Cheap stainless brake cables mtb

[gregoryoftours]

Just a quick heads up, very cheap stainless barrel end brake cables here at the moment -
http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/BSSESTSL/s ... nner-cable
even cheaper if you buy up to 10 pieces or in batches of 10, you get a further 25% off!
By the way, ignore the description saying pear/barrel end, they are single barrel ended. I've bought loads and they're decent quality.

[CREPELLO]

Do you know what the difference between 'stainless steel' and 'slick SS' is?

[gregoryoftours]

Do you know what the difference between 'stainless steel' and 'slick SS' is?

Small chance it could be teflon coated but I think it's more likely to be the ones that are drawn through a die to smooth and flatten the outer strands.

jagwire-inner-bike-brake-cable-wire-barrel-nipple-galvanised-stainless-slick-[2]-2803-p.jpg (8.52 KiB) Viewed 922 times

[Sweep]

Which is better, particularly if you are pushing them through pre-existing/old outers?

[CREPELLO]

Do you know what the difference between 'stainless steel' and 'slick SS' is?

Small chance it could be teflon coated but I think it's more likely to be the ones that are drawn through a die to smooth and flatten the outer strands.

Ah yes, I've noticed some SS cables feel much smoother to pull through the fingers and I usually opt for those. Still, 49p is still a bargain (never mind 19p!) When was a brake cable last 19p? 1971?

[gregoryoftours]

Which is better, particularly if you are pushing them through pre-existing/old outers?

The slick ones are a bit nicer in use, giving a really smooth lever pull, but in my experience they get damaged a bit more from clamping/re-clamping than the regular ones so you might end up replacing them more often. They are both the same to push through existing outer - the end is soldered so you just cut it after feeding through.

[Sweep]

sorry to be a bore, just realised there are three types, and have come across this before.

What's the difference between stainless steel and galvanised?
Galvanised always reminds me of old dustbins - not too smooth.

And why does Planet X ask about usage - city or MTB - when you are selecting the type you want? Galvanized steel 1700 length appears to be £0.19 for MTB and the same material length for city £0.29. What am I missing?

I will be using them on a hybrid/tourer.

Before you folks jump on me for being ignorant, for years my main bike used Magura hydraulic rims so something I didn't need to bother about too much

[gregoryoftours]

sorry to be a bore, just realised there are three types, and have come across this before.

What's the difference between stainless steel and galvanised?
Galvanised always reminds me of old dustbins - not too smooth.

And why does Planet X ask about usage - city or MTB - when you are selecting the type you want? Galvanized steel 1700 length appears to be £0.19 for MTB and the same material length for city £0.29. What am I missing?

I will be using them on a hybrid/tourer.

Before you folks jump on me for being ignorant, for years my main bike used Magura hydraulic rims so something I didn't need to bother about too much

Galvanised will rust - avoid like the plague if there is a choice to use stainless.
Planet X descriptions (and prices) are always all over the place. I don't have a clue what they mean by 'city' use - you would think that they would also be for flat bar levers i.e. barrel end and exactly the same as cables for MTB.
As long as your bike doesn't have drop bar levers you will be fine with MTB cables.
The slick stainless ones were also 19p originally, now they've gone up to 49p - I wish I'd bought a load of them too!

[MikeDee]

There's no point in buying cheap brake cables. Good stainless ones last forever. The cable housing doesn't though.

[Sweep]

Are you saying that these ones will damage your outers?

Do you think you should always use cables/inners from the same company as the outers?

No angle - honest question - responses from others welcome as well.

[Stevek76]

I think he means that outer cables eventually go even if the stainless steel will last forever. Should take many years though.

Regarding galvanised, they are normal steel that is coated with zinc. Zinc itself is like aluminium and will oxidise but forms a hard surface preventing further deterioration. However the coating tends to get damaged, particularly at each end and while the zinc still provide a degree of sacrificial protection (it's more reactive than iron and therefore oxidises in preference) that won't last, particularly in adverse conditions.

[gregoryoftours]

Regarding galvanised, they are normal steel that is coated with zinc. Zinc itself is like aluminium and will oxidise but forms a hard surface preventing further deterioration. However the coating tends to get damaged, particularly at each end and while the zinc still provide a degree of sacrificial protection (it's more reactive than iron and therefore oxidises in preference) that won't last, particularly in adverse conditions.

I think I'm right in saying that if a steel cable isn't stainless it will be galvanised. When the zinc starts corroding, which doesn't take long given a bit of weather, it gives a rough surface that nicely sandpapers away the plastic lining of your outers so they won't work smoothly anymore, and galvanising cables doesn't delay actual rust by long either. For the extra that stainless inner cables cost it' not even worth considering buying galvanised, in my opinon.

[Stevek76]

Yep is agree fully with that, was mostly just providing information on what galvanised actually was.

IME though I've found galvanised inners tend to break either at the clamp point or in the brake lever first.