05/14/2008

Review: Nokon Cable Housing Set "Sprechen Sie Deutsches Viel" Words and pictures by Mark Steinebach

Speak German much? It never hurts to add another language to your repertoire - particularly when you can use it to decipher poorly translated instructions. AltaVista's Babelfish fits better with my natural lazy streak, though, and the online translator came in handy when I was trying to make sense of the instructions for installing my new Nokon cable housing set.

Nokon claims that this marvel of Teutonic engineering is the "patented cable system of the future." Mighty words, indeed, that are not diminished by the mega-bling factor of this item. The Nokon system is designed to replace stock shifter (and cable-activated brake) housing that typically made up of plastic outer housing and a wire-wrapped inner sheath.

Nokon patented a system in 2001 that incorporates a series of interconnecting aluminium ferrules with a fibreglass-reinforced inner Teflon sheath. The main claim to fame is that the combination of ferrules and sheath allows for compressionless operation of cables. Regular housing compresses under tension caused by shifting or braking or when it's bent, thus putting pressure on the cables and resulting in cable drag. This translates into more resistance and poor-quality shifting / braking.

The other thing the Nokon system is supposed to do is keep cables clean. Remember how silky-smooth your bike shifted when the cables were new? This is the benefit of stiff cable housing that has yet to be broken in and nice, clean cables, both of which reduce drag and maintain good shifting quality. That beautiful shifting disappears when cables become dirty and worn, and the housing gets old. Add housing compression to the mix, and your shifting turns to pure crap.

Other benefits of these cables are: 1) the system is lighter than conventional housing, 2) it's resistant to kinking (so you can have wicked nasty cable paths without resulting in drag on the cables), 3) aluminium ferrules do not rust like the steel windings inside conventional housing (which can add to drag on cables), and 4) it's ideal for suspension bikes that require cable movement during swingarm travel.

First Impressions
I first read about this product in a popular bike magazine and thought that this was the perfect techno-weenie product. I had to have it. After some Googling, I was able to track down the Canadian distributor [www.orangesportsupply.com] for Nokon and was given the name of a shop that would special order the item for me. Delivery was "promised" in three weeks. Ten weeks later, I finally received the item. The box looked like it had been carried by hand all the way from Germany and was shy one set of instructions. I downloaded some off the Nokon Web site, but they were of little use given the insanely small print, the utterly bizarre use of the English language, and the peculiar Germanic graphics.

I didn't let the lack of clear instructions or a whacked-out Web translation from Babelfish stop me, but it did make installation less than straightforward. There was definitely some difficulty in working out the cable path and then establishing how long the housing had to be. Once I solved this issue, the appropriate number of aluminium ferrules had to be slid over the inner Teflon housing to make up the complete cable run. It sounds easy, but is very finicky. Once you have done this once, like so many other things, it would be easier to do again in the future.

In spite of some of the shortcomings that were encountered in trying to get my mitts on the Nokon housing, it actually did do what it claimed to once I hit the trail. The VP-Free I'm riding right now is notorious for having mental housing angles at the pivots, which only worsen when the suspension compresses. This housing system completely eliminates any cable drag that occurs at these acute angle points.

The Ride
I have had this set on my bike for three months now, logging about 40 substantial rides and lots of sessioning, as you can imagine, winter weather on the Shore wreaks havoc on cables and housing. Cable performance can deteriorate badly after a single mud-soaked ride, and cleaning the cables after every ride is usually the only way to keep everything performing optimally.

But I have purposely not disassembled the Nokon set and they continue to operate as smooth and drag-free as the day they were installed. Cable stretch has been minimal and only required a slight adjustment after three rides, which leads me to believe that the cables provided may be pre-stretched.

One might assume that the ferrules would be death on your frame but you would be quite wrong. The ferrules are polished and very smooth, and do not seem to cut into the paint the way that the old Shimano metal disc brake hoses used to saw through paint and frame. I really have not see any ill effects to the paint on my bike that I would not have expected with standard housing. I think that the key here is that the ferrules allow you to route your cables very carefully and strategically avoid high-stress contact points, which you can't do with standard housing.

There are several copycat products out there presently that can provide an alternative to the higher-priced Nokon set. Aztec, IRD, and Delta all make a similar interconnecting ferrule-based housing system at a much lower price-point. Aztec Powerlines and others use an outer sheath to hold the ferrules together rather than Nokon's slick system of threading the ferrules onto an inner sheath. The other players' products do not have the tidy, clean lines of the Nokon set, however, and the Nokon set really does have a very high-quality look about it. The Germans have once again married the concepts of form and function, and shown that just because something is utilitarian does not mean that it need appear very utilitarian.

This product will ensure that everything continue to run drag-free and silky even after the cables are well used. Will the new housing lighten up your bike? Sure, but by a few measly grams. This is not an issue on big bikes, but could have some significance for cross-country or trail bikes. Does it add bling? Absolutely. This stuff rivals some of the biker jewellery that a lot of shops are flogging now.

I have not tested the Nokon cables long enough to be able to say how long they will last, but I can see no reason for the housing itself to wear. The inner sheath may be a weak point, but it is fibreglass reinforced and without the presence of grit and contamination from the weather, there should be a whole lot less wear than any conventional housing would likely see. The ferrules themselves will not wear and are easily re-used and could conceivably be moved from frame to frame over time.

Price
And what about cost? It will make you swallow your tongue. My set was CDN$130, but this was for my Rohloff hub, which requires a much longer set. The Nokon site states that the regular mountain bike shifter set (including front derailleur housing) is US$67. The price may settle down a little if a critical mass is achieved over time.

Performance/ Durability: 5.0  Quality: 3.5  Price: 2.0  Ease of Installation: 3.0  Bling Factor 5.0  Overall: 4.0

Pros: Cons: -- Butt-load of bling - Complete and lasting elimination of cable drag (friction) - Durable improvement in shifting - Lengthens cable life - Light-weight - Allows for tight turns in housing path - Improves cable performance on full-suspension bikes - Will cost you all your skins - Apparently delivered by canoe from Germany - Finicky to install the first time - Lack of instructions in the box, lack of useful instructions on Web site

The Vertict
You have to be the judge whether the Nokon system is worth it. From a function standpoint, they will definitely improve and maintain shifting quality. It is surprising how often we are willing to have our mega-buck bikes shift like crap, and this stuff will help keep your baby running like it ought to. If nothing else, it is a (relatively) cheap way to blingify your ride.

There are several different sets of cables and housing available including sets for cable-activated brakes, shifters (rear and front derailleurs), road bikes (brakes and shifting) and for Rohloff hub-equipped bikes. The set comes complete with lengths of inner housing appropriate for your application, along with plenty of ferrules (there are usually extra ones included), and high-quality stainless cables.