What are some good derailleur and brake cables? I want something that won't rust and is slick (low friction). I saw some cables with liners for the exposed runs, but don't remember the manufacturer.

Intended use is on road/paved bike trails not much mud or loose dirt.

I use Jagwire,real slippery stuff,but expensive.I use the compression less brake cable and housing combo, ones called Ripcord.Was nervous about using compression less brake set up as its used for derailer only normally.Its teflon wrapped to keep cable in i guess.
Definately improved my brakeing power.

make sure you get stainless steel cables and appropriate, lined housings. square cut and de-burr the housings and your shifting/braking will be 'buttery' smooth.

You can try GOre Ride on cables.

+1 on the Gore Ride-On cables. Though they may be overkill for your purposes, since you're not doing much mud riding. However, Shimano does make packaged cable and housing sets which will fit your requirements quite nicely. These cable sets will be compatible with any system except for Campagnolo.

I use Jagwire sets.

Another +1 on the Gore Ride On cables.

I've been using generic slick, galvanized cables for around 15 years. I like them better than stainless because I can solder the ends. That way I don't have to mess with end caps and I can even remove and replace the cable through the housing if I need to.

Actually, I do use stainless tandem cables because I buy them one-at-a-time. Functionally, I haven't noticed any difference whatsoever.

I use packaged Shimano on my Shimano bike and packaged Campagnolo on my Campy bike. They're hard to beat.

Al

OP, I think the ones you forgot might be Avid's Flak Jacket cable set, which has red tubing that plugs over "nozzles" on the cable ferrules to keep stuff from getting into the housings.

In addition to the Flack Jacket, Avid offers a Straight Jacket set that are designed for disk brake setups. I have used both. I can tell you that for most uses, I would not use the Flack Jacket again. The design intent is to keep water and crud out of the housings. What happens in the real world is that water and crud eventually finds it's way in and because of the almost water tight design, it cannot get out and this accelerates the need for replacement or at least attention. I just buy good stainless cable and compressionless housing and go with that. I have been running the Straight Jacket set on my Disc equipped Cross Country race bike for two seasons now and that seem to be pretty good.

The following are made for both gears and brakes. Top-of-the-line:

https://www.biketoolsetc.com/index.cg...em_id=JW-BCUTE

The stock stuff works as well as the high dollar crud. Most of the time it is better.

That's a pretty frivolous advantage to compromise an entire shifting system performance with. Crimped cable ends can be removed easily and the cable re-used with no problems - you just have to know how to do it. I guarantee you will decrease the shifting performance of a 10/11s system with crappy cables.

Except for cost. You pay a significant premium for these pre-packaged cable sets.

C'mon, Operator! You claim to be a bike mechanic. So how many bikes have you seen with frayed cable ends? That's an every day problem.

Now lets address the performance issue that you are GUARANTEEING. I suppose that after some number of years left in the weather my galvanized cables will begin to rust. Like I say, I've been using them on my personal bikes for over 15 years without issue.

Lets see, trade an everyday problem for one that takes more than 15 years to develope - not a difficult decision. Cheaper too.

I think that, once again, you're looking too hard for something to become incensed about.

I buy bulk cable housing (Shimano or Jagwire) and wait for sales on stainless steel cables (Jagwire) and buy enough to last me through the foreseeable future, knowing that during that period I'll be redoing an Ebay bike, plus a friend's bike, and replacing a cable on my own bike because I frayed an end by accident. I've started super-gluing stainless cable ends in lieu of crimps. Seems to be a good compromise between my favorite method (soldering) and least favorite (crimps)

My approach too. Buy cables in six-packs and housing by the yard.

My cable inventory is larger than some because i have both Campy and Shimano brifters and they require different size end fittings for both the shift and brake cables. Jagwire makes double ended road derailleur cables with a Shimano button on one end and a Campy on the other and that simplifies it a bit. I guess I could file down the Shimano brake cable end fitting to fit the Campy levers but I buy the correct thing anyway.

My rain/snow/winter bike has gore ride-on brake and derailleur cables and so does my XC MTB. That's a hundred bucks in cables per bike, which sounds like a lot. But how much is your time worth? Considering that my experience with Gore Ride-ons has been, set them up once and never spend another second lubing or adjusting them for the next decade, to me it's money well spent. You would be astounded at how much faster the shifting is on Shimano MTB systems. I haven't installed them on my brifter road bike yet, but I imagine I will.

For years, I just went with the Gore derailleur cables, not the brakes, but when I decided to continue commuting right through winters, the sealed Gore brake cables became a no-brainer as well.

For those who don't do their own maintenance, the Gore cables make even more sense, because you can say good-bye to those expensive trips to the bike shop for a tune-up. I put them on my friend's GT Karakoram in 1996 and he hasn't needed a trip to the bike shop for maintenance since.

I use whatever cables the guy at the bike shop hands me... I don't really know what they are. I didn't really know the difference between stainless and galvanized honestly.

I have noticed a difference with STI cables, in that some are more shiny than others, but I never knew what the difference was.

Is there a page that explains in detail the differences in modern cables?

Pricepoint has the best prices for SS cables and housing - usually $15 for 10 cables and maybe $10 - $15 for 25 ft of housing. Unless you want Nokon or Gore, I don't think there's much difference as long as you're comparing SS to SS.

My Dakar has Alligator Superfortress shift cables, which work well, but are not exceptional; it also runs XTR brake cables, which are the BEST I'VE EVER USED. About the only *****mano I'll allow on my bike.

A "galvanized" cable is a steel cable with a rust inhibiting coating. This coating will eventually wear away (the coating corrodes first protecting the steel) and then the cable will rust. A stainless steel cable is made from stainLESS steel and thus will likely outlive the steel-reinforced housing inside of which it used. As has been mentioned, galvanized cables can be easily soldered whereas stainless cables cannot (requires special solder I believe). In the sets I have bought, Shimano ships stainless derailler cables and galvanized brake cables, presumably because a little extra friction in the brake system won't cause nearly as much of a problem as it will for the deraillers.

Cables is cables. Get the cheap ones, grease them well, replace them often. You can get 10 sets of cheap for one set expensive cables.

Lower end bikes get generic Niagara galvanized cables: 71 cents each. Mid range and better bikes get generic Niagara stainless cables: $1.68 each. All of them get lined housing, bought in bulk.