Jagwire Ripcord Brake Cable & Housing Kit

Review Date
July 7, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Reviewed by: Langdog ,  Cross Country Rider , from Knoxville, TN

Price Paid:  $0.00 at Caney Fork Cycles

Summary:
These cables are the smoothest I've tried. Compared to my friends mech disc cables, these react much quicker on the return and give you great feel. I've experienced very little or no stretch in the six months I've had them.

Similar Products Used:
OEM's on other bikes, my Spesh came with these, but I replaced them when swapping from rim to mech discs

Review Date
July 3, 2008

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Reviewed by: Frs1661 ,  Cross Country Rider , from Rochester

Price Paid:  $23.00 at blueskycyling

Summary:
Wish they had given me enough ferrules to finish the job. I'd recommend you run full length housing, both for the increase in braking power and then you won't need extra ferrules. Braking power with these and the BB7's is excellent.

Review Date
April 23, 2008

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by: Antonio (Unregistered User) , from Pittsburgh

Price Paid:  $25.00 at Universalcycles

Summary:
Although I liked the simplicity of mechanical disc brakes (BB7), I was not very happy with the braking power. When I pressed the lever up to a certain point, everything was fine, but on hard braking, the generic housing start to compress and I got very little additional braking power. I entertained the idea of switching to hydros because of that. Fortunately (price of the hydros?) I decided to give a chance to the mechs and bought the Ripcords. That proved to be a very good decision. It makes a night and day difference. Virtually no compression (it still compresses just a tiny little bit) and lots of braking power I never dreamed of. Also, the action is buttery smooth. I don't know what was wrong with the previous reviewer, but something doesn't sound right. Defective product? I bet it was user error.

I don't know how long these cables and housing will hold. But even if I had to change them every year (which I highly doubt), it would be well worth over generic cables. Other compressionless cables kits may be more durable (I don't know), but I can't see how they can be better than these when new.

I'm going to knock 1 chili for the lack of instructions ;)

Similar Products Used:
Generic stuff (lots and lots of compression, much more drag)

Review Date
September 2, 2007

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Reviewed by: Todd (Unregistered User) ,  Cross Country Rider , from Raleigh

Price Paid:  $20.00 at Universal Cycle

Summary:
I've used several differnt cable systems over the years, but I've never had a brake cable set-up cause so much drag. The rear brake felt awful. I switched back to the Avid Flack Jacket and that cured the drag problem. These cables are middle of the road at best.

Review Date
August 27, 2007

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Reviewed by: Shawn (Unregistered User) ,  Cross Country Rider , from Ashburn, VA USA

Summary:
I can't really find anything to complain about with these cables. I changed them a couple of weeks ago because I got a new fork with longer travel and my front brake cable wasn't long enough. In all honesty, I probably could have just kept using the rear brake cable, though it was starting to get stiff from age. Other than normal wear and tear, these cables never gave me any problems. If I hadn't gotten tired of the "bulletproof Kevlar" gimmick, I probably would have bought another set.

5 chilis for value, 4 chilis overall because they did eventually start to wear out. (5 is reserved for perfection.)

Similar Products Used:
Shimano