I have a road bike with the Dura Ace 7800 drive train with Gore cable housings. I popped the front shift cable on a ride yesterday. Last time I did a cable replacement I don't remember Shimano having PTFE coated cables. So I have a choice now. There's PTFE coated, zinc coated, and some packages make no mention of coating, just "stainless steel".

So what info do I need about these products to make an informed buying decision?

Thanxx!

Are the zinc cables index-compatible? I think those are for low-end cables for friction-shifters only.

If the PTFE cables are the same price, doesn't really hurt to use those, though I am dubious about the PTFE making any difference. I've been using the uncoated stainless cables for years with no problems and would pick those if they are cheaper.

Would only look at branded steel cables (i.e. Shimano, SRAM, Jagwire etc), if buying as a complete package, Shimano set CABGR6 has inner and outers, and is available in a range of colors; if looking at individual cables, regular Shimano gear cables are avaliable in coated steel, and stainless versions, and their SP41 outer is good.

Jagwire, SRAM and others all make good cable as well, would look at what is available in you LBS.

PTFE (teflon) is great for dry lubing and friction reducer, only problem is that is heat sensitive that you cannot make PTFE engine oil as it would disintegrate. Also is not good for high mechanical pressure like in bearings.

I find PTFE to be an excelent use in a cable housing: low friction, not stressed in high pressure nor high temperature (more than 100 celsius degrees). Prolly it won't make any sensible difference but I'd go with PTFE housing, it sounds someone done a bit of thinking on making this one and I approve it.

Just be sure that you don't get brake housing for a shifter or the other way around.

Inner wires advertised as "die-drawn" have a smoother surface and will slide better through the (preferably lined) housings. Stainless wires won't rust. I always use die-drawn stainless wires and lined housings.

Thanks for the info. I got the idea of going to the Shimano site and doing a search on PTFE and came up with the following page: The catalog sites where I got the PTFE cable info were wrong. The cables have a polymer coating. So that's the deal. I will use the advice given here. Thanks.

SIS-SP41 housing is PTFE lined and SIS-SP40 is not. Either housing can be used on 9-speed and below but Shimano specifies SIS-SP41 for 10-speed sets.