jbmorrison

Hi all. I am new here. I have a question. Is it possible to use SIS (index) cable housing, for friction shift cable housing?.. I cannot find friction shift housing, any place. There is no LBS within a 3 hour drive for me. I thought I would ask here.
Thanks... JB..

Crankycrank

Absolutely. Cables too. You might even like it better as it gives a slightly less spongy feel.

jbmorrison

Absolutely. Cables too. You might even like it better as it gives a slightly less spongy feel.


Thank you very much!! CranyCrank....I knew not to use SIS housing for brakes. Thought there may be same issue with the shifters ..Agn Thanks..
JB.

JohnDThompson 

Sure, but there's no real advantage in using indexed derailleur cable housing with a friction shifting system. Before indexed shifting appeared on the scene, the same type of housing was used for both brakes and derailleurs, so if you have a friction shifting set-up, and some spare brake cable housing, go ahead and use that. But never use indexed derailleur cable housing for brakes; it's not strong enough and can fail catastrophically.

Rick

I Believe Velo Orange may have some friction cable housing.

elcraft

A re-cabling with Jagwire cables and housing will give surprising improvement to gear shifting. Modern indexing outer housing almost completely eliminates any sponginess in shifting. While you probably won’t notice a lot of improvement if you are using DT shifters, but with either Bar End or Thumbies, you will notice crisper, quicker shifting. Only one issue, is on some older road bikes you will need an adapting ferrule on the chain stay to accommodate the slightly thicker cable housing.
I re-cabled a friend’s friction shifting bike and was pleasantly surprised at the improvement.

The MuffinMan

Squirt some Tri Flo down the housing of brake and derailleur cables for reduced friction.

Iride01 

If you are replacing the housing on an old bike, then you likely will have to replace the shifter cables too. Modern shifter cables are quite a bit smaller in diameter than what we used BITD.

I guess for most it'd be considered a "duh" and the if you replace housings it'd be smart to replace the cables anyhow. But you didn't specifically say you were replacing them that I noticed.

HillRider

The use of spiral wound shift housing dates from not only the days of friction shifting but from when freewheels and early cassettes had, at most, 7-cogs and cog spacing wasn;'t nearly as close as it is with 9-speed and above. Using index-compatible housing will allow more precise shifting that the new, less tolerant cog spacing benefits from.

jbmorrison

Thanks for all of your reply's, and taking time to help!!...I am from the 10 Speed days and have been back in cycling for a couple of years now. I had to learn over again Ha!..I remember when the shift and brake cables were the same size (not so now). To clarify, I got rid of a pair of junky Shimano EF41 shifter/brake levers,changed them with Sunrace thumb friction shifters (I love them) and need some extra shift housing for a handle bar change on my travel/trekking bike..All I had was sis shift housings.. That was the reason I asked the question on here. I now can use my sis housing for the added length for the handlebar change...Thanks again for all the help

JB.