Bike cables - what do you buy and why?

manc_lad

Marin Fan
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I can't seem to find a similar topic. I'm looking to replace the cables in my marin and I'm wondering what people buy and why?

There are some really good prices on Amazon for non-branded. Wiggle have the branded options. Are they worth investing in branded cables?

Anything to consider for a 1992 MTB?

Thanks!
 
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bike shop mechanic hat on:-

not a fan of jagwire, they're ok-ish, had some issues a while back before i had my own shop, OE jagwire cables where the gears kept going out, as if the inner wire was stretching constantly, turned out it was a lack of stiffness in the outer cable meaning that as the cable gets pulled the outer was compressing enough that the gears wouldn't shift properly, especially at the back going up to first or second gear.

also, the cheap inners won't be stainless.

so if you're gonna buy jagwire, aim for the better quality versions with ideally stainless inner cables.

the brand i use in the shop is either Halt cable inner/outer or Elvedes inner/outer, all have stainless inners, and the outer is properly lined. for example for £7 retail you would get an inner cable and enough outer for the length of the inner, plus all the end caps for inner/outer, i have them in both brake and gear options, sometimes there is enough outer cable that means on some bikes you can use one £7 brake or gear pack and add one other inner cable and you can do the whole brake or gear system, just depends on how long each outer needs to be, so worst case £28 gets you all the cables you need front and rear, gear and brake, but quite often it's just £20 as you buy 1 brakes worth and one gears worth then just one gear inner and one brake inner at £3 each.

i've been using them for ages in the shop with no dramas.

that said, when it comes to shimano road i always use a genuine shimano stainless gear inner, as some generic cables have a smaller head which can pop out of the shifter where the head sits, using the proper cable stops this but they are £8 just for the inner! hence only using them where appropriate.


basic rule though, buy quality cables, makes a big difference to the smoothness of the shift, makes the lever feel nicer under load and they ladt longer.

:)
 
Same as Jonnyboy666, mid-high end jagwire or shimano (stainless as a minimum).
Usually keep an eye on the big mail order places and buy a few when they are on sale :D

used a complete cheapy jagwire set on my training bike when i switched groupset (inners/outers for brakes and gears) had to swap the front brake and the rear mech cable after the first ride as i wanted at least one functioning brake and the rear gears were unuseable.......
 
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High quality Jagwire and Shimano do the trick. Worth the extra for durability, no one wants to keep replacing cables and outers every 12 months.
 
Re: Re:

al-onestare":2fa7n3nb said:
...no one wants to keep replacing cables and outers every 12 months.

:lol: I'm lucky if any of my build last that long before I change something on them, or change the bike completely and need new cables :facepalm:

But the Jagwire CEX/LEX kits on Ebay seem decent and last a while in my experience.
If I was doing a top level dream bike build I'd probably go with Genuine Shimano.
The Gore-Tex "Ride-On" kits used to last forever....
 
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