A bit of a boring one, but I think I need some sealed cables, particularly for the rear mech.

My old XT mech had a rubber boot that seemed to stop 90% of gunk getting pulled up into the last bit of outer.
The new one has no such extravagances & I can't even find a way to cobble the old one onto the new mech.
So since getting my new rear mech, I have to clean the outer everytime I go on a wet/muddy ride as the cable gets really sticky & the shifting goes to pot. I think it's time to get some sealed cables, but which ones?

From looking at them, it seems that some come with a small rubber boot that goes on the last bit of cable to stop stuff getting in and some don't (the cheaper ones). I don't see the advantage of the ones that don't have this little boot, as surely the muck just gets stuck between the inner & the protective sleeve or am I missing something? Do you crimp the sheath with the clamp bolt on the mech?

The Goodridge & Mud Lovers kits (and I think the Jagwire ones too) seem to be of the type that have no boot & are just over £20.
The Avid Flak Jackets are £30 and have a boot that must help keep it all sealed, as do the Gore RideOn ones, but they are £42, which seems a bit steep.

I don't mind forking out for the Avid ones, but if the Goodridge ones are just as good but I am just not understanding how the sealing works then I might as well go for them.
Any ideas? Experience?

I found the jagwire one to be rubbish – worse in fact than normal cables despite being very careful with the fitting.

I think now, if I was going to go with sealed cables, I'd only bother with forking out the silly money for Gore ones.

Personally I've had the best results with XTR cables. They aren't strictly 'sealed' but they work for 2 years without being touched for me, opposed to 2 months for standard ones.
I've found Gore cables to have too much friction to work properly.

I keep seeing the XTR ones mentioned, but how are they better than normal cables? Do they have different ferrules that keep the muck out?

clubber – I was worried someone would mention paying out for the Gore ones!

Yes they have different ferrules and boots. The outer is also a much higher quality – slipperier with tighter tolerances I think.

DO NOT GET FLACK JACKETS!!!

Seriously, they are rubbish. I have tried two sets and the outers always end up rusting and spitting their wires into the eyelets or shifters. Happened to my mates set too.

I have tried Transfil Mud Lovers which were ok, also had the old Gore one's which were ace.

Currently using XTR and very very happy with them. I would not be able to justify the extra expense of the Gore over the XTR.

personally I use Gore fully sealed cables and can't find anything else that does as good a job. fit and forget for at least 2 years. used throughout the year in gritstone country which kills cables quicker than a quick fast thing.
a tad on the costly side, but priceless for the simplicity and lack of faff. (fwiw I use them with a SRAM 1:1 ratio setup)

I found Mudlovers seem to work OK but the quality is a bit average. The outers crack, the inner sheath wound up inside the shifter and they only supply steel ferrules which don't like aluminium frames.

Apparently, the inner sheath (the bit that does the sealing) is used in pneumatics. A bit of heat would flare the end and the rest would be stock inner and outer.

Transfil flying snakes
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Transfil_Flying_Snake_Gear_Cable_Set/5110000355/
got them on both my bikes and had no problems at all.

So – perhaps give the XTR a go to start with – although I am tempted to try the Goodridge ones.

+1 for the XTR, just check the set hasn't been opened and chopped up like the one I bought from Evans had 🙄

Gore… have used for over 8 years and on my second set….

+1 for Mudlovers. Had them on 3 bikes now and no problems. Use some Rock'n'Roll Cable Magic on the inners when you're putting them together (whatever you get) and you'll have slick sealed shifting for ages.

+1 for the Gore fully sealed. It's an ingenious system, and while it does take a bit of time to get it just right, it's well worth it. As for cost, I got mine last year when they were only £35, but I've been running them since then without a problem. I'd really recommend them.

Don't understand lowsy's comment. I've only been running the Flak Jackets for about 4-5 months but they seem pretty good to me. No problem with shifting throughout our glorious Scottish summer.

My only issue with them is that the thin cover for the exposed cable runs is red which personally I don't like

Alligator bullet proofs and also I-links I have never had a problem with either.

Set of bullet proofs will cost you about £12 (ebay), you will need two sets through, however this means you'll have spare ferruls and two spare PTFE inners.
I-links will run you about £35 ultra light and if fitted right are fully sealed.

Oh no! So that's:
XTR are great
Flak Jackets might be great or might not
Mud lovers do the job or don't do the job
flying snakes also do the job

and it would appear that no one has tried the Goodridge that I was erring towards.
so then….web_toed_marsdener, carlosg & johnny panic how do the transfil cables stop cak getting in between the inner & the full length sheath? Is it the clamping bolt on the mech that effectively closes this off?

Thanks for your replies so far.

The Transfils comprise an outer, an inner liner and the cable. Plus ferrules & one or 2 other bits. The inner liner protects the cable all the way from inside the shifter to the derrailleurs in a complete run so cak ingress to the cable is only at each end, i.e. minimal.

You can't use the clamping bolt to seal the end off because as the cable length reduces with shifting that would crinp up the inner, so the inner finishes short of the bolt by an inch or two, but in practice that's not an issue.

Plus you'll do both gear cables for about £17 🙂

Another vote for XTR here.
However, if your XT set is new you could always upgrade them with the XTR type tongue and shield kits for £3.99 from CRC.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=29462

These are the same as the XTR sets come with.

I have had mixed results with sealed gear cables. I think it will depend on the bike and cable run.
On an old hardtail with cables under the top tube, and very short runs of outer, a set of Gore cables has been running well, untouched for probably 10 years.
On a FS bike with longer runs of outer and more bends, less good. The front gear cable runs down the down tube in the way of the spray and has needed attention. Been on the bike over a year ridden in the dark peak mainly.
If I was putting new cables on that bike I would just get XT inner and outer and expect to lube it more regularly.
And if it has full length outers the cost of gore gets prohibitive (2 kits to do 1 bike- £70- ouch!)

Problem I had with the Transfil one were the ferrule would be too easy to split and deform which in turn knackered the outer.

CaptainMainwaring

Hard to explain really, but I also remember seeing a picture on here of someone who had the same issue with flak jackets. Basically, the wires in the outer cable would pull out of the cable coating, presumably by the inner pulling against them next to the ferrule. They then corroded and made shifting almost impossible. This happened nearly at every ferrule, but especially at the shifter end. Happened to 2 sets of mine and also a mates bike.

'scuse my ignorance, but what's the difference between the Mud Lovers & the Flying Snakes?

It's looking more likely that I will give some of these a whirl, although the red sheath of the flak jackets that CaptainMainwaring mentions would match my bike nicely! 😉 🙂

XTR was good when I used to run 3 part cables, its the teflon coating that makes em nice, but does wear off, but now I use full outers, and middleburn oilers.. I buy the braided Fibrax cables as they look nice and are reasonable at £5 a pop.

I tried full outers for a while, but without hacking the cable stops on my frame, it looks a real mess. I ended up with cable ties everywhere.

Also, the only bit that seems to get affected is the final bit of outer from the derailleur end. It seems to get gunked up really quick & I think what's causing it is when you shift gear from a small sprocket to a larger one, the inner gets pulled into the outer. I think this is dragging in muck with it, which'll still happen with a full outer.

The symptom of poor shifting is that it will always change to a larger sprocket (more cable tension), but when I want to shift to a smaller sprocket, the friction in the rear section of outer is greater than the spring force to pull the derailleur across so it stays where it is.
If I take the outer off, and clean it all up then it works fine again, until the next time it gets wet/muddy.

This is why I am a little concerned that with the flying snake option there will still be some ingress of muck into the liner, as the cable gets pulled inside it. They are pretty cheap though, so perhaps worth a go.

had a set of the flack jackets a few years back, and the red cable sealing sheath was pants… it split in 2 places (along the length) and that was the end of them.

Mudlovers were ok, although don't last as long as Gore ime. and the fact they were only available in light grey colour was annoying.

XTR are great, but they still get clogged after about a year in the gritsone central of the peaks.

Right that's it then………flying snake or mud lovers it is then – will get them on order tonight.

mudlovers are £18 from Wiggle & they are apparently now black not grey, which is a bonus.

£17.50 from Merlin.
And I think the "These cables are black not grey" quote refers to the Outer cable, not the liner. I've had three sets (different bikes) and each one has had black outer / grey liner.

Another fan of Mudlovers here. Almost as good as Gore, but can't justify the extra ££'s.
As mentioned above, the only point crud can ingress is by the mech. My old Gore cables (which lasted 7 years) came with a rubber concertina that covered the bare inner, completing the sealing.
Just fitted a new set of Mudlovers(previous one lasted 2 years)and I've added a short section of thin tubular rubber over the exposed cable inner, which will hopefully do the same job. It'll squash up as the mech shifts, then spring back out. Hopefully that should keep the crud out.

Rob

I had Gore sealed but must've tightened the pinch bolt too tight as I twice cut through the cable and then couldn't adjust them. I got sick of paying £30+ just to get a new teflon coated cable so tried the Transfil Black sheep (£12.50 on Wiggle) and have been really impressed. Not quite as 'sealed' as the Gore ones but at a third of the price I'm not bothered. They've not had to deal with much really wet weather yet but I'll see how they get on this winter.

Can I suggest the cheap as chips transfil sealed outer kits for about 4 quid?

normal sp 41 outer and cable and the sealed transfil kit = awesome

paul

The silly thing is that running full length cables is a cure for all the mud in cables shift problems. With simple full runs there is no need for gortex or other fancy cable danglies!
Even when you maintain full run cables, thats easy to do too. Just slacken gear cable & drip GT85 in at the top & it washes out muck at the bottom.

The reason most manufacturers dont run full length cables is weight!!!I was told that by a Specialized technician a few years back.

Luckily my new Dialled bikes frame has full runs for both front & rear mechs.