cable housing question

[Jeff Baron]

much appreciate some advice on shift cable housing. shimano sis shift cable housing is $4.5/foot.
lbs sells generic shift cable housing for $1.5/foot, which they say is teflon-lined also. is there a
difference between shimano and generic worth the price? thanks, jeff baron

 

[Cletus D . Lee]

In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> much appreciate some advice on shift cable housing. shimano sis shift cable housing is $4.5/foot.
> lbs sells generic shift cable housing for $1.5/foot, which they say is teflon-lined also. is there
> a difference between shimano and generic worth the price? thanks, jeff baron

I've not noticed any difference... except the price.
--
Cletus D. Lee Bacchetta Giro Lightning Voyager http://www.clee.org
- Bellaire, TX USA -

 

[Steve McDonald]

I've never had good brake-return action with all-plastic cable sheaths, as there always seems to be
more resistance on the cables. If they are coated with teflon, the oil I've added to the cables
might actually retard the free sliding, rather than help it. Cable sheaths used to be lined with a
continuous metal coil and they seemed to work better than the all-plastic ones you get nowadays. I
have an old road bike that still has metal-coil sheaths and they seem to work more smoothly than the
new type. If anyone has anything to add about using oil or grease on plastic or teflon-lined
sheaths, I'd like to hear it. I wonder if you can still buy metal-lined cable sheaths?

Steve McDonald

 

[Jude T. McGloin]

The less expensive rigid deraileur cable works fine. It comes in 4mm or 5mm most shops sell plastic,
aluminum or steel endcaps to match. I use the less expensive 5mm on my bikes and I stock have rolls
of both. I use the teflon lined brake housing in most applications. It too is available in Shimano
and No-namie. I see little difference and I use the no-namie on personal bikes also.

Jude....///Bacchetta AERO//bikeE AT St. Michaels and Tilghman Island.. Maryland Wheel Doctor Cycle
and Sports, Inc 1-800-586-6645 "Steve McDonald" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I've never had good brake-return action with all-plastic cable sheaths, as there always seems
> to be more resistance on the cables. If they are coated with teflon, the oil I've added to
> the cables might actually retard the free sliding, rather than help it. Cable sheaths used to
> be lined with a continuous metal coil and they seemed to work better than the all-plastic
> ones you get nowadays. I have an old road bike that still has metal-coil sheaths and they
> seem to work more smoothly than the new type. If anyone has anything to add about using oil
> or grease on plastic or teflon-lined sheaths, I'd like to hear it. I wonder if you can still
> buy metal-lined cable sheaths?
>
> Steve McDonald

 

[Rorschandt]

"Jude T. McGloin" <[email protected]> wrote in news:[email protected]:

> The less expensive rigid deraileur cable works fine. It comes in 4mm or 5mm most shops sell
> plastic, aluminum or steel endcaps to match. I use the less expensive 5mm on my bikes and I
> stock have rolls of both. I use the teflon lined brake housing in most applications. It too
> is available in Shimano and No-namie. I see little difference and I use the no-namie on
> personal bikes also.

Could be I read the original post differently, but what came to mind is that SIS derailleur housing
has all those wires that run parallel to the cable, vs. a coil. The SIS style does work better with
SIS derailleurs, in my opinion. Shifting is a bit crisper and holds individual gear alignment better
than using the coil style housing. I do not know if there is a generic SIS style housing, so perhaps
to that is what you are refering. Previous to SIS, I used the same bulk housing for both derailleurs
and brakes. No longer.

rorschandt

 

[R2D2]

I've found that most "Generic" housing works as well as the genuine Shimano housing. Just make sure it is SIS housing (parallel strands), and that the inside diameter is correct.

Your cable diameter should match the type of shifters you have, and your housing should then match the cable diameter. (All shifters are designed for use with a specific diameter cable!)

Use a light oil to lube the cable, and wipe the oil off of the exposed cable so it won't collect grime. Don't use grease. Seat your ferrules completely to reduce "break in" or "cable stretch." (It's usually improperly seated ferrules that necessitate readjusting shifters)

One note: avoid using "wound" cable housing for shifters (indexing will suffer), and NEVER use compressionless (SIS parallel stranded) housing for your brakes. The housing may fail and cause catastrophic brake failure! Use only wound cable housing for brakes.

R2

Originally posted by Jeff Baron
much appreciate some advice on shift cable housing. shimano sis shift cable housing is $4.5/foot.
lbs sells generic shift cable housing for $1.5/foot, which they say is teflon-lined also. is there a
difference between shimano and generic worth the price? thanks, jeff baron