An aircraft engineer friend of mine recommended XTR gear cables so I gave them a try (£18 set from CRC) and they have lasted nearly three times as long as the stainless equivalents.

Take into consideration the time it takes to change them and they are actually quite good value. They are also pre stretched and have a surprisingly positive affect on shifting.

Still working my bulk purchase order of 50 stainless cables I bought a few years ago for £20.

Not worth it. Buy cheap and change often.

Aren’t they all pre-stretched ?

Worth it IMO, you get a decent amount of kit for the money, they last well, and you can run any old inner in the SP41 outer with the sealing ferrule things (the Shimano inners are a bit pricey IMO so I use £1.50 Clarks stainless)

What does pre stretched actually mean ?
Do they really take the metal beyond it’s elastic limit as part of the manufacturing process ?

Well worth it. The only cables I will use. Not only do they last longer, but they feel so much smoother in use.

In a word, yes!

Nothing else but

Never used them and at price I probably never will. A roll of SP41 and a box of stainless cables will do me.

Tried others , because XTR’s were out of stock, always failed and went back to XTR .Work a treat, not that expensive, what more do you want?

for my own bikes? always Shimano SP-41 outer and any quality inner gear cables, cut and fitted correctly

for my customer’s bikes? its currently Clarkes or CBB outer, because the bigger chain stores have realised how much money they can save by not providing their workshops with quality cabling for customers

its not unknown to cause ongoing havoc with 10 speed and especially 11 speed transmission 🙁

I thought SP41 WAS XTR? ❓

TuckerUK – Member

I thought SP41 WAS XTR?

It is- but if you buy the XTR kit you get a load of sealed (well, semi-sealed) cable ends, rubber covers, etc etc.

Oh OK, but you can buy all that separately. I’ll check my notes, BRB.

OK, pretty sure these are what is supplied in the kits:

SP40 Sealed Outer Caps

SP40 Sealed Outer Caps with Tongue and Rubber Shield

When I wrote my notes, one or other or both could be had from at least CRC, Wiggle, UKBikeStore, & JEJames.

Aye, the kit just works out good value.

(can anyone confirm- I’ve heard they’ve stopped cutting the outer into stupid lengths now in the kit? That drove me nuts… So wasteful)

Yes, you should have known 🙂

Aye, the kit just works out good value.

That must have changed then since my notes. You used to be able to get it cheaper if you bought around, bought separately, and bought the outer off a 10m roll.

Anyway, good stuff. As are the matching brake cables (for us old skool non-hydro folk).

I have just bought a Goodridge set to match my braided hoses.

Similar price to XTR and comes with all above mentioned fittings plus the ability to use a full length inner liner even when not using a full length outer cable. Only trouble is the liner is bright blue which isnt going to match my white and orange Clockwork 29er.

Think mine are Jagwire outers and inners with a liner. Can’t say I’ve had any problems changing gears.

I buy the XTR kit every 5 years or so for the ends and sleeves, and use it along side my stock of SP41 and any quality cables, currently teflon coated ones, change cables maybe every 18 months