner cable will move about 6 inches. Guage-wise, something along the lines of bicycle brake and shifting cables will suffice—or even somewhat narrower; however, it needn’t be nearly as strong as bicycle cables.

Basically, what I’m looking for is one that is very quiet in usage, with very smooth movement. I’m finding that bicycle cables are a trifle noisy, and not as flexible as I would like.

Problem is, you can’t really search for “bowden cables,” you kinda have to look for such cables by the specific applications for which they’re specifically designed—camera shutter release cable, for instance; cable hats for hi hats at a remove from the pedal; etc.

I’ve named most of the cables which mostly meet my criteria, save for the “very quiet” aspect, but I’m sure that I’m missing some—any suggestions?
 
I use em on my boat for steering and throttle. About $60 for a 12' length. (So, there you go! 4x what you need!) Get em at any marine chandlery.
 
DaveC426913 said:
I use em on my boat for steering and throttle. About $60 for a 12' length. (So, there you go! 4x what you need!) Get em at any marine chandlery.
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I checked some of those out. Unfortunately, they're more "substantial" than what I need.
Bowser said:
Amazon might be a place to look...

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_gnr_spell?rh=i:aps,k:bowden cable&keywords=bowden cable&ie=UTF8&qid=1513281959
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Funny. I hadn't even bothered searching specifically for "bowden cables," as they're usually named and described by their specific application, i.e. brake cable, throttle cable. There's a lot there though,maybe I'll find something.

The issue for me is that, while all other pertinent specs are listed, the most critical one--to my application--simply isn't assessed: namely, quiet operation. Like, real quiet.

I'm using it to operate the bellows on an Indian harmonium via foot pedal, thus freeing both hands--hence the import of being relatively noise-free. I've been using another system, which I designed, for years now. It works just fine, and it's fairly minimal, easy to break down (for transport), etc. However, the cable system will be an improvement in two respects: one, it will allow me to use the harmonium on any table-like surface (of the appropriate height)--presently, the table/stand has a protruding rod to which ribbon-like webbing is attached; and two, it will look "classier."
 
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