Compressionless housing from Jagwire - huge difference

[ccf]

Can compressionless cables take a tight bend? I route mine along the drop bars under the tape.

 

[bladderhead]

Okay, so I admit I am a fred. I do not route my cables through the frame or under the tape. I do not have tape. I have Hy-rd and Jagwire. I fixed the cable to the frame with a cable tie. The cable was slightly sagging on either side of the cable tie. Eventually the vertebrae on either side bent into a right angle and came apart. Not compressioless any more. I now use more cable ties and keep my eye on it. If your cable is under the tape it is held in position, so probably okay.

 

[benphyr]

I read this thread with interest since I also have TRP Spyres (with the original cable housings on my Q45).

But my rear brake seems pretty useless since it locks up very quickly, especially downhill. In any hard stop the weight is thrown forward enough that the rear wheel has little traction and the brake doesn't do much. It works ok to bleed off speed coming up to a stop light or sign but that's about it.

In fact I recently inspected my brake pads for wear. The front is getting close to needing replacement, the rear looks nearly new.

So will there be any gain by improving the rear brake performance with compressionless housings?

There will be a performance gain from replacing the rear housing regardless of type because you will be replacing years old with new. However, if the housing is absorbing some of the force when you squeeze the brake then that might even be advantageous. Likely with the age of your bike, and the many commuting miles you put on it in all weather, your Q deserves new cables and housings - all of the brake and shifter cables and housings. It might feel like a new bike.

In your situation I would go with the regular housing for the rear brake at least as it may slightly soften the force on the rear brake, decreasing those unintended brake lock-ups. Some bikes come with a cable absorbing device that is basically a spring instead of a section of the housing to serve the same function and usually installed on the front brake cable for entry level riders that might grab a handful of front brake by accident. For yours, the front depends on your preference but changing to compressionless housing might be an upgrade. Or you might not notice the difference. ‍