SegFault

I'm doing my first from-scratch bike build, and just got a set of the Dura-Ace bar-end shifters. They came with their own cables (which I'll be using) and their own DA-branded cable housing (which I'm curious about).

I have some nice Jagwire housing that I used on the brakes, and have the shifter housing pieces from the same set. It's white housing, and my frame is white, so it looks pretty sharp. The DA housing is dark grey and does not look sharp (yes, that's right, I'm making decisions based on looks.)

I figured I'd just use the Jagwire housing on the shifters too (everything seems to fit and work). However, before I commit to this: Is anybody aware of anything unusual about the DA housing/cables that would make this "not a good idea?" The Shimano documentation suggests only using Shimano (r)(tm) Dura-Ace(r)(tm) housing (no surprise there), but is there any mechanical reason for this?

Thanks in advance.

capwater

One thing to remember is brake housing is usually a spiral metallic inner housing which makes it tougher to work around bends. Other than that, no problem.

rmfnla

Well, no.

Index shifting requires that cables and housing retain their dimentions, so SIS shifter cable housing is made of steel fibers that run lengthwise to eliminate compression.

Any spiral-wound housing will compress, changing the effective length and possibly causing shifting problems.

It might work, but the SIS-specific stuff will work.

LarDasse74

Brake housing and shifter housing are two different things, and indexed shifters do not work as well with brake housing (and shifter housing should never be used on brakes!!!). You can get just about any colour of shifter housing, too, but an LBS might have to special order it for you.

It's ok to make decisions based on looks, but you don't have to decide between "looks good" and "works properly"

If I were you and I could not easily find the colour of shifter housing I wanted, I would build it with the wrong colour and swap it out when I find the cables I want. Having a bike with off-coloured cables is far less annoying than having a bike that has crappy shifting.

Retro Grouch 

If it was my bike I'd absolutely use the white Jagwire shift housing.

SegFault

I'm not proposing to use brake housing on shifters. I have a white housing set that contains both brake housing and shifter housing. I've already used the brake housing.

The question is, "third party shifter housing or Shimano-approved shifter housing?"

roadfix

Get longer SIS cable housing and run them ergo style, completely under the bar tape. That's how I run my bar end shifters.

This is how I route them during installation:

LarDasse74

OOOOOHHHHHH!!!!!

I thought you only had white BRAKE housing... Yes.. the Jagwire shift housing will work fine with the duraAce shifters and cables. THe only limit is yourself!

rmfnla

That's what I thought, too.

+1 on either housing.

ginsoakedboy

I have the DA 9 sp barcons on one bike, and the 10 sp on another. 3rd party housing - in my case AVID/SRAM - works just fine. I too opted for something other than the Shimano housing based on aesthetics.

bluenote157

on another note... when installing these bar cons, the expander tightens down counter-clockwise. I was having a heck of a time removing some... damn near stripped the allen bolt.

That surly ^^ looks pretty fun. Is that a cross or a tourer or a commuter??