Classic & Vintage - Bulk Brake/Shifter Cables

How and where do y'all get your brake and shifter wires?

I feel pretty ripped off spending 20 bux for a set of 4 inners (2 brake, 2 shifter) and 12 feet of housing from my LBS everytime I want to replace the cables on a bike. I know where to find housing at a reasonable price, Where can I go to stock up on inner wires?

Also whats the advantage to Stainless Steel wires? less prone to rust?

I usually buy the inline brand stuff from niagaracycle.com You can buy housing by the box or they sell individual sets. 1 lined housing with inner cable costs about $2.50.

They carry those in 'lined' and not 'lined'. Lined is a buck cheaper. Whats it lined with and why does that make it cheaper?

As far as the price difference, look at the brand name first. Niagara sells a couple of different private label brands (Inline and Pyramid), and you can see odd price differences on similar parts.

I also buy two different cables from them. The basic steel cables are about 70 cents each and the stainless cables are about $1.60.

Also look at the Niagara deal on Shimano SIS housings right now. Box of 50 for $10.59.

Niagara pricing can change quickly.

For a quick flip that I am going to sell I usually just go to Wal-mart and get the complete set made by BELL for $5.88, but its only available in black.

Dicks Sporting goods and Walmart.

I buy the Bell cable set from Walmart for the inner wires only and trash the unlined housing. You cant beat 4 cables for $6. I buy individual cables from Dicks as needed because they have lined housing. In most instances the housing of a single cable is long enough for both the front and rear brakes. $2.99 for a Dicks cable w/ lined housing plus $1.50 for a WalMart inner wire.

You cant beat $4.50 for 2 lined brakes cables.

I got my best price for cables and housing at Niagara. I got a 50-foot length of housing very cheap. The prices on brake shoes look good. I think the best prices on Kool Stop shoes is at Harris Cyclery. Harris is nice because the shipping charge always seems to be $8.50, and they ship quickly. Sometimes the stuff arrives in less than 24 hours. Niagara can take over a week. Plus Harris is Harris, as you know.

The key if you really plan to flip a decent number of bikes is buy in bulk. Buy at least 25ft or better yet 50m rolls of housing and boxes of 100 cables. Cables come in three flavors: Galvanized, galvanized slick, and stainless steel slick. Those are in order of price from lowest to highest. A box of the cheap cables can be found for as little as $50 for 100 cables. The nicer cables are going to run $100+ for a box. With buying in that much bulk of 100 shift and 100 brake (plus maybe 100 MTB brake) cables, and rolls of shift and derailleur housing it does add up fast. But, in the long run it is much cheaper.

I cheat on price because I work at a LBS so I get my stuff at a big shop discount. But, I would look at Niagara and Bike Tools etc. (http://www.biketoolsetc.com) for the best deals.