Weight Weenies

This may be completely normal, I don't know, but my front brake levers are super smooth when I pull them. The rear lever has some resistance feel to it, nowhere near as smooth. Is this purely due to internal routing of the 2016 Specialized Tarmac? Or should the feel be the same no matter which lever is pulled?

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Hey it's the same for me, with external routed cables. Maybe more cable, more ferrules on the rear means more friction?

What cable/housing are you running? That matters more than whether internal or external.

mvcap wrote:This may be completely normal, I don't know, but my front brake levers are super smooth when I pull them. The rear lever has some resistance feel to it, nowhere near as smooth. Is this purely due to internal routing of the 2016 Specialized Tarmac? Or should the feel be the same no matter which lever is pulled?

I had the same thing on my 6800s idk why that is I think they may for that on purpose but idk I switched to TRP brakes.

More cable inner and outer = more friction.


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Makes sense on more cable, ferrules, etc. This is just the stock housing from Specialized. Thanks for weighing in, I appreciate it!

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Did you build this bike or are you using the brake cables and housing that came with a bike? Have you looked at Dura Ace polymer-coated cable set?

Didn't build, all stock. Haven't tried DA cables, you recommend them to alleviate this?

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You can start with basic troubleshooting. Pull cables and housing and run it externally for testing purposes. Ride around for few minutes. If the brake feel doesn't change then upgrade to polymer-coated housing and cable.

Thx mpulsiv!

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A little more drag is normal for the longer cable, but it should be just as smooth, at least my Tarmac is. Make sure you're using nosed ferrules at the cable stops where it passes through the frame, they make a difference. Also, a light smear of Shimano's cable specific grease at the point the cables bend under the bars helps too.

rcb78 wrote:A little more drag is normal for the longer cable, but it should be just as smooth, at least my Tarmac is. Make sure you're using nosed ferrules at the cable stops where it passes through the frame, they make a difference. Also, a light smear of Shimano's cable specific grease at the point the cables bend under the bars helps too.

Thanks for this, it just has more of a grindy/grit/rough feel to it so maybe the grease would help as well.

The 'grit' feeling is almost always the individual strands of cable rubbing across either a ferrule, poorly cut housing end, or something along those lines. You just need to track down the offending bit and correct it.

Sorry mpulsiv but those coated Shimano cables are crap. The coating flakes off and gunks up the outers, simple stainless with slick honey is much more reliable.


This was from simply removing a brand new cable out of a liner on a set of pre cabled bars/shifters before assembling a bike.

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Nefarious86 wrote:Sorry mpulsiv but those coated Shimano cables are crap. The coating flakes off and gunks up the outers, simple stainless with slick honey is much more reliable.


This was from simply removing a brand new cable out of a liner on a set of pre cabled bars/shifters before assembling a bike.

I'm not promoting any cables/housings. Which Shimano cables are those? What's the Shimano part #? They make standard, PTFE and Polymer.