Brake/Derail. Lines

TimWarchol

TimWarchol

Scum Sucker
I'm looking to get myself a new set of cable housings. I saw some Bontrager Kevlar type lines but i cant find them online. Does anyone know of these or does anyone know a good set i can get? Im not afraid to spend some money on it.
 
Cables are a frustrating and loosing battle. Some are better than others but ALL will eventually get gunked up and performance suffers. The shimano cables are good but are missing some of the features that other brands offer. The Shimano cable housing is excellent and doesn't compress like cheaper stuff. The housing is lubed but that is all it offers.

Other brands put a teflon coating on the cable to make it slick.

Gore Ride-On cables have a good housing and a plastic liner the covers the exposed sections of cable. That is about the best you can get. Unfortunately, Gore is stupid expensive. I use it on only my cross bike where I have just one shifter.

I have to say that I think Gore is a Rip-off. They used to run the plastic housing from shifter to derailleur and the price was only $45. Now the plastic liner just runs between the open section of housing and the price is $65. 🙄

Here is an insider tip for shift cables. Get a Teflon coated shift cable. Get the plastic liner from Gore. Use 5mm shimano BRAKE housing and run the liner from shifter to derailleur. Now that will last longer than anything else. :getsome:
 
TimWarchol said:
^thanks a bunch^ anything on a woven/Kevlar type housing?
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I used a braided housing once (forget the brand) and noticed no difference. I think it is all marketing. Braided hoses are good for performance cars. It means noting for a bicycle.
 
As BiknBen suggests, everything is subject to failure and the Gore stuff is really expensive. The only thing I've found that works is having full length cable housings run from derailluer to shifter. My Enduro SL came this way and I only had to change the cables/housing once in 4 years (only 1/week riding, though) when the housing started to crack.
 
It all comes down to you. Get what you like and can afford. You can spend a bunch of money on something your gonna replace in a season or two.
 
I've used the SRAM braided housing once and i'll never use it again. That stuff was bogus. it compressed so bad that the stuff actually kinked and was rendered unusable. I've never seen this with even the cheapest of housings.

I've been running jagwire housing on my bikes and it seems to work fine. I lube up the cables with prolink when installing and then periodically clean them up with some more lube. I'm not a fan of the coated cables because I feel like they gunk up and the coating peels as they wear.
 
For cables, I like Jagwire Ripcord Teflon-coated best.

For derailleur housing, regular Shimano SP41 is fine if you're running full housing. Jagwire's Ripcord housing is a better option if you have split stops.

For brake housing Jagwire's Ripcord is excellent if you're running V-brakes or mechanical disc brakes.

Finally, I run Yokozuna Reaction housings with the Avid BB7's on one of my bikes and it's an amazing combo. They are very heavy (especially when compared to Ripcord housing), but are almost totally compressionless and extremely durable. They feel like Full Metal Jackets, but without the complicated setup (or potential for headache when the tubes bend). I wish they sold the brake housings separately instead of as a complete kit (with shift cables and housing included also), but the kit is a good one. Be aware that the shift housings included in the kit do NOT use an inner liner - they're very much like Shimano SP41 housing, except a little stiffer and thinner - and come in sections designed for bikes with split stops (for a full housing run, go with SP41 or Jagwire, as mentioned previously).
 
where can i get a pair of Yokozuna Reaction i have the same brakes and if u say they are that good its worth a shot
 
Any shop can order them. I got mine from Jay at Brick bikes. The Brake housing works great. Didnt get a chance to try the deraileur housing, because it came cut for segmented setups.
 
Gore! If you ride an aweful lot........Gore is your Huckleberry. I have them on my 29er, they've been on for two seasons......including endurance races, 24 hour races......rides across the country etc. Otherwise.....you'll have to lube and replace cables frequently. The Gore cables are worth the 65 dollars, if you don't work on your own equipment!
 
Cables are a weird thing. Certain bike setups, including cable stop location, cable bends, amount of housing vs cable, type of shifter, etc makes a difference. For me personally, I detest the gore stuff. I have yet to see the coating on the cables not come off and clog the housing. I use the yokozuna kit on my road bike and it was probably the cheapest WOW upgrade I ever did to a bike. For a MTB, xtr or the higher end jagwire works really nice.
 
TimWarchol said:
where can i get a pair of Yokozuna Reaction i have the same brakes and if u say they are that good its worth a shot
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Hi Tim,

If your dealer can't get them for you, you can order them at this URL:
http://store.yokozunausa.com/recasy.html

Choose the "MTB Brake/Shifter" option from the drop-down menu in whatever color you prefer (Smoke or White).

Some caveats:

1.) As mentioned previously, Reaction housing is heavier than any other housing out there.

2.) Reaction housing is also stiffer (less flexible) than standard housing also. You'll need a beefy cable cutter to chop it down to size, and there's much less tolerance for tight turns or bends.

As long as you're OK with the above 2 caveats, then I definitely recommend the Reaction kit. If not, then the Jagwire Ripcord kit is a better option. Hope this helps.


Win
 
thanks a bunch win! im going to take a ride to jungle habitat this weekend. i have a pcat exam friday and saturday... (the equivalent to the mcat exam for med school the pcat is for pharmacy dr. programs) so hopefully i wont crack my frame again and ill really pay attention to my needs while i ride.
 
While we're on topic, any specific rules regarding shifter housing length from the top tube stops to the shifters?

Also, running hydraulic brakes and the front hose seems too long. Any tips regarding the proper length?
 
went to my lbs today and ended up with the new xtr's. i guess i fresh set of xtrs made the braking feel better. and its pretty close to my hydros which is impressive.
 
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