Revival of the old 'which cable housing to use' question

[Natedogg]

Since Im a dumb***, I couldnt remember which housing to use for what. Thanks to the handy dandy search, I found what I was looking for here (http://www.ridemonkey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=110568&highlight=housing)

To summarize (and please correct me if Im wrong):
Derailluer housing is either 4mm or 5mm
Brake housing is 5mm

Derailluer housing is constructed of steel wires that run parallel to the length of the housing
Brake housing is constructed of coiled steel

Derailluer housing is compressionless for quick, crisp shifting
Brake housing can compress, which helps brake modulation

Derailluer cables are typically 1.1 or 1.2mm
Brake cables are typically 1.5 or 1.6mm


Things Im not clear about:
There are different diameter derailluer housings; 4mm and 5mm. Why the different diameters, and which to use?

Why the different cable diameters? Would using a 1.1mm der cable in a 5mm der housing be better (as mentioned in the 2005 post) because it would have less resistence?

Are shift cables and derailluer cables built the same (ie., are they wound the same, or like housing, are they built different)?

What are they materials that derailluer cables are made of? Is it all just steel? The more expensive ones being stainless, and more expensive yet just having a thin coating (such as teflon) of a slick material?

To lube or not to lube... Ive always thought lubing the cables is a good idea. I refuse to run full-length housing after my experience with my FSR DH, and I find that shift cables seem to shift better after I apply lube to the areas where they disappear into the housing. But some people say not to, and Sheldon Brown mentions on his website that most companies do not reccomend lubing cables?

Are there significant benefits to other types of housing and cables, such as Jagwire, Rideon, FlakJackets, XTR etc, and are they really worth the extra lootcakes? Or is a properly set up system of low-end cables and housing going to work just fine for maybe slightly less longer than the high-end stuff?

Last... where to find the best deal on housing and/or cables. My LBSs charge between $2 and $3 per foot for housing, so I cant understand the dudes in that 2005 post saying that they got a roll of it for $10 with a bunch of ferrules and crimpers? Where do you get that stuf bulk? I worked in a shop for awhile and the owner had little bottles full of ferrules--I want some of those!

Sorry for the long post... :nopity:

[Spunger]

Well the little ferrules aren't bad to get a few of. I just get whatever the shop has or you could get an entire bottle off of ebay for $10 for hundreds of them.

I had one bike with the Avid stuff (flakjack) I think? The other 2 bikes I built have the regular whatever the shop has black cable. I notice no difference. I didn't lube them because I know that lube attracts dirt and dust, and so far my cables are nice and clean. Shifts crisp, and hasn't let me down yet.

I never knew there was a difference between derail cables and shifter cables, I thought they were all the same? Every one I've seen is wound tightly. Housing is 4mm if I'm correct (again the same).

I've gotten 1.1 and 1.2mm cables and used 4mm housing and it's worked fine. I'd just stick with that combo (or whatever for you works) and use it!

I don't get too carried away with cables. I just buy some of it, cut, put ends on it, and dial in all the shifting and such. I don't have full length cable on my FSR bike but almost and it works fine. My other bikes have it cut where it's suspose to be and it too works fine.

Hope that helped some.......LOL

[Wumpus]

I never knew there was a difference between derail cables and shifter cables, I thought they were all the same? Every one I've seen is wound tightly. Housing is 4mm if I'm correct (again the same).



Brake cable is spiral wound and derailleur/shifter cable has straight wires running parallel to the the housing. Using shifter cable for brake cable is not good because the forrces can crack the housing and then you have no brakes. The brake housing flexes(compresses) a little more and isn't as precise for indexed shifting.

I run full length housing for shifters so I use the 5mm housing to give just a little more room for the bends. Don't know if it really helps that much.

As far as shifter and brake cables they are the same. They make some universal cables that have shifter stops on one end and a brake stop on the other.

Your bike shop is ripping you off on housing. Shouldn't be more than a $1 a foot which I think is still a rip.

[Spunger]

Your bike shop is ripping you off on housing. Shouldn't be more than a $1 a foot which I think is still a rip.

That's why when I order something online I try to think if I'll need any or not and just get it at the same time. Even our LBS charges about that ($6 or so for 5ft and 8 cable ferrules). The ferrules I see all the time on Ebay for cheap and if you have many bikes (3 or more) and do your own maintaince just buying a whole thing of it isn't a bad deal.

$1-2 per foot of housing is what I've seen in Socal. But anything of that and you're being ripped off. Hell you can get a whole set of cables and housing for $20 or so. That's for both front and rear derail cables, housing, ferrules, and anything else to setup a shifting system.

[BuddhaRoadkill]

Save a couple bucks and go BMX for brakes. LBS should have some of this (http://www.empire.co.za/odyssey/slickcable.html) stuff. 5' of cable/housing/ferruls for $3.

[Raacerx]

depending on how picky you are, the ultimate is XTR 4mm housing paired with a thin non-slick non-coated derailleur cable and Shimano's white cable lube (its a lithium grease or something, similar to Campy's). If you need to run full length housing, after much experiement at our shop we have found this to be the best. For interupted cabling...I generally feel your screwed in the end because regardless of whether you use lube or no lube, your going to get dirt in there.

With that said, Ive found this makes more of a difference on Shimano then SRAM, possibly because of the different in spring tension.

I would definitely stay away from Avid Flak Jacket and any of the cables that are coated with anything. They tend to flake off and inhibit shifting and dont work well with most easily obtainable lubes.

PS. Although it may be obvious and mentioned, aluminum ferrules save weight (I may be a downhiller but Im weight conscious) and most specifically, they wont bend or break open like steel or plastic.