I am considering purchasing a set of Nokon Konkavex cables. I want to use them with a Time Trial handlebar (Deda black or equivalent) with my Campagnola Ergo Shifters. In past Time Trial setups I have found the cables are very messy around the handpositions on Time Trial bars when used with standard Campagnola brake levers. The Kondavex cables are much more flexible then standard cables. Will using them with the Time Trial bars and Ergo Shifter/brake levers allow the cables to be cleaner and hence more comfortable for the hands then using the standard cables or should I just give in and use a Time Trial set of brake levers (syntace or equivalent) and bar end shifters?

I think for time trial you better use bar end shifters, then you can change gears with your hands in the aero position. You still have the choice for using Nokon cables. They are good, but you can have problems with the shift cable. Many pros use the Nokons for braking and the Campagnolo housings for shifting - the weight difference for the shift housings is almost nothing.

Joel, I was thinking of upgrading to konkavex cables for this coming season. I use campag on my RR bike and thought with some of the tighter cable turns (compared to shimano) that the nokon system might be better. Could you explain what probelms you get with nokon shift cables? why do the pro's only use nokon for braking?

thanks, doozer

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First of all the weight difference is almost nothing for the shift housings.
The Nokon housings have to be oiled much to work good. After a while it won't work that smooth

Joel, Do you know that the nokons work with a liner. Because of that the cables won't get dirty.

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I think Joel is refering to the problem with the metal links against the plastic housing. If you don't lube the actual links they don't move freely and don't shift as well. Not to mention there noisy as hell!

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bill, you may also want to check out the metawire cables offered by interloc racing. they are almost a carbon copy of the nokons, but at a significant saving.

http://www.interlocracing.com

I use the IRD Metawire cables for both shifting and the brakes (very similar to nokons). They are a major pain to install compared to standard cables. The upside is that it is a completely sealed system, the weight savings is negligible (maybe 10g). They look cool. Eventually they will get wet and gritty if you ride in all conditions and they start to squeek (for lack of a better word). The squeeking is the outer aluminum connectors under tension basically and occurs when you turn your bars. When I first heard it I thought my stem was loose or something. A little wd40 and a cloth with solve the problem. If I did it over again, I'd only use the cables for the brakes and use standard campy cables for the shifters.

i'm about to try out the new jagwire ultra-light cable housings. no beads. there was a topic on this recently on mtbr - cable housing weight. i believe over a 1 meter length the jagwires were 5gm heavier than the nokons, but i'd pay a 5gm penalty lol for the convenience of an easy install, and no creaking

From my experience GORE TEX ULTRALIGHT is the most flexible cable.
Its have fiber optic coil instade of metal. and abit lighter than NOKON

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The german TOUR magazine tested many shifting cables/housings:
The Gore ultralight are the lightest (24g/m) and the Dura Ace (32,8g/m) have the best performance.