Bike Cables and Housing Brakes Review

One of the most important bike drivetrain components is the braking system. If you do a lot of hill riding or mountain biking, this couldn’t be truer. There may be a time when you need to replace your brake housing and cables for your bike’s brake system. Or, you may just want to be more informed of what these components are and how they work. Popular replacement cables include Jagwire cables and Gore cable.

Your bike has two cable systems: one is for the brakes, one is for the gear shifting system. Don’t get these cables confused if you need to purchase new ones because shifter cable and housing will not hold up under the strain that is placed on it by the braking system. Make sure when purchasing cable, like Campagnolo cable, you are choosing correctly.

Brake cables and housing have connections on the end of the cable housing. This connection may be a compression fit or a ferrule. If you purchase new brake cables, such as Shimano Cables, end connections may or may not come with them. Kits usually do contain all of the necessary hardware to hook up the brake cable system. Cables can be cut with cable cutters or a special brake tool that cuts the housing and cable as well as crimps ferrule ends in place.

When you do install new brake cables like Nokon bike cables, you should follow some basic rules on how to properly route the cables. This is paramount if you don’t want to possibly have an accident because some brake cable got caught in your wheel or other part of your bike. The first rule is make sure the handlebars can completely turn around in both directions without any pull or restriction on the brake lines. The second rule is to make any needed bends as gradually as possible. The third rule is to make the cable housing as short as possible. You do want to make sure your cables are neither too short nor too long, or you could have problems down the road.

What It’s For

Your bike cables and housing (jacket around cable) travel from the brake levers to each of your calipers. Some cables are mechanically activated. By squeezing the brake lever, force is applied to the cable, which is attached to the caliper and brake pads.

Major Manufacturers

Pit Stop, Jagwire, EJAC, Sturmey-Archer.

Pricing

Prices on brake cables can range from $3.95 up to about $30 for a kit that comes with various connectors or ferrules.