Clearaudio universal tonearm re-wire.

@dwette ,

Absolutely not. You should be able to swap cartridges till the cows come home. If anything is going to break it will be a clip or the wire will break right at the solder joint. There should be a heat shrink strain relief on each clip for this reason. If there isn't I suggest you put them on in color code. If the solder joint breaks it is easy to reattach the clip. One mistake a lot of people make is not locking the tonearm down. Use a tie wrap if the arm does not have a lock. Also NEVER use your fingers to remove or replace the clips. Use a small needle nose pliers (4 inch) preferably spring loaded. 

@dwette 

Yes, I have looked at it, but I have never used one. The wiring did not strike me as odd.

You do not strip that wire, you burn the insulation off with an 850 degree soldering iron, a solder pot, or a little torch. When you put the heat shrink on put a crimp in it just behind the pin. You want to make sure the solder joint can not flex.

@dwette 

Then the options are, being very careful or rewiring the arm with something more sturdy. You might find out what Schroder uses. His wires are very fine and litzed. I have changed cartridges at least a dozen times without difficulty. I think there are Kevlar fibers in there, but I am not sure. It is surprising that a problem that has become so public has not been corrected by Clearaudio. 

@dwette 

Ah, a cyclist, the best way to exercise and see the world. The wife and I climbed the Stelvio a few years back and we went romping through the Dolomites, Fausto Coppi's mountains, "Mi Dolomiti." Couldn't do it now. I'm afraid age has got the better of me.

My Schroder arm does the same thing, one wire from clips to XLRs. It is actually easier to rewire the arm that way. I have converted several SMEs. 

@dwette 

Then I would highly recommend rewiring the arm and no I do not have any idea how tough that is with a Universal. My own feeling about those types of things is if they put it together I can take it apart and yes that attitude has gotten me into trouble once in a while, but it does make life more interesting. I believe Cardas sells tonearm leads. The trick is the solder all the wires together with a pull wire. You pull the wire through the arm then solder the new wires to it and pull it back through. I do not know what is at the bottom of the arm, maybe a DIN connector? Whatever, you solder the new wire where the old ones were attached.

@dwette 

I'm 70 and just had a knee replaced and a shoulder repair. I'm struggling to get back in shape.

It blows my mind that people worry so much about guns. The automobile is handily the most destructive weapon in the general population and nobody knows that better than a cyclist with or without a motor. The older you get the longer it takes to get it back. It just requires more determination. Good Luck!

Nothing like a Ti Bike. I rode an original Merlin for 30 years. It is now in the hands of a young racer. I decided to shift to gravel bikes, the Specialized in particular because I have a bad wrist and the Specialized has a shock in it's stem. But, a huge plus is 38 mm tubeless tires on Fulcrum rims. It is a much kinder ride and surprisingly fast. Tubeless tires have lower rolling resistance the sealant works great. I only carry a few CO2 cartridges now, no tubes or patches. Just for fun I rode an additional 500 miles on a punctured tire until it was worn out. I had a 1/4" gash seal, but I lost a lot of air in the process. That one was replaced immediately, but it was about 30 miles getting home on it and it made it fine.  Which Moots are you going to get? Group?

@elliottbnewcombjr 

I like that arm. The only change I would make is I would nix the RCA junction box and get shielded double pair Litzed wire, strip 14" off one end and use a single wire clips to RCA. Schroder's wire is excellent. You might ask him where he gets it. I use a tiny torch to burn the insulation off. I have an 850 degree Weller station and with a blunt tip it will work but the little torch works faster. @ dBx I used a soldering pot. I wired the chassis and power supply of 32 channel noise reduction units. 2 channel modules plugged in to 16 stations. It took me a week to do one unit. The Who got one I wired.

@dwette ,

Great birthday ride. We have the yearly Kancamagus Highway ride which circles through four notches, 80 miles 5300 feet of climbing, but I am not about to do it with one gear! I will not be able to do it this year. 

I am a Campagnolo guy. When I was a kid I drooled over a Raleigh Professional full Campy. Back then everything else was junk. So, I has Campy on the brain from a young age. Once I had money I always used Super Record. We laughed a SRAM in the beginning but they have come a long way and are very creative while Campy has failed to innovate and is always playing catch up. It is still really nicely made stuff and IMHO the wheels are the best. Campys freehub is whisper quiet. I'd rather hear my tires sing on the downhills. I have never been able to bend a rim or pop a spoke on a Campy wheel. Remember the days we use to shove extra spokes up the handlebars? The other thing is Momag. Campy (Fulcrum) tubeless rims have no spoke holes in them = no rim tape. They hold air much better once the tire seals. I use Orange Seal by the way. It is the best I have ever used. I have another set of wheels with Hutchinson Sector 32's on them buy I am so comfortable on the other wheels I hardly ever use them. Right now I am riding a standard 50/34  11-34  about the same gearing as you. I do not like the one-by's. Too big a jump between gears. 

Have you ever done any tours through Europe?

@dwette 

Great minds think alike.