What are the best shifter cables on the market for mountain bikes ?
February 7, 2011 by pbik
Filed under Mountain bikes
what would be a good shifter cable for a couple sram x0 shifters
and what are good hydraulic brake lines for bikes?
thank for any help
Hydraulic lines? Good luck. Last time I heard about hydraulic lines on a bicycle, the thing leaked hydraulic fluid, and the cyclist was forced to mop the velodrome track.
For your hydraulic lines, you’re fine with stock lines. The length of the line isnt really long enough or under enough pressure to really make steel braided a necessity but, Goodrige and Hope both make steel braided hose kits.
For your shifter cables, Nokon are the very best around. They’re fully sealed, fully compressionless, and can run tighter bends than regular cables. I run them on all my bikes and can say from experience that they work great with X0 & XTR… The fully sealed housing is awesome too if you ever ride in the muck.
Yep…the Nokon and Yokohama cables are pretty sweet. They’re expensive, though, but they do seem to last better and stay smooth longer. Plus, you can just replace the liner when needed rather than having to replace the entire housing system. The cables themselves will last through several liners.
If you don’t want to spend the money on the high zoot stuff, then just pick up some high quality drawn stainless cables and a good housing like the Jagwire Hyper or something similar (XTR, etc). Good cables are smoother because they are drawn after being twisted, giving them a flattened, slick surface which glides easily through teflon liners and doesn’t wear them out as quickly. Stainless is the way to go. Cheaper cables (even the ones that are teflon coated) have a slightly rougher surface….they still work pretty well, just not for quite as long before wearing out the housing. Every teflon coated cable I’ve ever used (all prices and brands) has lost the teflon coating within a few months….then it provides a little drag, especially if you use grease or oil in the housing. The generic ultra-cheap zinc galvanized cables are just junk…not worth the time to install them because they have so much more drag and wear out the housing liner very fast.
I’m a big fan of cable maintenance, especially if you have your bike in the rain or sloppy conditions. It only takes a few minutes, but it does require that you know how to adjust your derailleurs properly. Running “sealed” systems still won’t keep out all the moisture and muck, and running full length housing just creates more drag even with good quality systems. A simple removal and wiping of the cables goes a long way to keeping them running smooth longer. I replace my housing once or twice a year depending on the conditions it’s seen…you can buy it in 25′ lengths much cheaper and just reuse your cables a few times.
Hydraulic lines are all pretty good…..if you find yourself ripping them apart, then invest in the Goodridge lines which will handle a lot of abuse. Otherwise, the lightweight plastic lines are just fine for the majority of people.