Weight Weenies

I recently picked up a set of Jagwire elite link brake cables, and i found that along with the links/liner, they give you 2 sections of conventional cable housing, which the instructions indicate should be used under the bar tape and into the shifters.

Since the entire reason for buying the links is that they weigh less by half and are more flexible, it seems strange to me to use the heavy, stiff conventional cable on the tightest bend on the bike. I decided to try wiring it up using the links and liner all the way into the shifter, and it seems to work fine. Just wondering if anyone else is using it this way, or if there is a good reason why the standard housing is recommended here, before i go ahead and wrap the bars. Anyone have any thoughts?

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I've run the links all the way to the shifters on my gear cables. I've had no issues with it. (I have hydraulic disk brakes so no brake cables.)

CallumRD1 wrote:I've run the links all the way to the shifters on my gear cables. I've had no issues with it. (I have hydraulic disk brakes so no brake cables.)

Great, thanks for the feedback!

Those cables look really good! Can't wait to try some when mine wear out.
Are you using the elite link shift cables? If so will you use a barrel adjuster for the front derailleur?

JScycle wrote:Those cables look really good! Can't wait to try some when mine wear out.
Are you using the elite link shift cables? If so will you use a barrel adjuster for the front derailleur?

Yeah i have to say, they are really nice!

I'm running etap, so no shift cables.

Sorry my mistake. Do the brakes feel noticeably smoother?

I also have the same set you have and love them as well... I'm using the plastic housing around the bends as my previous experience with aican's resulted in an epic failure as the cables didn't property retract once pulled. I think it has to do with the bends as my bars (Schmolke) may be tighter than others.

jimaizumi wrote:I also have the same set you have and love them as well... I'm using the plastic housing around the bends as my previous experience with aican's resulted in an epic failure as the cables didn't property retract once pulled. I think it has to do with the bends as my bars (Schmolke) may be tighter than others.

Do you run the liner through the whole frame or do you just leave a bare cable inside. I know different people do different things.

I had the Jagwire Elite links fitted to my new Colnago V2-R with Dura Ace 9100.
They certainly look really good, and with the inner liner pre-lubed shifting and braking feel really smooth.
I used the standard housing as the links rattled inside the bars (internal routing)
They were pretty easy to fit and I have heaps of spare liner and links.



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I was told the cable can bind on the sharp bends if you use the links the entire length, so they provide some standard cable for under the tape.

I figured I can afford the few extra grams.

JScycle wrote:

jimaizumi wrote:I also have the same set you have and love them as well... I'm using the plastic housing around the bends as my previous experience with aican's resulted in an epic failure as the cables didn't property retract once pulled. I think it has to do with the bends as my bars (Schmolke) may be tighter than others.

Do you run the liner through the whole frame or do you just leave a bare cable inside. I know different people do different things.

I actually don't have any real reasons to run the liner through my entire frame (C60) as I'm running ETAP. The only area that I could potentially do such a thing would be for the rear brake cable which enters and exits the top tube. I'm actually contemplating this when I have to redo my cables but this would probably need some handy work as the endcaps are only wide enough to pass the cables through and not the entire width of the liner.

My bike (2015 Felt F3X cross bike, Ultegra 6800 mechanical groupset, RS685 shifters) has external cable routing so I run full length inners all the way to the detailers with the aluminum links from the shifters to the down tube cable stops and from the chain stay cable stop to the rear derailleur. This has kept my shifting extremely smooth for the 4000 miles since I installed it, including many miles commuting in wet and snowy conditions.

JScycle wrote:Those cables look really good! Can't wait to try some when mine wear out.
Are you using the elite link shift cables? If so will you use a barrel adjuster for the front derailleur?

On my Synapse, I use the barrel adjusters for FD and RD. My CAAD uses eTap.

One thing though when sizing the length of the link, Jagwire video says to pattern the length of the link with the original length of the wires you are replacing. I did exactly that on my Synapse (factory installed cables) and after the fact, it looked too long and could have probably trimmed a couple of more links with the new Jagwire cabling. Maybe the original cabling was a little long but really did not notice it because it was black while the elite cables I installed was blue.

It looks really nice though when all is said and done.

I am thinking that maybe one reason to have traditional cable under the bartape is to avoid corrosion. Could that be? It is known that when riding the trainer indoors (but not limited to that) a lot of sweat accumulates under the bartape and it is even recommended to replace the bartape and clean the bars up once in a while if you sweat a lot. Perhaps this could cause the aluminum ferrules to corrode?

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The aluminum links are anodized, so they shouldn't corrode unless you manage to scratch off the anodization.