Cable Housing

[Retro_Roy]

hi all
i'm guessing most people have in a pinch used brake cable housing for shifter cable housing or vice versa. yes?
pro's and con's?
if done, is one scenario better than the other?
brake for shifter.............or shifter for brake.
thanks for any opinions or experiences.
roy

 

[yo-Nate-y]

Dude, just get the proper housing.

 

[merckx]

Dude, just get the proper housing.

x2

there are also safety reasons why both housings are subtly different from each other, ie: compressible and non-compressible.

 

[paramount13]

You can use spiral brake housing for shifters, but do not use linear shifter housing for brakes. I have used spiral brake housing for shifters with reasonable results. In theory, your shifting will be less precise due to the change in effective housing length when the bars are turned. See:

http://sheldonbrown.com/cables.html

 

[elPedro666]

They're different sizes - brake cables won't fit on the narrower gear housing. Gear cables will be loose and rattly in brake (spiral) housing, possiby bind and your shifting will be slightly less precise.

Clarkes did used to use brake outer for both and a plasticy teflon coating on the gear cable to mske up the size.

Don't use gear outer for brakes, you'll die horribly.

 

[Retro_Roy]

Dude, just get the proper housing.

hi
i always do.
but question as asked of me the other day.
wanted to hear what everyone had to say on the subject.
thanks
roy

 

[feetabix]

Brake outer is designed to compress a little under the tension of an applied brake to aid modulation.......gear cable is designed to resist compression to give more 'digital' shifting.......never let twain meet, or whatever the phrase is!......

 

[hamster]

Gear housing had the wires running lengthwise to stop compression. However it is not built for big cable tensions (like brakes) and it bursts. So suddenly your brakes stop working. Enough said.

 

[Rampage]

Never knew that!
It seems so obvious now though!

 

[danbrad2000]

Brake cables are generally wider than gear cables so may not fit in the housing. Using break outer cable will cause the gearing to not be as smooth.