Mountain Biking - break cables

if I were to get Avid Mechanical Disks, what should I order for cables?

Avid Flak Jacket - kind of poor reviews at mtbr.

Gore Ride-On Cables - deacent mtbr reviews.

Avid Full metal Jacket - What happens to that nice metal housing in a crash?

Cheap shimano cable - cable is cable, buy the cheap stuff.

somthing else - suggestions welcome.

If I might piggyback on that question: last night I was at Target and someone had an independent fabrications ss mtb locked up outside... it had metal brake housing - which I've seen - the gooseneck kind of stuff... but what really intrigued me was that he had a metal adapter out of the brake lever that allowed the brake cable to do a 90 degree turn right out of the handle... anyone seen this before?? the 90 degree's was all fully enclosed in a metal barrel os sorts - like a 90 degree coax connector kind of dealie.

ps - here's another option for you: http://www.cambriabike.com/brakes/ird_metawire_brake_cableset.htm

if I were to get Avid Mechanical Disks, what should I order for cables?

Avid Flak Jacket - kind of poor reviews at mtbr.

Gore Ride-On Cables - deacent mtbr reviews.

Avid Full metal Jacket - What happens to that nice metal housing in a crash?

Cheap shimano cable - cable is cable, buy the cheap stuff.

somthing else - suggestions welcome.

I have the Avid mechanicals on my Bianchi SISS. I also contemplated the Flak Jacket, Full Metal Jacket and some others. I eliminated the Flak Jacket after reading the reviews on mtbreview.com. The reason I considered one of these fancy cables is that I wanted the brakes to feel more like hydraulics without having to worry about changing/cleaning/lubing the cables all the time. I will be riding this bike through winter and a muddy spring, and didn't want the maintenance.

In the end (and after riding a true hydraulic), I've decided to just get a set of the Hayes hydraulics, as I have a buyer for my Avids, and the cost will be about the same as the cost of the fancy cables.

Good luck, and let the group know which way you go!

Go with the Metawire from Interloc Racing Design. Performance is superb and plus it looks hella sweet. There's a dude on ebay that usually has some for sale for $30. The cheapest online store I found that sold them was Keith's Triathlon for about $28 but with shipping ebay was a bit cheaper for me.
http://pic6.picturetrail.com/VOL181/1457439/2981208/41342825.jpg
I've shortened up the front brake cable since this photo so it's not quite as loopy. I've found the brakes perform better the shorter the cable is.

I have been confounded with the poor reviews of Flak Jackets on MTBR, and I've been using and building bikes with Flaks for quite some time. I particularly like the Flak set and find it to be easy to install well and very durable.

On my lastest build, involving Avid CPS brakes, I used the Full Metal Jacket kit for the front brake, but couldn't find a good routing for the steel tubing on the rear of a small Blur. It's easy to install, but I remain concerned about what will happen to it in a bad crash, ie will it kink or crush where a housing would not.

i say go with the cheap shimano cable housing. it always worked well for me and lots of other people.

or get some hope mini's, cuz they kick ass and you wont need to decide what cable housing to get.

Personally, I'd get BRAKE cables. Those BREAK cables reliability just isn't what it should be....

I use Flak jackets... they're slick as hell, and indestructable. Brake cables are brake cables... just don't break them and you'll be good.

I'm running the Gore Ride on cables with no complaints.

I think Im leaning towards the gore cables... I can get them in colors too.

If you wanna spend a little extra, check out the goodridge brake lines. They are more expensive but from what Ive heard, they are worth it for their increased breaking power and modulation. Im gonna check them out here pretty soon myself.

arnt those hydrolic lines though?

Yeah :eek: My bad, they are hydraulics. Guess I didnt notice you had mechs. Well anyway...

Cheapie cable housing with stainless steel cables is all I use and they are fine.

I like the nokon cables, the IRD metawires are a copy, probably similar in performance but I did talk to a guy who has had a set of both and he felt that the Nokon's were of much higher quality.

These cables are signifigantly better than regular cables and transmit more power to the disc, but whether that's worth the extra money or not depends on your needs.

I bought the Flak Jackets when I converted to avids and have had no problem. The only advice I received was to run them full length with no breaks in the housing so you dont have to worry about dirt contaminating them. So far, so good. They still feel as free as the day I installed them. I did alter the adapters on the frame where the previous tabs were for the break in the housing. I just drilled them out so the housing would slip through them and just wrapped a bit of black tape behind them to hold them in place to route through the tabs. I didnt want zip ties wrapped all over, so this seemed to be a good method. It works, so no complaints.

I used to ride with Gore Ride On cables but they seem to have gone out of business. Tried the Flak Jackets and they didn't work very well, too many sealing joints that leaked and let water and dirt get into the system.

I bought a sealed brake and derailleur cable set from Dry Cables last year and they are working very well for me. Still buttery smooth after a full 12 months of riding. You may want to check them out. www.drycables.com

Bill

I like my Flak Jackets