Just received my Dura Ace 9150 groupset with grey cable housing. I would like to replace them with black though not sure if the SP41 is the same housing for the shifters as the brake cables. Can someone confirm? Thanks!

You dont have to buy just Shimano branded housing , aftermarket black housing is sold by the foot at Bike Shops.

shift housing is a low compression linear bundle of wires on end.. typical brake housing is a tight coil of square wire..


Now for mechanical disc brakes, they make a housing like shift housing but add a braided sheath of Kevlar outside,

To cope with the higher forces of pulling the brake levers hard .. that you could use for both..


Jagwire a brand, now exclusively through QBP at your bike shop with a dealer account with them.






.....

Whatever color and make of housing you buy, be SURE to use specified brake housing for the brakes and shift housing for the shifters. They are not the same and not interchangeable. Both Shimano and Jagwire make excellent brake and shift housing in a variety of colors.

Jagwire Pro and Elite kits are readily available... they feature lined housings and smooth ground stainless cables.. the elite cables are teflon coated for even smoother action.... two of my personal bikes are set up with Jagwire Pro kits, and the Trek 930 is set up with an Elite kit...

Shimano sells some kits also, but not as easy to obtain... their SIS Shift cable housing is a STRANDED type that eliminates compression of the housing, which dramatically improves indexed shifting.... not sure what their brake housing is called, but it works well too...

cheaper housings use a SPIRALED WIRE in the housings that is, well... a SPRING of sorts... Yes, they compress when you clamp down on the levers when braking for that hair pin turnn at the bottom of your favorite descent! better brands of standard housing are Clarke's and Aican

i stock Shimano and Clarke's housing in my shop... i avoid the super low budget junk. I order Jagwire kits when the customer requests higher performance from their bike.

oh, and the jagwire kits come in a rainbow of color choices... there are lower cost Jagwire "kits" on EBay... they may or may not be "Jagwire", and quality is inconsistent! the elite or pro kits IN THE FACTORY PACKAGE are a good choice... kits include end caps and other fun goodies to complete the setup.

Unless you're using friction shifters.
Jon

You still cannot use shift housing for brakes.

Even then, "compressionless" shift housing will provide more accurate shifts, particularly if you are using 7-speed and above freewheels/cassettes.

And, you must not use it for brakes.

This is the best advice on this thread.

I love high-end gear but those expensive cable and housing kits are simply a waste of money.

Just get a few feet of housing from the LBS. Chances are it is Shimano anyway.


-Tim-

Sorry to dissent, Tim, but most shops are like to carry Jagwire/rebranded Jagwire packaged for the brand they carry, just because it is less expensive. SP-41 housing usually costs an extra $20-30, or more, for a file box, versus the equivalent product from Jagwire. If someone has to have Shimano, it'll be in a separate kit/package, just because there is less demand for it.

Is it worth it? That's up to you...though I can say that Shimano cables and housing work better together; since the internal dimensions are closer to the size of the cable, there is less lost motion when the cable is pulled (for long runs of shift housing, for example).

SP41 is actually the silicon based lubricant in both the brake and shift housings.

I'm a stickler for using real 11 speed cables and housing and I've found the cheapest way to get real Shimano housing and polymer coated cables together is to buy the shift or brake cable housing/cable sets on eBay. You're going to want inner wires and might as well get a few extra at the same time. The inner wires are stupidly priced if you buy them alone.

The 11 speed Ultegra or 11 speed Dura Ace sets are pretty much the same. The shift cable nub has a slightly different pattern stamped on the end, but they are completely interchangeable and I've found no difference in shift or braking performance.

They come with all the plastic bits including the small guide that should be replaced in the rear derailleur.

"I'm a stickler for using real 11 speed cables and housing...." ummm, yah... sure. uh huh.

Derailleur cable kits are not gear count specific.

Performance locations in Atlanta carry bulk Shimano cable and housing.

I purchased two brake and two shift cables from them today. Every time I ask they hand me a bunch of ferrules and plastic end caps or whatever they are called.

I was in REI today too but forgot to ask if they had bulk housing by the foot.


-Tim-

Not as such, but as the cable pull per shift gets shorter, you need better signal to noise in the cable system. Thus, you're likely to see statements like '11s compatible cables'.

Although IME, Shimano's 2nd-gen 10s (the first one with hidden shift cables) is the worst.

have you actually used shimano's new polymer cables?