Chombi1 

Doing a build right now and cannot decide whether to just use regular twisted brake and shifter cables or try to find and spend more on braided cables (which I cannot find at the LBS's) that the PO had on the bike originally.
Are the braided cables better in any way. The shifters cables run under the bottom bracket without any plastic cable guide (right on the paint). Will the braided cables not cut into the paint as much as the twisted ones. The LBS noted that the new twisted cables are run through a sort of mandrel that smoothes them to minimized friction, and I noticed that they do feel slicker that what I remember the old ones to be, but are they smooth enough that I won't have to worry about the paint under the BB??

JohnDThompson 

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the paint being worn by the cables, but if it bothers you, either run a plastic cable guide or use a couple pieces of cable liner. Often you can use a pliers to pull the liner out of a piece of cable housing, otherwise Jagwire and others sell the liner separately. Ten bucks can get you a lifetime supply, e.g.:



Jagwire Speed Lube Liner, Ultra Slick Lubricant Enhances Performance, Brake 2pcs | eBay

Andrew R Stewart 

Well is smooth surface cables are your goal then redrawn modern are your holy grails. And metal cable, no matter how smooth, will erode paint in short order. And this isn't a bad thing is regular maintenance is done. Millions of classic above BB shift cable guides have had billions of shifts done with very few every failing due to cable wear.


Cable "liner" can and does drift WRT the frame. So don't expect it to stay in place without periodic checking. The pictured liner is meant to run in a full length casing. Note the flaired end to capture the liner at the lever stop. Not that many don't cut short lengths to try to avoid paint wear. (See starting statement here) Andy

Chombi1 

I do remember trying the short length of liner trick for my ALAN's BB she'll when I built it up a few years ago, and the liners did drift out of place after a number of shifts. Cut them off the cables and did not bother putting on replacements as there is no paint to worry about on the clear anodized BB shell on that bike.
I think I'll give it another shot on this current build anyway.....

FBinNY 

What many call "braided " cables aren't braided at all.

They're what's called in the trade "wire rope".

Go find a bunch of pennies before continuing with this post.

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A basic cable is typically made of layers wires with one in the center, and layers wound around that spiraling in opposite directions. To get an idea, take a penny and arrange 6 around it to make a hexagon, then another 2 around that filling the gaps, and you'll have the cross section of a typical 1x19 cable. the cable can be made larger by adding layers.

Wire uses cables in lieu of individual wire strands and arranges them in a similar, so there might be one 7 strand bundle in the middle and 6 more around that, and so on, ie. 7x7 or 19x19, or any combinations of cables arranged this way.



The advantage of the rope construction is that it's more supple, and more resistant to fraying when wound around drums or pulleys. This is why wire rope is used for things like elevator cables.

OTOH, wire rope can be a bit stretchy, so basic single strand cable (1x7, 1x19, etc.) is preferred for static applications like the wire stays on sailboats.

On a bike, we don't run the cables over a drum, so the stiffer 1x? construction is preferred, especially for index controls where give in the cable could be a problem. Likewise for brakes because wire rope can cause a spongy feel.

So the rule is, static applications, and those carrying high loads call for 1x? construction, while moving cables especially with lots of bends call for the more supple rope construction.

Chombi1 

Thanks for the clarification, FB,
I guess I will go for the 1X "regular" wound cables, as the derailleurs are 1st gen Chorus, with.......drum roll.......the very notoriously hard to set up, 1st gen, "Syncro" indexed shifters!