Is it best to use Shimano cables/housings for Shimano components?

[Llewellyn]

What do people think - is it best to use Shimano's cables and housings with Shimano drivetrains and brakes, or do the alternatives such as Gore, Jagwire etc work better.

I've seen some Shimano cable sets described as for 10 speed, wouldn't they be the same thicknesses as 9 speed and work just as well with that?

And has anyone used the braided housings from Velo Orange, how well do they work?

 

[Bustedknuckle]

What do people think - is it best to use Shimano's cables and housings with Shimano drivetrains and brakes, or do the alternatives such as Gore, Jagwire etc work better.

I've seen some Shimano cable sets described as for 10 speed, wouldn't they be the same thicknesses as 9 speed and work just as well with that?

And has anyone used the braided housings from Velo Orange, how well do they work?

Use any good 5mm der housing(not the 4mm) and find metal ferrules, not the crappy plastic ones. Jagwire housing, both brake and der(again 5mm) and inner wires work well, last a long time and are far less expensive than Gore(poor, IMHO) or Yokozuna.

 

[richwagmn]

What do people think - is it best to use Shimano's cables and housings with Shimano drivetrains and brakes, or do the alternatives such as Gore, Jagwire etc work better.

I've seen some Shimano cable sets described as for 10 speed, wouldn't they be the same thicknesses as 9 speed and work just as well with that?

And has anyone used the braided housings from Velo Orange, how well do they work?

The 10 speed shimano derailleur cables/housings suffers from too much drag in my opinion. I couldn't get the rear derailleur to shift reliably under all circumstances (and it was super weird as to when it wouldn't).

The Yokozunas fixed that for me. No problem with shifting at all anymore. That said, their brake cable housings are just slightly oversize for some reason. Getting them to seat into the 10speed shimano brakesets takes some effort. And they're super stiff. So much so that a slightly too long brake housing will push the caliper off center.

No experience with the others you mentioned.

 

[biker jk]

I have Ultegra 6700 on two bikes. One uses Shimano cables and the other Jagwire. There's no discernible difference in shifting quality.

 

[Bustedknuckle]

I have Ultegra 6700 on two bikes. One uses Shimano cables and the other Jagwire. There's no discernible difference in shifting quality.

Both 4mm? Use 5mm...

 

[biker jk]

Both 4mm? Use 5mm...

Correct, both 4mm but both Shimano and Jagwire cabled bikes shift excellently.