bobonker

I need to move my Ultegra 6700 group from one frame to another. I won't be able to re-use the cables and would rather start the new build off with new ones anyway.

The Shimano cables have been really good, but besides being expensive, they are also grey and I want black ones since I'm going for a black build. Here's what I've looked at/tried.

1. Shimano Dura-Ace -- no complaints here except color
2. Yokozuna Reaction -- I have a set of these (in white) that I haven't opened yet. Aside from the color 'issue', will these work on a Roubaix SL3 with internal routing? I understand that the cable housings are stiff and hard to work with and are 'oversized'.
3. Jagwire 'Racer' -- haven't tried these yet. Had a regular set of Jaguars on another bike. They were ok.
4. Gore Ride-on -- haven't tried these either. Any good?
5. SRAM -- Not sure who makes these. They came with my SRAM Force group and seemed like they were pretty good.

Any others that I'm missing or should consider? Unless anyone has any bad experiences to share, I'll probably give the Jagwire Racers a shot.

Thanks,
Bob

carpediemracing 

Nokon. Segmented housing with a liner. The liner you cut to length of basically the whole cable. The segments you slide onto the liner.

Since it's segments, you can add or subtract them, giving you the ability to "grow" housing.

The segments allow you to go around tight curves.

The segments do not blow up like regular shifter housing if turned too much.

The segments do not compress, although there may be slight gaps between segments. Basically once you stretch your cable you don't have to readjust.

The cable slides super easily. The rear derailleur will feel just like an electronic derailleur (at least on the bikes I've done). The front is smooth but still has the limitations of your front derailleur.

The segments are aluminum so they are light.

They corrode if the finish gets worn off.

You can choose a thin cable for use inside the Nokons (0.4mm?).

bobonker

That stuff looks ideal for what I need to do (ie, tight bend in the shift cable), but wow it is pricey. A nice compromise might be something like that for the shifters and Jagwire for the brakes.

Bob

khatfull

I think the Jagwire Racer kit is a great value, sometimes you can pick them up cheap on eBay. I've used them twice.

Reminds me, I need some of those protector doodads for the housing by the headtube.

carpediemracing 

I'll spend money on the Nokons and use a 10 year old front derailleur (Campy works with any front derailleur) instead of buying a new front derailleur. I think they're that good.

For my last few builds the Nokons are on my must-have list. Actually, I think that's the only part I've consistently gotten for the last 3-4 bikes I got, those and a chain. I've added various Nokon setups together so, for example, I have some blue, silver, and black on my bike now (blue was the new stuff, black and silver were older bikes' stuff). I have one silver/black Nokon's worth of bike left, waiting for my Tsunami frame to return from the builder.

They're nice because they're transferable, you can add segments if you need to (like if you get wider bars, or increase stem length, etc), and you can accumulate segments over time (I think I have 4 sets for both brakes and derailleurs).

I use the beat up segments under tape and inside full-length-housing-through-frame bits. The nicer segments I leave out in view. I skipped using the cheater bits of housing they give you for under the tape.

I got them at first because I blew out a few Campy der housings. For about 7 years I had to turn my bars all the way to the right to fit the bike in the car. It took 3-4 months for the Campy housing to give way. I have a different car now but I still like the Nokons.

caloso

It's hard to beat the Jagwire Racer sets for the price.

topflightpro

I've run Sram, Shimano, Gore, Yokozuna and now Jagwire Racer. I really like the Jagwire. It comes in a variety of colors. The cost is reasonable. It sets up easily. And so far, is working great.

The Shimano stuff is solid. It's easy to set up and works well. A little more expensive than Jagwire.

Yokozuna works well, but it is expensive and a PIA to set up. Durability and functionality are no better than Shimano or Jagwire.

Gore was way too expensive, didn't last that long, and the cables looked disgusting when I finally removed them - the teflon liner just fell apart.

And finally Sram - came with a set of Force levers. I think it was made by Jagwire. It was ok.

Looigi

Pretty much agree. I just replaced a set of Gore with a set of Yokozuna. The fresh Yokozunas are fantastic compared to the tired Gore cables. Very easy crisp shifting and much less spongy braking with their compressionless brake housings. They were a pain to install and haven't had them long enough to judge longevity.

Hartlin

+1

himespau 

I've liked the jagwire racer kit, but don't have experience with much else. It's worked well for me in the past, so why change?

bobonker

I bought the Jagwire Racer kit. $37 shipped on eBay for shifter and brake cables. Can't beat that.

I'll consider the Nokons if I can't get the cables to make the sharp bends that I need them to make.

Bob

K. Olsen

+1 for Jagwire

esldude

Jagwire seems good to me.

But I am glad for this thread as I didn't know about the Nokons. Saw them in some pictures, like the look. Otherwise knew nothing about them. About to build up a bike, so timely info in my case. Still pondering the cost, but they are quite attractive.

adriano 

get full housing jagwire ripcords. reassess your cable situation after a decade.

ChadRat64

I am cheap. I would go with the Sram stuff since you already have it. If you really want to buy something go with the jags. I would pick a different color than black though. The segmented cables are nice but expensive. I have them on my time trial bike. I don't see a need for them on a road bike.