Cableology 101

Having less drag inside the housing helps the movement of the cable which gives you the crisper shifting. It has nothing to do with compression of the housing. Compression of the housing is a bad thing, though, so worn housings, becoming more springy, affect the, "crispness," of shifting. The teflon is a good naturally slippery lining.

I have the Nokon derailleur cables - the ones with housings made of little cylinders of aluminum separated by balls of the same metal. This may be the same product as Aztec - it looks similar, at least.

On the plus side, they really do seem to give crisper shifting. They claim both lower housing compression due to the solid metal and less friction due to the separately-installed lining. I can't say which effect makes more difference, just that the overall effect is good. I have had them for several years, and they still work like new.

One negative - the lining is designed to extend over most of the cable, not just where there is an outer housing. It is larger in diameter than a typical cable. Not much, but enough that I had to drill out the cable stops on my bike. Allow for this extra work (or extra cost at the bike shop) before you decide to buy.

I might try the Aztecs or Nokons next time around. I can't wait to get out and ride a little more so I can really test them but it's raining here in the hills again.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

lw

I heard that teflon coating doesn't do really anything, because of the way the apply the teflon. So in the end they say that it doesn't improve anything. I don't know, but what I have heard, I guess it doesn't matter, and it is just your new cables?

Velo Steve said:

I have the Nokon derailleur cables - the ones with housings made of little cylinders of aluminum separated by balls of the same metal. This may be the same product as Aztec - it looks similar, at least.

On the plus side, they really do seem to give crisper shifting. They claim both lower housing compression due to the solid metal and less friction due to the separately-installed lining. I can't say which effect makes more difference, just that the overall effect is good. I have had them for several years, and they still work like new.

One negative - the lining is designed to extend over most of the cable, not just where there is an outer housing. It is larger in diameter than a typical cable. Not much, but enough that I had to drill out the cable stops on my bike. Allow for this extra work (or extra cost at the bike shop) before you decide to buy.

I have the Nokons as well and decided not to drill out my cablestops but cut the liner to leave the cable exposed more like traditional set ups. I consulted a few sights and this is ok. So far (500 miles or so), it works fine. I like the look and the shifting and braking feels crisp.