Lubricating brake cables?

I have never done a tune up on my bike before, I usually just take to a shop. I want to learn how to tune up my own bike :D

I found www.bicycletutor.com and have watched the videos, and it's been a great learning experience. I noticed that the one guy puts a drop of light oil in the cables...or at least I think he does.

Is it necessary to lubricate the brake cables? My husband, who has way more riding experience than I (he was a big bike geek in high school but that was 20 years ago :eek:) says he has never lubricated his cables and never had a problem (OMG, where is my brain today, that sounds so off to me, LMAO). Seriously, though, he said he never has and his bike is still braking. He has a 1986/87 Schwinn WorldSport that he still rides, original brake cables. The man still rides his very first bicycle that he bought with his own money. I keep telling him it's time for an upgrade but he says he likes his bike :p


So...what's the right thing to do? And, if lubricating the cables occasionally is the way to go, can Phil's Tenacious Oil be used? That's what hubby uses for his chain and he says it's a pretty light oil.

It's not that I don't trust what hubby is saying to me, but it's been 20 years since he was really into bikes so maybe things have changed since then?

I lubricate brake and shifter cables. Some come pre-lubricated, which is better, but riding in wet and especially in cold conditions my cables tend to get really sluggish at some point and some lube helps. I think I heard that some cables come with a lining that doesn't like being lubed, the more experienced mechanics here will know.

There are specific cable lubes out there. I'm not an expert on them, but it seems to me that they are a bit different in composition than grease or chain lube. Whether or not you really need it with new, good housing, may be debatable.