Originally Posted by
Kontact
The size of the cable stops on bikes hasn't changed. If you have 4mm housing it goes with thick walled ferrules to make the same outer diameter as 5mm housing with thin walled ferrules.
The OP probably has some correct by slightly sloppy fitting ferrules. Unless they are so loose that you could put 5mm brake housing into them, they are just fine - ferrules don't have to do anything more than cup the end of the housing. They do not need to fit tightly around the housing.
I prefer short, slightly loose metal ferrules to tight fitting long plastic ones. But both work.
You're seem right about the sizing...fairly certain the frame stops will work with 4 or 5 mm housing/ferrules.
I checked an old set of Ultegra 6600 shifters, currently off a bike... They mic out to having a 5.9mm port where the shifter cable/housing and ferrule fit.
As for newer model mechanical shifters where the housing exits alongside the bar - I dont have any off-bike at the moment, so nothing to measure, so can't really assume compatibility with 4 and 5.
So you could use either 4 mm or 5mm Shifter housing... Seems as though all the newer supplied shifter cable housing is 4mm...
Personally I also prefer the metal ferrules - most of the shops around here don;t seem to have metal for 4mm housing - only the plastic ones.
OP, if the housing you have will fit into either ferrule type, then you decide which you'll wish to use.
Ride On
Yuri