loubikes

I know this type of question has been asked a lot but I couldn't find my exact question when searching and wanted to ask the experts.

I understand that compressionless housing is really needed/desired for index-shifting but I have a couple of beater-bikes that my wife and I use to go around the neighborhood and I'm wondering to what degree you think brake-cable-housing, used for shifters, would make a noticeable, negative feel.

Again, friction shifters, 7 and 6 speed bikes, neighborhood riding with some hills.

A scale you might use?:

10- Almost no one could tell the difference
8 - You, who do not ride particularly nice bikes and only recently got a bike with index shifting could not tell.
6 - Most people with modest biking experience could tell the difference if paying close attention
4 - etc, etc.
...
1 - You will die

sweeks

Brake cable housing is fine for friction-shift systems. The issue with indexed systems is that the housing has to retain its length to permit accurate shifts. Brake cable housing, which changes its length slightly depending on the tension in the cable, doesn't interfere with shifting because the rider adjusts the cable tension ad hoc for each gear change.

delbiker1 

There is a lot to be said for the simplicity of friction shifters. They sure make it easier to get the shifting tuned in. I think it likely there would be no issue or benefit to using the brake housing. If you have it on hand already, give it a try. If it were I, and the housing still had to be purchased, I would stick with gear cable housing.

ramzilla

Cheap spiral wound brake cable housing will work fine with friction shifting. Especially if it's a nice color like white, red, or yellow. No worries. Be good. Have fun.

dsbrantjr

Shift cable housing may give slightly crisper/firmer shift response, for the same reason it is used for indexed systems.

sweeks

There is probably no harm in using "compressionless" housing for friction shift systems, but there is no benefit either. There might be a cost disadvantage. See Sheldon Brown on this. Just don't use compressionless shift cable for your brakes!

3alarmer 

.
...I have actually done some experimentation with this, on various bikes. The above statement about a crisper response is also my finding. But it's not enough to matter to most people. Spiral wound brake cable is a little more flexible, so in certain applications (like if it goes under bar wrap using barcon shifters), the brake housing is the better choice. If you use the good stuff, with a plastic lining in the housing, it does work better over the long haul. Also, die drawn (smooth surface) inner cables work better and with less friction.

55murray

Yes, I'm guessing a 9 on your scale. Did any friction systems even ship with 4mm housing originally?

RGMN

2 things with using spiral wound brake housing. Everyone has already mentioned the housing will compress, but brake housing is also sized for 1.6mm cables, while most shift cables are 1.2mm. This adds to the sloppiness with the shifting. Is it noticeable? Yes, if you are paying attention, it does make it a little harder to tune the shift. But it probably isn't a big deal either for a neighborhood bike.

Back when index shifting was just coming out and the need for compressionless housing was becoming known one of the things we did was use the compressionless housing on friction shifters. It made an amazing difference. Almost alleviated the need for index shifting among the hardcore riders, convincing most of us that this index shifting thing was just a fad. We all know how that worked out.

noglider 

Before indexed shifting, there was no gear cable housing. We used the same housing for brakes and gears. So certainly it's fine for friction shifting.