Looking for gear cable recommendations for my upcoming build, in the past I’ve always gone with the XT kit, but are there any better alternatives?

And while we’re on it, does it really make a blind bit of difference what you use?
Given that you can get a Clarks kit for less than a tenner, is there really much extra quality you can engineer into some steel cable and outers that warrants the extra expenditure?

get stainless, they are the best and i prefer Shimano

The very cheap galv cables are shocking
Most stainless seem to perform the same regardless of cost
Except SRAM pit stop with are 1.1 mm and work a treat for me

Pay the extra for genuine shimano sp cable ends as they have a seal in the end
Shimano sp41 is .£6.00 a meter rrp so why use anything else

For the road bike I use gore as it last years ( 8 and still going )

Transfil inners at Wiggle for £1.59….. I like them.

Beware eBay bargains. Some unscrupulous blighter once sold me a load of brake outer labelled as gear outer.

Shimano SP41 for me… Inners I use the Clarks stainless ones as I bought a load from CRC when they were a pound each, and they couldn’t be bothered to count them so sent me about 50 😆

The Shimano kits come with good cable ends etc which are definitely worth it, and very reusable too. Obviously other sealed cables are available.

Gore ride on all the way

Gore rid I like, done really, really well on my bike. Justifying it for 6 bikes currently in OAB_household is not on. 🙁
(So mid-range stainless and good brand cable for me).

Anything stainless will do

A roll of SP41, stainless steel cables, and shimano ferrels from parkers. Job done for a few bikes.

anything stainless chap, full length the outer if you want it to last longer

Last week bought SP-41 for the XC bike and Clarks for the commuter. Clarks came with a kink in the outer, and some bits of swarf from the extrusion process stuck in the end. Definitely sticking with the big S in the future.

Alligator from ebay are worth a look.

http://www.swinnertoncycles.co.uk/components-c169/cables-c190/gear-c193/road-mtb-polymer-coated-stainless-steel-gear-inner-1-2-mm-x-2100-mm-p29145
£20 for a gear inner!!!!!

I think I’m going to try Goodridge

I think I’m going to try Goodridge

I know you get a lot of conflicting opinions on here, but my experience of Goodridge brake cables has made me go back to Shimano. I had them on two bikes & I won’t be buying them again. I’m a big fan of their braided hoses & have used their products on performance bikes & cars. My experience of the brake cables left a lot to be desired.

The cables once installed never felt particularly slick. The outers are stiff & not very flexible. The longitudinal internal braid broke through in a couple of places leaving sharp ends poking through the plastic. As pointed out, Shimano outers, stainless inners & normal service has been resumed.

£0.02

Whilst I’m a big fan of Goodridge brake hoses, I’m not a fan of their gear outers. I never had a problem with them being too stiff, but the plastic bits on the end deteriorated in just over a year. Since then I’ve been running Clark outers using middle burn oilers. No complaints so far after 2 years.

SP41 and Shimano stainless inner. Pedros Icewax in the outer (we tried almost every lube) and it feels like new teflon inners but doesn’t deteriorate as quick.

Shimano sp41 is .£6.00 a meter rrp

You’re getting ripped off!!Sp41 is £3.99 (although sp51 brake cable is £5.99)

If you can’t use full lenght outers, then I would spend a little more to get the gore ride-on set. I have used the transil ones as well. While they work well, the gore set works that little bit better. They have been on my bike for the guts of two years now and I have only had to adjust the indexing when I replaced a rear mech. The cost, when spread over the life time of the product, is very little in the grand scheme of things. Why spend £££ on nice shifters and a good mech and let the whole system down with less good quality cables.

Gore have stopped making them, so its just stock that’s left.
When its gone its gone!

Given how long they have lasted, I have enough spares in the tool box to keep me going for the next decade or so.

whatever you go for just don’t use cheapy plastic end caps – they’ll give way to bits of wire from the outer and that’ll bind everything up.

anyone doing deals on boxes of shimano outer?

D0NK – Parkers International do 10m rolls of SP41 – in technicolour!

I picked up a pot of this to take a recent CRC order over the discount threshold.

Seems to do what it promises.

Cheers all for suggestions folks. Think I’ll get a roll of SP41 and then mix and match inners and cable ends to suit.

Chakaping – that cable magic looks interesting for a few quid.

Had seen that purist was hoping for even cheaper 😉

Seems to do what it promises.

when it “settles” don’t bang the base of the bottle on the kitchen counter, it tends to crack the bottle 😳

Id recommend Shimano SS PTFE cables combined with SP41 outer, sealed ferrules and middleburn cable oilers on the longer runs.
Parkers for the SP41 & cable
CRC for the sealed ferrules.

If you can’t use full lenght outers then do a limitless dance of joy.

As others have said Shimano stops ( XTR are well worth searching out) sp41 outers and Teflon coated inners

Snowboard wax (rub in cable)+cable magic=Joy