Which inner cables remain smooth for a long time?

[alcatraz]

Hi ww's. I don't know if this has been covered before.

I'd just like to know what you have found needs less maintenance and provides smoother shifting for a longer time.

There are two kinds of setups in mind.

1. Cable and housing come as a system and should be matched regardless of weight penalty. Shimano SP41 and SUS cables ftw, or similar you might say.

2. I already have a housing I like that is light. I'm looking for the best(ish) possible cable for that housing.


Some people treat cables/housings like dirty clothes and just replace them yearly but what if you're running more expensive kind or have really annoying complicated internal routing that you'd just prefer to spend as long a time as possible from having to deal with.

What's best for longevity?

Some say coated cables are crap because it falls off and clogs the liners. (I've recently used noname teflon cables and got maybe one year out of them before they started to feel grippy).

Looking at shimano I see even ultegra and "105" sil-tec level cables are both coated. Only two aren't and it seems to be duraace and standard SUS stainless (which is one step over the simplest).

It appears that both duraace and sus have the polishing done but duraace more so than sus. Price is around 6 times more for duraace.

The only place where I'd run a special cable is the rear derailleur and maybe the rear brake. Those cables can sometimes be reused and cut down at the next change to fit the front brake/derailleur and so you have a matching set.

What are your thoughts about all this? The topic is smoothness+longevity.

(I'm leaning towards using stainless polished but not duraace level cables = shimano sus together with my favorite noname light housing for my next build)

[alcatraz]

Ok short post version is: What are your favorite cables?

/a

[tanghy]

The gores with full sleeves have been good but are hard to find now


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[Jugi]

Powercordz and Jagwire Elite link housings have been very durable for me. I think I have used Jagwire's and SRAM's black cables with very good results.

As the housings made of aluminum links will be much easier to bend, they can be built into much smaller loops than traditional housing. It is a bit counter-intuitive that cables well have a longer lifespan in those tighter bends, but that is my experience.

[ome rodriguez]

Jagwire ultra-slick, uncoated cables hands down.

[pdlpsher1]

Any cable other than Shimano’s polymer coated cable.


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[MagicShite]

optislick and sp41

I absolutely HATE the duraace polymer crap.

They fray like hell even on first installation.

Optislick on the other hand is pure LOVE.

[alcatraz]

How long has optislick been on the market?

Is there any experience with longevity of these optislick?

Coated cables have failed before, don't you think it will happen again?

I have to say I like that there are many choices out there though

Cheers /a

[alcatraz]

Grease or not grease uncoated cables?

I read low viscosity synthetic greases are ok. What's a common one that's easy to find? I can't think of one... lack of imagination.

/a

[ergott]

Grease or not grease uncoated cables?

I read low viscosity synthetic greases are ok. What's a common one that's easy to find? I can't think of one... lack of imagination.

/a

I ususally just use a thin coating of wet chain lube.

[Marin]

Inners: Optislick + a small amount of Shimano cable grease.

Outers - any: Shimano, Sram, Jagwire

[ms6073]

Ok short post version is: What are your favorite cables?

Di2. Install and forget.

[bremerradkurier]

Yokozuna cables are very smooth and uncoated.

[alcatraz]

Inners: Optislick + a small amount of Shimano cable grease.

Outers - any: Shimano, Sram, Jagwire

Can you describe this grease a bit? Is it low viscosity? Odor? What do you think it is?

Thanks

[pdlpsher1]

Ok short post version is: What are your favorite cables?

Di2. Install and forget.

You have electrically operated brakes too? And please don’t tell me you have disk brakes.