I need to replace/upgrade shifter cables on an older 2x road bike. In addition to the cables, ferrules, and crimps, I need like about one+ foot of cable housing for the rear derailleur. But all the good shifter kits either have like six feet of housing, or none at all. Is there a quality product that has the minimal housing? Or, am I just going to have to get the kit with all the extra housing?


Dan

Go to your LBS and buy a foot of housing

I get the kits and then I have extra bits that I can use for other bikes. It comes in handy quite a bit and if I don't use it I can give it to friends or use it on their bikes. However I am a person who likes a well to over stocked parts bin so I am always nicely set up to build a bike or repair one of my own or have stuff to sell in case I need a quick couple bucks.

They make the Jagwire kits in a 1x set up so if you don't need so much it comes with less (a bit more than 1 foot but again doesn't hurt to have extra)

You could also do as dedhed said and just go to your local shop and get a foot of housing.

if you think you need a foot of 4mm housing, buy 18"

and make sure you use a pick to open/verify the ends after cutting, and before capping, or you'll need more caps.
i tend to test the cut ends with the cable before capping too.

Were you close by I'd trade a foot+ of SIS casing for a beer

Save the extra casing that comes with the kit, and you don't have to do a post like this for a while. Andy

You can buy the RD housing segment by itself: Shimano OT-RS900 Rear Derailleur Shift Cable Housing Excel Sports | Shop Online From Boulder Colorado

The Shimano cable replacement kit I buy at my LBS has the correct length pre cut housings. Makes for a simple swap.

https://www.amazon.com/SHIMANO-Optis...s%2C108&sr=8-6

The length of the OT-RS900 is normally too short for many RDs that are not the 'shadow' style. The older style RD that uses a 'U' run of housing normally needs about 11" or more, depending on location/distance of the housing stop. Too short and there may be sharp angle where the housing enters the RD.

Shimano's normal spec. for SIS.

Clarification. The bike in question is on that I leave at our winter house. All the materials and tools I need are at my home, 1500 miles away. It’s not that I can’t obtain everything I need. But it’s not a big house, and I try to keep from having unused ‘stuff’ cluttering the place…like at home. This bikes at this house don’t get ridden as nearly as often as the bikes at home. They are old, used, that I just purchased last year to leave here. I’m upgrading them as needed. When I change the shift cable on the bike in question…it won’t need to be done again for years. So, I guess I’ll get the kit with the excess housing, and just take it back home to add to the mess there. — Dan

If you don’t keep tools at the remote house, just take the bike to a shop.

What kind of shifters (downtube, stem-mount, bar-end, brake lever)? Friction or indexed?

Downtube, Shimano index. But I’ve gone ahead are ordered a Jagwire kit. I’ll just have excess housing.

Dan

a 9" piece of shimano housing for only SEVENTEEN Dollars, including shipping???... what a Deal! /


probably cheaper to drive an old el Dorado Cadillac to a local bike shop, eh?

$13 to mail out a 1 oz. chunk of cable housing... i will never buy from Excel Sports.

If you’ve invested in housing cutters as well as shifter cable cutters, it’s always cheaper to just buy bulk lengths of housing and individual cables. If the OP has those tools, then have at it. The advantage to the pre-cut kits is they are ready to go, no cutting tools needed, usually. KCT’ post shows an example where the kit lengths are not going to work, but I can say after 36 years and 20 some odd bikes and many more cases of changing shift cables and housings, I’ve only owned one bike that had the rear derailer cable route across the down tube and down the seat stay, all others (except my electronic bikes) have had the housing stop mounted on top of the drive line chainstay, or were an internal cable routing with a housing stop on the seat stay. In those instances, the precut housings were the correct length and worked just fine.

8" side cutters.. same price as the shipping cost of the 9" (Too Short) housing length mentioned..... i stepped up for the Knipex ones... i use them regularly, including to easily cut spokes.
i have never bought or used "pre-cut" cable housing.... i have bought many jagwire kits... none were what i'd consider "perfect length".

i have one of the Park Bypass type CN-10 cutters... it stays hidden away in an old ammo box full of worn out or useless tools... it is there in the second category... the thing pre-frayed cables, and made a pinched-flat mess out of housings, IMO.
an old pair of 6" side cutters did a far better job on cables and spiral wound housings... stranded SIS was a different story, and spokes were not fun at all with those... enter the 8" side cutters... i was getting about 2 years out of a pair of Channel Lock brand...veganbikes convinced me to step up to Knipex... BIG Thank You! They cut spokes like butter... they're going on three years now, IIRC. i have used them for many other tasks around here too... cyclone fence work, home electrical work, auto heater hoses and battery cables, etc.

For non Shadow type RD, the normal pre-cut Shimano segment for the RD is longer than the length that is done in the OT-RS900 (which is only 240mm). The RS900s are shorter and designed specifically for the road Shadow RD which has a different cable entry location.

If you have a frame with sorta normal cable routing & stops, (above or below the chainstay), and a standard index type RD (pre-Shadow), it would be surprising if a 240mm length housing would give you proper routing without tight bends or angle at the RD.

Older pre-slant parallelogram RDs, (old Campy style), also had cable entry locations that didn't have a "U" shaped RD housing segment.