Unpopular opinion: brand name brake cables are a waste of money

Had a customer come in last week complaining about his $40 Jagwire set that frayed after 3 months. I told him I just use the house brand stuff from my local shop in Portland. He looked at me like I had three heads. But I've run the same $8 generic cables on my beater bike for over a year with zero issues. Am I just lucky or do other mechanics here feel like the expensive stuff is mostly hype?

3 comments

3 Comments

wyattrobinson29d ago

The real issue nobody's talking about is the outer housing, not the cable itself. You can put a ten dollar cable on cheap housing and it'll still feel gritty after a month. I've seen people drop big money on fancy coated cables but pair them with stock housing that's got a plastic liner thinner than a receipt. That Jagwire set the customer bought probably came with decent housing, which is where the cost goes. The generics work fine as long as you replace the housing every season and cut it square with a good pair of cutters.

the_lucas28d ago

I read a blog post once where a mechanic said housing is the real weak point in most cable setups. He tested a bunch of cheap ones against the expensive stuff and basically found the same thing you're saying @wyattrobinson. The liner on those stock housings can be so thin it almost flakes apart after a wet season. I found that interesting because my own experience has been similar - even mid range housing lasts way longer than the cheap stuff, no matter what cable you pair with it.

eva90829d ago

Ha! That's rich coming from someone who spent $40 on brake cables. I bet he also buys the $100 "aerospace grade" chain lube that's basically just WD-40 with a fancy label. My shop's generic cables have survived more potholes and rain than I care to count. Sometimes I wonder if the expensive stuff is just for people who like throwing money at their bikes instead of actually riding them.