Anyone using the sealed Gore shift/brake cables?

[Dirt]

Gore are very good. They improve your shifting quite a bit. Take your time with the installation and you’ll get a good seal and long life out of them.

I like the Yokozuna shift cables better, but they are very difficult to find in stock.

Installation has a lot to do with how well any cables work. I have found that using a dremel cut-off wheel instead of cable housing cutters gives a much cleaner cut that gets a better seal and promotes smoother shifting. You can get close to the same quality of cut with cable housing cutters and then smoothing the end of the housing with a bench grinder. The dremmel is much easier though.

[Dirt]

That said, I’m gonna add something more for future reference…

High dollar cable and housing sets are actually the work of satan. It isn’t that they’re great. They are! They work better than normal housing. They shift better, and they last longer. The problem is that they build false confidence in those who use them. The tendency is to say “I spent $125 for these damn cables, so I’m going to use them as long as I can to get my money’s worth.” That leads to people getting crappy shifting because they ride with expensive housing that wore out a year ago.

The best thing you can do for shifting and braking is to spend a little money and buy the bulk housing and new cables once per year. If you ride a lot, then do it twice per year. Expensive cables last longer, but not that much longer. New bulk housing/cables shifts better than year old fancy pants housing/cables.

A few years ago I purchased the lifetime supply of housing and cables. It cost me about $150. I got a box of 150 brake cables, 150 brake cables and 2 boxes of housing. Agreed, I got an excellent deal, but even at twice that price I’m saving a boatload of money.

That said… what cables do I have on my favorite bikes? Campy cables on my Colnago, Yokozuna on my cross bike, recumbent trike and Cervelo and Gore cables on my Niner.

I can’t resist the cool stuff.

Happy Thursday.

Pete

[CCrew]

Thanks Pete.

I usually don’t keep bikes long enough to wear them out Generally flip them for the next nicer toy on the planet. That said, I’m at the upgraded so many times point where it’s almost cheaper just to buy another frame and switch components, and voila! new bike.

Although there was a strong desire to click “buy” on all SRAM Red stuff for the new frame, but knew that was overkill!

[americancyclo]

@CCrew 6498 wrote:

usually don’t keep bikes long enough to wear them out Generally flip them for the next nicer toy on the planet.

Post your bike up here next time!

[Dirt]

I heard about people get rid of bikes when they buy new ones. That’s just crazy.

[CCrew]

@Dirt 6501 wrote:

I heard about people get rid of bikes when they buy new ones. That’s just crazy.

Yeah it is. That’s why I have 15 now.

[Dirt]

@CCrew 6511 wrote:

Yeah it is. That’s why I have 15 now.

I can relate to that.

[JimF22003]

I’m a serial cable breaker. I guess I just shift too much. I broke two cables on one bike, and three on my last bike. One set of the cables happened to be the Gore cables. They didn’t work any better or last any longer than the Jagwire cables.

Now I have electronic shifting, so I don’t worry about breaking shift cables any more

[Dirt]

Weird. I’ve been riding for almost 40 years and I’ve never broken a cable. Chains? YUP! Cables? never.

[CCrew]

@Dirt 6575 wrote:

Weird. I’ve been riding for almost 40 years and I’ve never broken a cable. Chains? YUP! Cables? never.

I’ve seen it on some 105 shifters. It was a problem for a while. I’m with you though, never even pulled one that was frayed.

Breaking chains hurts. That’s from experience.

[KS1G]

@Dirt 6518 wrote:

I can relate to that.

And my wife complains about my 3 bikes, daughter’s bike (that has been unridden since she got her driver’s license), wife’s bike (I think even the dust bunnies have dust bunnies), and the (borrowed) tandem I’m hoping to get her on sometime between a few weeks ago and the 1st frost. I’m sharing CC’s comment and this photo with her.

[CCrew]

@KS1G 6589 wrote:

@Dirt 6518 wrote:

I’m sharing CC’s comment and this photo with her.

Just tell her you can be VERY organized…

[Author]

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