Review on 🚲 SUNLITE SIS Shift Cable Housing - 25ft (7.6m) Black - Premium 4mm Bike Cable for Smooth Gear Shifting by Kevin Apriando

I didn't know there was a difference between shift cable and brake housing until I tried to diagnose bad shifting on my Shimano Nexus 8 speed hub. I bought a used bike and replaced all the wiring and covers on it as the original ones were old and rusty. The brakes worked great but shifting sucked. I figured I bought the bike with a broken hub as it would slip and wobble between gears, not turning on sometimes and turning on again at other times. Well, even the smartest people make mistakes, and I found myself researching this interchangeable question. I've searched forum after forum and told myself that the hub needs service or that the cable tension needs to be adjusted. I finally got to a post where someone mentioned that the shifter housing was different on the inside but visually identical on the outside. Crazy! The body of the brake cable consists of one strand of wire wound in a circular direction, and the body of the shift cable consists of multiple strands of wire running in the same direction as the body. This results in the brake cable housing being very strong with some flex, while the shift cable housing is weaker but lacks flexibility. Because of this flexibility, shifting becomes very poor if you swap the housing for a derailleur (also, many cheaper department store bikes come with a housing for the derailleur). I was planning to buy a Shimano body roll but given the quantity and cost I decided to try the Sunlite option as I have used their parts on many of my bikes. I'm happy to report that my derailleur is fixed and it wasn't the hub, it was poor body choice on my part. It's crazy considering I've owned a lot of expensive bikes, from Kestrel road bikes to Catrike 700 recumbents to Marin hardtail mountain bikes, but I've never changed the shift cable covers on any of those bikes. If I tried these bikes I would end up having the same issues as my Nexus hub. If you want a shifter cable housing, this option is pretty decent for the money. I think you can find it cheaper per foot if you buy in bulk, but the shells don't change that often unless you do routine maintenance on your bikes or ride in bad weather a lot. I'm sure this reel will last for many years with the bikes I have.