Shifter Housing for Brakes…the testing begins

While I worked at a LBS, there were tons of talk that one could essentially use shifter housing for their mechanical disc brakes to make it feel more like hydraulic brakes. You see, sometimes when you’re grabbing for some brakes on a mech set, your hands and arms tend to get tired because you’re applying so much pressure for long periods of time. Hydraulic brakes are awesome because all you really have to do is squeeze just a bit and the brakes grab, theres less hand/arm fatigue…

It was from the Service Manager at the time who had told me about using shifter housing for mechanical brakes. I’ve yet to try it because I was warned that mech brakes typically have allot of compression and would literally cause the housing to “blow up.” He and some of the guys at the shop had warned me that doing so would require me to change out my housing every few months since they would eventually give.

So I recently spoke to our buddy, Steve Richey of Nokon Cables to ask about this urban legend. Here’s what he said…

It is our experience that due to the nature of how traditional shift housing is thin wire that is slightly twisted it offers a strong initial feel but does have a tendency to breakdown under consisting load like disc brakes. I would also be a bit cautious from a liability stand.

On the flip side the Nokon housing which is more expensive does offer a truly higher level feeling on the mech disc. This is because it is compression less.

With that said, I’ll be conducting a long term test to see if I see a difference between regular brake housing, shifter housing and the Nokon Housing. I’ll make sure to provide occasional updates. I’m doing this test mainly because I want hydraulic brakes, but can’t afford them. Being broke, I’m always looking for ways to enhance my riding without braking…get it…the bank. I figure, if I can have the same feel as hydraulics with my mechs, then there’s no need to buy them…