recommended cables and housing?
 

Hi Mechanics,

I'm going to try to build up my first bike. Components are:

Campy triple front derailleur
Shimano XT rear derailleur
Shimano Dura Ace bar end shifters (my bike has downtube shifter bosses)

Shimano BR550 canti brakes

Do any of those items come with cables and/or housing? What size cables and housing do I need? What about downtube cable stops? I think I need a tandem length rear derailleur cable.

I was thinking about buying some cable and housing at JensonUSA. Any advice on the size of the cables and housing I need would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

get jagwire housings and cables... awesome colors and great stuff...

Jagwire is very good and not expensive.

I looks like the shifters should come with cables and housing, I don't think that they come with cable stops.

might need this one for the rear and i think the bar-ends come with cable stops
http://www.niagaracycle.com/product_...ucts_id=406254

Use the original cable kit now, and you can replace with comparable cables and housings from Jagwire or others when the time comes. On replacements, look for stainless steel, die-drawn inner wires, (stainless is less important for the brake wire), and use the correct housings - long spiral (index) for the gears, and classic spring wound for the brake - do not take shortcuts and try to use the same housing for both. BTW- Shimano usually provides 4mm housing, but 5mm works fine too, as long as you use the correct ferrules.

BTW- if you need downtube boss adapters (cable stops), I have a bunch from Campy with adjusters built in and can offer you a great deal. PM me if interested.

Hi,

Thanks for the responses. I found a description of the Shimano Dura Ace bar end shifters at Harris Cyclery, and it said the shifters come with cables, housing, and down tube cable stops. So I think I'm all set with my shifters--unless I need a tandem length rear derailleur cable.

As for the brakes, I read that they come with cables, straddle cable, and "a carrier". What is a carrier? And if I need to buy brake housing, what size do I need to order?

The brand names are fine advice, but what I am really after is the size of the housing that I need for both the derailleur housing and the brake housing. Is there only one size for derailleur housing and only one size for brake housing (I know that you don't use derailleur housing for brake housing)? I looked at some housing at JensenUSA and it listed sizes, like 4.5mm and 5mm, and I didn't know which one would be appropriate.

Oh yeah, should I replace the stock brake pads with Kool-Stop pads. I think I read somewhere that the stock pads are too abrasive, and it's standard practice to switch them out for Kool-Stop pads. Once again, I looked at JensenUSA, and I couldn't figure out which Kool-Stop brake pads were appropriate. My brakes are low profile cantis, and I will be using them for loaded touring.

Thanks.

Another vote for JagWire


And yes, the Shimano Barcon kits generally come with everything you need to get the job done.

Do you know what color the housing is that comes with the Shimano Barcon kit? Someone told me it is gray. I don't want gray. I want black.

Do the Shimano canti brakes come with housing? What color is it? Purple?

I am inclined to just buy a roll of black derailleur housing and a roll of black brake housing so that I don't have to deal with this issue anymore. Can anyone tell me what diameter housing I need to order?

Thank you.

I find that really annoying, actually. There are many sizes and yet no guidance on which size to use when. I'm not even sure it matters, but it annoys me to simply have multiple sizes with no explanation. Jagwire puts out multiple sizes, and they offer no help or explanation at all.

I used to go out of my way to buy 5mm derailleur cable, just to be consistent with my 5mm brake cable. More recently though, I've gone to 4mm derailleur cable. It's easier to find.

FWIW, I never buy individual kits. I used to buy 25' foot rolls. More recently I've stepped up to 50 meter boxes of Jagwire L3 cable (4mm derailleur, 5mm brake). Once you get comfortable running new cable, it's really nice to be able to run a new cable whenever you feel like it.

Also FWIW, I've had good luck with Jagwire's stainless steel inner cables. I like the stainless. It seems slick enough. It doesn't corrode. And with the Jagwire cables I've had no trouble with post-installation cable-stretch.

What's to explain.

You can either replace with the same size as original, or you can change provided you also change the ferrules to ones with the correct ID. Also note that Index housing ferrules are different than those for brake housing, having a thicker flat bottom (inside) vs. thinner conical bottom for brake. (index ferrules can also be used for brakes).

As to the logic for different OD,s thicker is stiffer and durable, thinner is lighter and makes a smaller lump under tape, use whatever you prefer, doesn't really matter.

I prefer to keep things simple, so I use 5mm brake and index housing and use 5mm brass index ferrules for both.

I think you've answered your own objection. Clearly there are things to explain, and you have just mentioned some. For someone newly starting to do their own work, it is confusing that there are at least three different housing diameters out there. Do they matter? Must I use a certain size for a given bike? Do some components require one size or the other? What are the tradeoffs between different sizes? (You mention stiffness and durability as two examples).

When I first began to do my own bike work, I remembering looking about at all the different housing sizes and styles and coming away feeling not a little intimidated.

I found the 5mm shift housing didn't fit in the housing stops on my Motobecane. So perhaps the 4mm is kept around for the older bikes?

Oh, that's interesting. Honestly, I had thought that 4mm was newer, not older.

Up until very recently, I've been running 5mm derailleur housing. I've never run into a stop that wouldn't accept it.

Perhaps someone with more historical perspective than I have can chime in here.

Thanks for the info mechanics. I probably only need 25 ft rolls. I'm having trouble finding a 25 ft roll of black derailleur housing. What is the Jagwire Ripcord housing? JensonUSA offers a 25 ft roll of that in yet a third size, 4.5mm, for $41.25, which seems kind of expensive.

@happy, you can get that 5mm d-housing at Universal. Here's a link:

http://www.universalcycles.com/shopp...757&category=7

5mm, 25 feet = $20.

FWIW, I've gone through several rolls of that housing before just recently switching over to the 4mm stuff. It works perfectly fine. I've not had an ounce of trouble with it.

You asked about the Ripcord housing. It is a kevlar reinforced housing. I just recently tried a 25' roll of Jagwire's "Universal" Ripcord housing that you can use for both brake and derailleur. It worked well enough, but the kevlar fibers are a nuisance. They don't always cut cleanly. I would cut with my Park cable cutters, and then have to come back with a razor knife and cut away the dangling strands of kevlar. I had trouble getting the ferrules on too. I may try another roll, but my first experience was that it s a bit of a nuisance to work with.

I was trying to combine enough stuff at JensonUSA to get free shipping.

Arghh. I hadn't though about ferrules. I would like to get some silver ferrules. What color ferrules come with a roll of black derailleur housing at Universal?

Can you use the same ferrules on both brake and derailleur housing?

Before asking people to take the time to answer your questions, you might do some research on your own, or at the very least read the responses you've already gotten. Here's my post on your thread from 2 days ago.

....You can either replace with the same size as original, or you can change provided you also change the ferrules to ones with the correct ID. Also note that Index housing ferrules are different than those for brake housing, having a thicker flat bottom (inside) vs. thinner conical bottom for brake. (index ferrules can also be used for brakes).

As to the logic for different OD,s thicker is stiffer and durable, thinner is lighter and makes a smaller lump under tape, use whatever you prefer, doesn't really matter.

I prefer to keep things simple, so I use 5mm brake and index housing and use 5mm brass index ferrules for both.

Usually those 25-foot rolls come with a small bag of black, plastic ferrules. I like the look of metal, plus I want to be sure to never run out, so I bought a bottle of silver ferrules from Wheels Manufacturing.

Yes, and FBinNY has a good point about keeping to the same diameter for both brake and derailleur cables. Plus, it's easier to have things match nicely if you you can use the same ferrule across all the cables on the bike.

Sorry about the ferrules--I know how irritating that can be. Can I buy ferrules from Wheels Manufacturing? It seems to be a retailers only site.

Happy, you can buy those Wheels-brand Ferrules from Jenson:

http://jensonusa.com/store/product/B...+Ferrules.aspx

http://jensonusa.com/store/product/B...+Ferrules.aspx

I've a bottle of the silver, 5mm ones. They've worked well for me.

I saw those at Jensen, but nothing says whether they are brake or derailleur ferrules. In fact, I can't find a retailer that makes a distinction between brake housing ferrules and derailleur housing ferrules.

By the way, I was waiting at a red light late last night on my bicycle, and all of a sudden I heard a huge crash. I looked up, and a car going 25-30mph had plowed into two cars waiting for a red light. The car then backed up, pulled a U-turn and drove away with a smashed hood and smoke billowing out of the engine. Some good samaritans chased the car down and reported the license to the police. The police eventually caught the driver, and they arrested him for drunk driving. I shudder to think of what might have happened if the drunk driver had plowed into me.

I might be ignorant here, but I'm not aware of any difference. I've used the silver 5mm ferrules on both brake and derailleur cable for a couple of seasons now.

Someone will doubtless put me in my place if I've gotten it wrong all this time :twitchy:.

Thanks for the response. I really don't want to spend so much for all those ferrules, and I think I found a solution. Will this 25 foot roll of derailleur housing with 'end caps' work:


http://www.jensonusa.com/store/produ...W+Endcaps.aspx

It's not jagwire, but is the Shimano housing any good?