Jan 03 2010
I remember trying the original Gore Ride-On cables maybe 8 or 9 years ago and found them really fussy to install and the inner cables didn't seem to stay smooth all that long, so I was knocked out by the difference when I decided to give the latest version a try on my Vertex RSL.
Switching back and forth between my scandium Vertex with the typical Rocky top tube cable routing with XTR shifters and the new carbon Vertex with the downtube/BB cable routing and XTR shifters, I was really noticing the difference in lever effort, even with new and clean cables/housing on the new Vertex RSL frame. I wanted to give the Gore cables a shot since they had that full length Teflon inner liner, I was hoping they'd lighten up the lever effort, especially in grungy muddy conditions.
The Ride-On cable set is still fussy to install as there is a lot more cut and fit needed, but all the work is worth the effort. The fully sealed shift cables are perfectly suited to any bike with downtube cable routing. On the Vertex RSL it made a huge difference in lever effort, I originally estimated about half the effort at the shift lever. But more importantly, after the initial cable stretch (which seemed to be more than XTR inner cables, partially due to the smaller wire diameter), the cables have been flawless. I made the switch in mid October, just before the rainiest November in years, and they still shift as slick and effortless as they did in October.
Being the bike geek I am, I wanted to see if my impression about lever effort was really a measurable commodity, since I have two Vertex bikes with the identical rear drivetrain I once again had the perfect test bed. One bike with the Gore cables and one with new XTR cables and housing and the same XTR shifters and derailleur. Using an Ultimate bike scale, I began measuring the lever pull effort needed to shift one gear in the back on both bikes. On the Vertex with the standard XTR cables, it required a peak lever effort between 2.8-3.0 kg of force at the point where it clicked into the next gear. With the Gore Ride-On cables and the same shifters and derailleurs, it only required 1.2-1.4kg of effort at the point where it clicked into the next gear, so my initial impression was pretty accurate, just slightly less than half the lever effort needed with the Gore cables. That puts it into the same range as the XTR shifters on my scandium Vertex with the top tube mounting (averaged 1.4-1.5kg of lever effort).
As impressive as that is with XTR thumbshifters, anyone running the Dual Control levers will likely notice an even bigger difference. I'd say that anyone racing a Vertex RSL in the mud absolutely wants the Gore cable set, as it's one less thing to worry about when the going gets gunky. Any bike with downtube cable routing would benefit from the Ride-On fully sealed cables. Worth every penny.
