Derailleur cable quality affect shift performance?

HardwareLust said:

I recently replaced the original Shimano shifter cables (just the
inner wire) with some cheap 'Jagwire' Teflon coated cables. (My bike
currently has 2003 Ultegra.) The Jagwire cables are thinner, and I
swear the I can feel the difference in shifting performance vs. the
Shimano cables, especially on the front derailleur. Before I changed
them, I was always impressed with how well the action of the shifter
was translated into the derailleur movement. It seemed very direct
and powerful, and now if feels as if the derailleurs are 'lagging'
slightly behind the shifter a tiny bit. Am I nuts?

Both my front and back derailleurs are adjusted properly, and the
shift as they are supposed to, so I don't think this is a setup
problem.

Maybe I should just go back to real Shimano cables? Can you buy just
the inner wire, or will I have to buy the whole set up? Or, is there
another aftermarket cable (and housing?) that works as well (or
better?) as the original Shimano ones?

Shimano stainless steel cables are available at every bike store for ~3
bucks.

However, the Jagwire cable shouldn't be that bad -- sounds like it's too
loose (for la Trek? Sorry), OR your housing(s) may be gunked up. Dribble
some White Lightning thru 'em, and blow! (But try the cable tension first.)

Bill "off to ride" S.

S o r n i said:

Shimano stainless steel cables are available at every bike store for
~3 bucks.

Well, unfortunately that just ain't true where I'm from. I went to several
LBS's and it basically came down to two choices; ultra-cheap generic shift
cables, and the Jagwire's, but none of them carry actual Shimano brand
cables. That's why I went with the Jagwire's.

Quoted message said:

However, the Jagwire cable shouldn't be that bad -- sounds like it's
too loose (for la Trek? Sorry), OR your housing(s) may be gunked up.
Dribble some White Lightning thru 'em, and blow! (But try the cable
tension first.)

According to the Shimano instructions, I have the cables tensioned properly,
AFAIK. I have a triple, and according to the Shimano manual, the shift
on/off the middle ring is adjusted by cable tension, and it shifts properly,
so I believe I have it set correctly. I lubed the housing prior to
installation of the new cable with Tri-Flow, so I don't think that's an
issue either. And, the cable braze-on under the BB is lubed properly, too.

It's not that it's really 'bad', it still shifts pretty much like it should.
It just doesn't 'feel' the same anymore.

Regards,
H.

HardwareLust said:

I recently replaced the original Shimano shifter cables (just the inner
wire) with some cheap 'Jagwire' Teflon coated cables. (My bike currently
has 2003 Ultegra.) The Jagwire cables are thinner, and I swear the I can
feel the difference in shifting performance vs. the Shimano cables,
especially on the front derailleur. Before I changed them, I was always
impressed with how well the action of the shifter was translated into the
derailleur movement. It seemed very direct and powerful, and now if feels
as if the derailleurs are 'lagging' slightly behind the shifter a tiny bit.
Am I nuts?

Both my front and back derailleurs are adjusted properly, and the shift as
they are supposed to, so I don't think this is a setup problem.

Maybe I should just go back to real Shimano cables? Can you buy just the
inner wire, or will I have to buy the whole set up? Or, is there another
aftermarket cable (and housing?) that works as well (or better?) as the
original Shimano ones?

Clarks cables have a good reputation. That's what's on my road bike
(mainly because the shop I went to only had Shimano road cables in a kit
with outers, which I didn't need as I have DT shifters and already had a
new rear mech loop). No problems with shifting.

I don't know about Jagwire cables. My advice would be to stump up the
pennies for a genuine Shimano one - they're only 1.50UKP here so I
expect they're about $2 in the US.

HardwareLust said:

According to the Shimano instructions, I have the cables tensioned properly,
AFAIK. I have a triple, and according to the Shimano manual, the shift
on/off the middle ring is adjusted by cable tension, and it shifts properly,
so I believe I have it set correctly.

First, I have no knowledge of these two cables so there could be a
difference.

However, for index shifting systems, a very small differences of less
than 1 mm in cable length that could affect shifting performance. If
the cable is just a fraction of a millimeter too long, the shift may
"lag". This also depends upon derailleur brands - in prehistoric
(pre-index times), there were "early shifting" "late shifting" and
neutral shifting derailleurs. The early shifters you had to keep
moving the lever after the shift. The neutral ones, no movement. The
late ones, you had to shift, then move the lever back a little bit.

If you have barrel adjusters, have you tried tightening them 1/4 of a
turn to see if the shifting gets "snappier" like it used to be ??

- Don Gillies
San Diego, CA

"HardwareLust" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I recently replaced the original Shimano shifter cables (just the inner
wire) with some cheap 'Jagwire' Teflon coated cables. (My bike currently
has 2003 Ultegra.) The Jagwire cables are thinner, and I swear the I can
feel the difference in shifting performance vs. the Shimano cables,
especially on the front derailleur. Before I changed them, I was always
impressed with how well the action of the shifter was translated into the
derailleur movement. It seemed very direct and powerful, and now if feels
as if the derailleurs are 'lagging' slightly behind the shifter a tiny

bit.

Quoted message said:

Am I nuts?

Both my front and back derailleurs are adjusted properly, and the shift as
they are supposed to, so I don't think this is a setup problem.

Maybe I should just go back to real Shimano cables? Can you buy just the
inner wire, or will I have to buy the whole set up? Or, is there another
aftermarket cable (and housing?) that works as well (or better?) as the
original Shimano ones?

As a general rule, avoid galvanized cables and stick to anything stainless.
I've had cheapo galvanized cables get sticky on me.

Kyle

On Tue, 18 May 2004 19:39:57 GMT, "HardwareLust" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

has 2003 Ultegra.) The Jagwire cables are thinner, and I swear the I can
feel the difference in shifting performance vs. the Shimano cables,

....

Quoted message said:

Maybe I should just go back to real Shimano cables? Can you buy just the
inner wire, or will I have to buy the whole set up? Or, is there another
aftermarket cable (and housing?) that works as well (or better?) as the
original Shimano ones?

It sounds like you replaced the inner cable with a smaller inner
cable but did not replace the housing with a correct housing. I
thought I remember reading recently that there are two diameters of
cable...

The Jagwire cables that came on my bike, in housing of matching
size, feel great to me.
--
Rick Onanian

Quoted message said:

It sounds like you replaced the inner cable with a smaller inner
cable but did not replace the housing with a correct housing. I
thought I remember reading recently that there are two diameters of
cable...

I believe that there is a 5mm and 4mm derailleur housing diameter, whereas
I've only seen 5mm brake housing.

--
Phil, Squid-in-Training

ZeeExSixAre said:

Quoted message said:

It sounds like you replaced the inner cable with a smaller inner
cable but did not replace the housing with a correct housing. I
thought I remember reading recently that there are two diameters of
cable...

I believe that there is a 5mm and 4mm derailleur housing diameter,
whereas I've only seen 5mm brake housing.

That's a good point, and I hadn't considered that before. Could the smaller
wire in a larger housing cause poor performance?

Guess I'll have to change them to find out, won't I? That sucks.

Regards,
H.

ZeeExSixAre said:

Quoted message said:

It sounds like you replaced the inner cable with a smaller inner
cable but did not replace the housing with a correct housing. I
thought I remember reading recently that there are two diameters of
cable...

I believe that there is a 5mm and 4mm derailleur housing diameter, whereas
I've only seen 5mm brake housing.

The 4 or 5 mm deraillleur housing is external diameter only, I was
told. Same internal diameter for the cable.

I've seen 6mm brake housing. With a larger internal diameter. Maybe
there was an attempt to create a new cable standard years ago?

Dan Daniel said:

The 4 or 5 mm deraillleur housing is external diameter only, I was
told. Same internal diameter for the cable.

Quoted message said:

I've seen 6mm brake housing. With a larger internal diameter. Maybe
there was an attempt to create a new cable standard years ago?

Seen sometimes on earlier mountain bikes. Probably actually
a propagation from the use of motorcycle brake hardware (levers)
on VERY early mountain bikes, not a "new" standard. Fits 1.8mm
or 2.0mm cable rather than the 1.6mm common now.

On Wed, 19 May 2004 04:25:09 GMT, "HardwareLust" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

That's a good point, and I hadn't considered that before. Could the smaller
wire in a larger housing cause poor performance?

I made a mistake and bought brake housing at K-mart. I think it was
the "Bell" brand and came with cables and housing. It was
inexpensive. The housing was unlined and, therefore, wider diameter.
The braking deteriorated immediately and was mushy.

In my experience, most brake housing is 5 mm od and the lined housing
takes whatever normal width brake cable is out there. I think it is
2.0 mm.