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Where do you usually buy your road bike brake cable?

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Where do you usually buy your road bike brake cable?

Old 09-10-22, 10:57 AM
  #1  
yesterbik
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Where do you usually buy your road bike brake cable?

Hi everyone,

I am a amateur biker. I love to learn fixing vintage bike myself, for fun.

For road bike brake cable, it costs me $5.xx to buy one cable from my local bike shop.
I order 10pcs brake cable from eBay it costs $15.xx with free shipping.
The one from online purchases, they look as good as the one at the local shop.

The quality of them, time will tell.

I don’t want a cable that breaks easily on normal use.

I hope to hear some experience/ thought from you.

Last edited by yesterbik; 09-10-22 at 02:52 PM.
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Old 09-10-22, 11:15 AM
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I think the cables you buy online will be fine under normal use. Are they stainless?
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Old 09-10-22, 11:22 AM
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Originally Posted by smd4
I think the cables you buy online will be fine under normal use. Are they stainless?
I am not sure.
They said ‘ Zinc brake wire core’ in their product description.
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Old 09-10-22, 11:25 AM
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I order mine from various Amazon sites or ebay. Never had a significant problem, even at $1.20 each.
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Old 09-10-22, 11:25 AM
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I use stainless exclusively so I can’t really comment on zinc cables’ reliability.
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Old 09-10-22, 11:31 AM
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Originally Posted by yesterbik
Hi everyone,

I am a amateur biker. I love to learn fixing vintage bike myself, for fun.

For road bike brake cable, it costs me $5.xx to buy one cable from my local bike shop.
I order 10pcs brake cable from eBay it cost $15.xx with free shipping.
The one from online purchases, they looks as good as the one at the local shop.

The quality of them, time will tell.

I don’t want a cable that break easily on normal use.

I hope to hear some experience/ thought from you.
Do either of the mentioned cables have a brand name?

as mentioned if the cable is stainless steel they should be fine. Does the old housing have a nylon lining?

I usually buy online, mainly because my LBS doesn’t usually have what I want I can buy it quicker than can order it. I believe there are several threads listing online places people use. Niagara Cycles, Bikewagon usually has great stuff and there an eBay vendor too.

I usually buy Jagwire cables because they a good quality cable and housing at a decent price, and can be found in different colors.

The local bike shop (LBS) has more overhead to cover than a ebay seller, and while it stinks to pay more for something, it often pays to buy some things at the LBS. Being friends with the shop can pay big dividends when you urgently need help on a Saturday afternoon before the big ride on Sunday.

Lastly we are both a nosy and artistic bunch so we love to know details about what bike you’re working on and love pictures even more.
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Old 09-10-22, 11:39 AM
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I also go thru so many cables I cannot stomach the prices that LBS have to charge but I understand that they HAVE overhead, etc. so the price is legit, just too high for me.

So I buy from online vendors and just go with whoever has the best price with shipping and usually buy sets of 10+ units.

Pretty sure they are all made in China and sometimes they ship from there, which is another compromise I make to save $$. But if the product description seems like "English was not the original language" then read very carefully to make sure you are buying stainless steel if that's what you want: I have found the descriptions can be worded to confuse.

Nothing wrong with carbon steel cables plated with zinc (galvanized) in terms of strength, assuming they are properly made, but they will eventually rust.
And I hate rust.
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Old 09-10-22, 11:49 AM
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I tend to go brand name for cable and cable housing, shimano or Jagwire

I am also a stainless fan

If the use is friction shifting then there probably is not much difference, but if you are doing indexed shifting at 11 speeds and above, good cables and housing along with derailer hanger alignment are crtiical

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Old 09-10-22, 11:50 AM
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Yokozuna USA, and porkchopBMX.
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Old 09-10-22, 01:32 PM
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www.porkchopbmx.com
not the best web design, IMHO , but for the variety of housings and solid cable products, it's where I have bought for years. Not one mistake. Maybe there are better deals, or for bulk purchase. My favorite LBS jacked the price on 'pre-packaged cable sets' last time I was there. No more buying '4 brake cables and 2 shifter cables' from the service dept. A better solution for them when service techs work on bikes.
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Old 09-10-22, 01:57 PM
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I have a local REI where I can get Shimano brake or shifter cables for 3 bucks each.
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Old 09-10-22, 02:44 PM
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+1 for Jagwire online wherever they are well priced, good quality for my needs and different color options.

Having said that, I’m considering moving from individual to batch purchases, i.e. a 100pcs cable box and a long housing roll…
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Old 09-10-22, 04:04 PM
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Originally Posted by yesterbik
I am not sure.
They said ‘ Zinc brake wire core’ in their product description.
unless you plan to ride in the rain a lot they should be fine.

if the housing isn’t nylon lined then a bit grease will help them move smoother
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Old 09-10-22, 05:32 PM
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Originally Posted by yesterbik
I am not sure.
They said ‘ Zinc brake wire core’ in their product description.
That means those are galvanized steel cables, specifically NOT stainless steel. Don't buy those. Stainless only.
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Old 09-10-22, 06:07 PM
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+1 for Jagwire cable. I have to say that I like the kit that Jagwire sells. Jagwire Pro Road Cable Kit That is because the kit comes with all the extra do-dads. I like their slick polished cable for minimizing friction.

While I say that, I also buy Jagwire housing in bulk and Jagwire cables separately. I am usually ordering from some online retailer like Bell's Bike Shop, Jensen, Modern Bike, BikeTiresDirect or Nashbar for other stuff when I order brake and/or shifter cable.

I am not a Prime member so I do not order from Amazon, I go direct the online shops.
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Old 09-10-22, 06:18 PM
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Has anyone who actively maintains their bicycles ever actually had a galvanized cable rust on them? Isn't part of maintaining a bicycle taking the cable out of the housing and re-greasing them, you know, every decade or so? I think the last few brake cables I replaced were because a strand (or two) broke at the soldier point of where the end was attached, and it was dragging on the housing (aka, no rust). Galvanized is more "heroic", so, if that's your thing, if you want to immerse yourself into the purest form of C&V'ing, then go galvanized. I don't think my half century aged hands can tell any difference between the performance of stainless or galvanized, but I friction shift, and usually 7 or less gears in the back. I buy cables local, because my local shop doesn't carry much stuff that I actually use, but cables is one of them. I think your money bouncing around in the local economy has a greater social benefit, and that's sorta my thing, but, we all don't think the same, do we.

Last edited by uncle uncle; 09-10-22 at 11:42 PM.
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Old 09-10-22, 07:32 PM
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Originally Posted by unworthy1
I also go thru so many cables I cannot stomach the prices that LBS have to charge but I understand that they HAVE overhead, etc. so the price is legit, just too high for me.

So I buy from online vendors and just go with whoever has the best price with shipping and usually buy sets of 10+ units.

Pretty sure they are all made in China and sometimes they ship from there, which is another compromise I make to save $$. But if the product description seems like "English was not the original language" then read very carefully to make sure you are buying stainless steel if that's what you want: I have found the descriptions can be worded to confuse.

Nothing wrong with carbon steel cables plated with zinc (galvanized) in terms of strength, assuming they are properly made, but they will eventually rust.
And I hate rust.
wayback almost all cables were Cad or zinc plated, But the individual strands were plated, some now are plated after. One needs to keenly look.
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Old 09-10-22, 07:44 PM
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WalMart. $10 for 2 brake and 2 derailleur with housing.
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Old 09-10-22, 08:47 PM
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What i have bought recently and where

Jagwire shift and brake cables and bulk housing LBS (sadly out of business now)

jagwire shift cables, from different LBS need to do the replace the cable preventative maintenance thing on 105 5800 11 speed shifters

Jagwire brake cable and housing kit yet another LBS

Jagwire shift cable and housing kit Online... Bike tires direct because no one had white
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Old 09-10-22, 09:14 PM
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Originally Posted by yesterbik
I order ... from eBay.
Same.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/39282598568...Bk9SR4Lwx6jlYA
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Old 09-10-22, 09:53 PM
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Steel cables are smooth, but rust immediately, even in Death Valley. Zinc plating is NOT smooth (think playground equipment) yet prevents rust. Stainless steel is smooth, and does not need coating to prevent rust, therefore remains smooth, therefore shifts and brakes better.
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Old 09-10-22, 11:29 PM
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Unless you have a specific problem with your cables rusting, Stainless cables are NOT better than galvanized. Read explanation from people who know far more about cables than us: Aircraft mechanics:
The bending of a wire rope causes the individual wire stands to not only bend but to rub against one another. Galvanizing is a natural lubricant. For example, galvanized threads have a lower friction (K) factor then plain steel. The individual wires can easily move about with very little friction and wear. Stainless steel on the other hand has high friction and has a reputation for seizing and galling when rubbed together. Every time the wire rope is flexed, the stainless wires rub together. High friction creates high wear.
mechanicsupport.com: Aircraft Control Cable - Stainless or Galvanized?
Stainless cables are stiff, high friction, self galling; while galvanized cables are softer, self-lubricating and low friction.
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Old 09-11-22, 02:44 AM
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Originally Posted by icemilkcoffee
Unless you have a specific problem with your cables rusting, Stainless cables are NOT better than galvanized. Read explanation from people who know far more about cables than us: Aircraft mechanics:

mechanicsupport.com: Aircraft Control Cable - Stainless or Galvanized?
Stainless cables are stiff, high friction, self galling; while galvanized cables are softer, self-lubricating and low friction.

Ummm….we’re talking bikes not Airplanes. Different applications have different requirements. I’ve installed tens of thousand of cables. SS for the win every time.
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Old 09-11-22, 06:27 AM
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'Zinc brake wire core’ doesn't mean anything intelligible. Zinc is far too weak to be strands for a brake cable; as discussed this probably comes down to galvanized steel (for rust protection, the old way); but you never know with "everything's made in China" and so forth.
I don't see the point of buying galvanized cables to save a few pennies or even a buck.
I never buy something that's not in a reputable manufacturer's packaging on eBay, at least not anything that would be worth someone's while to counterfeit as a business model: always a judgment call there.
Amazon: I'm a never-Bezoser; I don't like the guy or his business methods. Always go to a supplier direct, preferably one that I'm reasonably certain doesn't sell on Amazon.
So: Jagwire from one of the online direct places usually. LBS if I really need it today.
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Old 09-11-22, 06:52 AM
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I usually buy from a local bike shop in Ventura . They have switched to Jagwire for their brake cables and they work well. The thing is, I like grey cable housing and they carry black. I will probably go on line for my next purchase of cables.
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