Bicycle Mechanics - Replacement brake & shifter cables: which to buy?

My Windsor Tourist has nearly 2000 miles on it. The cables all around are starting to fray and stretch. Time for an over haul. Since most of my LBS's have lousy customer service I was gonna order online. But I found that there can be various sizes when it comes to road bike shifter cables. How do I know what size to get?

I see one shop has a Shimano 10-speed replacement kit. Since I have Shimano 8-speed, would this work just as well? I take it that brake cables seem to be universal as long as I stick with road bike cables, correct?

Thanks in advance.

Get the universal gear cable sets with housing. They are a good value for a home mechanic. These are easily available from most online retailers. I recommend a good set of cable cutters and diagonal cutters. Some mechanics like using a rotary cutter to get a nice finish to the housing end.

Get the universal gear cable sets with housing. They are a good value for a home mechanic. These are easily available from most online retailers. I recommend a good set of cable cutters and diagonal cutters. Some mechanics like using a rotary cutter to get a nice finish to the housing end.

I like my fake Harbor Freight dremel for cables.

Cost me like six bucks, I'm sure it wouldn't hold up for a professional mechanic but it'll work for a shade tree kinda guy.

Get the universal gear cable sets with housing. They are a good value for a home mechanic. These are easily available from most online retailers. I recommend a good set of cable cutters and diagonal cutters. Some mechanics like using a rotary cutter to get a nice finish to the housing end.
There's a cheap one that uses regular housing (most know it as brake housing) for shifting. For best (read: reasonable) performance with indexed shifters, use compressionless housing for shifting.

WHat is it, so folks can avoid it.

Brake cable compress, so they have a flat piece spiraled throughout the housing.

Shifter cable looks like a loaded revolver, you see the ends of the wire when you cut it.

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRWQlRvKxLkrqP1SyXW7beQm0CeaD_k6pLYIRRWzRuaug9R8UGM


Tom.

WHat is it, so folks can avoid it.
If I knew, I would've said it. I'm pretty sure it's the Bell one.

"Jagwire Racer" set is all you need. Works with all 7-10 speed indexed shifters and the brake cable housing is made a little different to give a more positive and firm feel. Functions at least as well and lasts longer than the Shimano Dura-Ace set, cheaper and comes with ferrules, rubber o-rings and rubber frame protectors. Shop around and you can get a complete set for around $35. http://www.treefortbikes.com/product/333222344948/739/Jagwire-Racer-Complete-Road.html and http://www.ebikestop.com/cable_and_housing_set_brake__derailleur_cable_housing_sets))404.php

Why not try the $5.00-$7.00 Bell kit from Walmart or Ace Hardware? Then if you don't like it, you can upgrade. It only takes 30-45 minutes to do a nice neat job on cable changing. It's better than 1/2 the cables I remove from low end bikes.

Why not try the $5.00-$7.00 Bell kit from Walmart or Ace Hardware?

Noooo......:crash:

Don't buy those low-end Bell kits. Waste of money. The ones I have seen use unlined cable, and use the same, non-SIS cable for both brake and shifting. For an eight-speed bike, the OP really needs derailleur cable, not brake cable.

I tend to buy this stuff (http://www.jensonusa.com/Jagwire-Racer-Diy-Road-Cable-Kit). Not the cheapest, but it's got all the bits and bobs I need and it works pretty well. It is easier to go a lot cheaper and still get decent stuff though.

The good news is that with 8spd you don't need hardcore shift housing; any old compressionless stuff should work.

The skinny stuff that worked fine for 8spd was no good when I went to 9spd, though - had to swap it out for the beefy Jagwire housing.

The shorter cable pull per shift of 9 & 10spd is like a quieter signal in the noise of housing compression and cable friction. It's a stupid signal-to-noise ratio.