Review on 🚴 Jagwire Road Pro Brake DIY Cable Kit: Polished Stainless Cables for SRAM and Shimano Bikes, 10 Vibrant Colors Available! by Matt Mix

Having worked as a mechanic for a number of years I am a little tired of aftermarket cable kits compared to Campy/Shimano OEM kits. First off, they are expensive for what you get, especially the Campagnolo kits. No gaskets, fairly simple stamped steel bushings, and the same spiral cable jacket used for a century. You also have the choice of black or white. I've been using Jagwire kits for a decade now when they had a kevlar road kit that still works fine on one of my road bikes with the occasional internal cable change. The housing is pre-lubricated and the inner wire is very, very slick, but what really counts is the range of grommets they offer and their strength in the cable attachments. Long nose for open passages along the top/down tube and machined aluminum bushings, including their POP for V-brakes, on the caliper. I'm saving the extra parts for other builds I've done. With this particular set I've used them for several years in a hybrid mechano-hydraulic setup - TRP levers and TRP Hy/Rd calipers on a Raleigh RXS designed for full hose. They give you enough casing to accommodate the full length. The body is a one piece piece with more flexible traditional coiled bodies on both ends to connect the cable to the levers. Otherwise it is a very rigid case with no compression. I really can't say my brakes aren't fully hydraulic if it weren't for the lack of hassle and bleeding. The internal cables aren't anything special other than being polished smooth, but they do minimize drag. One caveat when installing a different kit on a different bike: the inner cable heads will NOT fit Campagnolo Ergo arms without a lot of sawdust (and yes, I filed them, that's how I like them). The kit includes a pair of nice rubber bumpers so you don't have to stick sticky squares on the steerer tube and a pair of tie-down straps that hold the cables together to reduce rattling. Little things that make your bike a little quieter ("like Wind-Zen," as my old boss used to say). The choice of colors is also good. Ice gray on my neon yellow bike and flat black on my, well, flat black bike. The green color of Bianchi goes well with the color of the frame. One last thing, the included instructions are absolutely terrible, but if you know how to change cables you won't need them. Just use the right jacks and, for goodness sake, a real park wire cutter. It's also a great upgrade over OEM Campy/SRAM/Shimano cables without the expense and diminishing returns of something exotic like the Ashima.