Nokon

Product review time. When I got the Ro Sham Bo, it was pretty hard to set up the rear brake cable as the stop at the front of the bike is tight in to the headtube on the left side of the bike. This is clearly for the American crowd who favour the left brake-front/rear-right thing.

As a result of some head scratching I ended up parting with the cash for Nokon brake cables. Ostensibly a plastic tube in which the cable runs from lever to caliper, with articulating metal sections for the lever to frame/frame to caliper bits.

They cost a lot more than even an XTR cable set, so they need to work well to justify the costs. Do they?

Oh yes. Not only can you lose the noodle on v-brakes, they can operate smoothly in a very tight radius. This not only allows neater routing of the cable, it allows them to work considerably smoother too. In terms of mud resistance, well, I have had my set on for 10 months now. Ridden through every type of gloop and muck. I have never washed this bike. It has been rained on, frozen and generally given some tough love. It is only now I need to put a little oil in the cables as the resistance is noticeably increased. Power is enhanced because the metal sections do not compress even a little bit. They creak a little when muddy though.

Go get some.

I'll report back next year.