Frozen bicycle cables... help?

[Ralph A]

This cold snap has caused my bicycle cables to freeze. With more cold weather to come, simply letting them defrost and then oiling/greasing them up doesn't look possible just yet. Is there anything I can do to thaw them out quicker, and prevent it happening in future?

 

[Kernow Lady]

A hairdryer works wonders. Have done this when I was young. If the bike is stored outside wrap the cables in a towel or newspaper.

 

[Brian L]

new cables then keep your bike inside

 

[Boneman]

1st clean out the housing with rubbing alcohol. This will get rid of most of the water.
You might get lucky and get away with using spray cable lube. Try it 1st and see if that works.
Otherwise you will need to pull the cables and make sure they haven't rusted. If they have you will want to replace them. Brakes aren't the place to scrimp. If you replace them, *lightly* grease the sections that go inside the housing. I use a wax chain lube like White Lighting on the exposed sections to reduce the chance of future rust while keeping dirt from collecting.