Author Topic: Nokon Shimano gear cable system  (Read 4999 times)

Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« on: 21 May, 2008, 10:09:26 pm »
Does anyone have any experience of this system, as detailed here (the Nokon website is woeful):

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=27723

I'd like to get my STI cables out of the way a bit. The new 2009 Shimano system will appear in Dura Ace guise initially and even in manually powered form will be far too bloody expensive.

Can shift quality be maintained with such a tight bend from the STI exit point? I've read that 10-speed set-ups the Nokons can play havoc with the indexing.

This is what you end up with:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/photos/2004/tour04/tech/?id=jul13/zabel_bars

vince

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #1 on: 21 May, 2008, 10:13:28 pm »
I think Bomber fitted some?

It looked neat iirc, but it was a few years ago.

Charlotte

  • Dissolute libertine
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Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #2 on: 21 May, 2008, 11:11:13 pm »
Give me a week and I'll let you know - we're getting Nokon cables on the new tandem (9 speed)  :)
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

Woofage

  • Tofu-eating Wokerati
  • Ain't no hooves on my bike.
Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #3 on: 21 May, 2008, 11:15:35 pm »
After going "Shimergo" on my road bike I'd say change your shifters and use standard cables.

Must admit the Nokons are a lovely bit of bike bling though ;D
Pen Pusher

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #4 on: 21 May, 2008, 11:18:49 pm »
Give me a week and I'll let you know - we're getting Nokon cables on the new tandem (9 speed)  :)

Does that entail Nokon gear cables under the bar tape a la T-Mobile pic above?

It seems, after a read around, that it is possible to get good shifting but it takes patient set up and careful adjustment of liner length. 9-speed indexing tends to work better with the Nokon as the cable pulled per shift is more than for 10-speed. 

Look forward to seeing the bike - this is a titanium Santana?

Valid suggestion Woofage, but I do prefer the shape of the current Shimano levers. I'm not even sure if I particularly like the looks of the Nokons: it would just be nice to have the cables out of the way of my lights. 

Charlotte

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Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #5 on: 21 May, 2008, 11:21:22 pm »

Does that entail Nokon gear cables under the bar tape a la T-Mobile pic above?

No - just a standard set-up to allow for a bar bag.

Quote
Look forward to seeing the bike - this is a titanium Santana?

Steel.  With S&S couplers and lots of bling  :)
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #6 on: 21 May, 2008, 11:31:30 pm »

Does that entail Nokon gear cables under the bar tape a la T-Mobile pic above?

No - just a standard set-up to allow for a bar bag.

I'll be interested to see how it looks.

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #7 on: 22 May, 2008, 05:56:55 am »
Ah, I like the look of the gold version.  That would suit the rest of my bling gold on the TCR.
Watches with interest.

PaulF

  • "World's Scariest Barman"
  • It's only impossible if you stop to think about it
Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #8 on: 22 May, 2008, 06:12:33 am »

I'd like to get my STI cables out of the way a bit. The new 2009 Shimano system will appear in Dura Ace guise initially and even in manually powered form will be far too bloody expensive.

Can shift quality be maintained with such a tight bend from the STI exit point? I've read that 10-speed set-ups the Nokons can play havoc with the indexing.


Have you thought of these people? :D

I'll get my coat

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #9 on: 22 May, 2008, 09:29:28 am »
it would just be nice to have the cables out of the way of my lights. 

I feel your pain.
On night rides I have taken to 'restraining' the gear cables using a length of back-to-back velcro between them and the steerer.
It places them just out of the beams of the lights, and so avoids the distracting high spots of light.
Cost : around 17p

Woofage

  • Tofu-eating Wokerati
  • Ain't no hooves on my bike.
Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #10 on: 22 May, 2008, 09:35:20 am »
Have you thought of these people? :D

I'll get my coat

Pass mine while you're at it ;D
Pen Pusher

gonzo

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #11 on: 22 May, 2008, 09:37:53 am »
I've got Nokons on two of my bikes and really love them.

They're expensive but they fully seal the cable system as you have housing between the frame mounts (so along the top and down tubes). Shifting and braking is absolutely fine for me.

The only minor niggle is that you need to tie the cable back against the frame near the rear dropouts or else it sticks out sideways.

RogerT

  • Playing with a big steamy thing
Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #12 on: 22 May, 2008, 09:40:39 am »
I've got Nokons on two of my bikes and really love them.

They're expensive but they fully seal the cable system as you have housing between the frame mounts (so along the top and down tubes). Shifting and braking is absolutely fine for me.

The only minor niggle is that you need to tie the cable back against the frame near the rear dropouts or else it sticks out sideways.

That is SERIOUS Bling..if I hadn't done the Shimergo thing I would be reaching for the Cheque book  :thumbsup:

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #13 on: 22 May, 2008, 09:45:04 am »
If you feel up to fettling then get yourself a couple of the noodle tubes that come with V brakes.  Put the nipple end into the side of your STI where the gear cable exits, and the cable outer slips into the sleeve.  You can use the 90 degree ones for less of a curve and it does work.

I have seen this setup on a number of bikes at audaxes.  I cannot find any pics online at the moment though.

Alternatively, can you use Campag ergos and one of these

 

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #14 on: 22 May, 2008, 01:56:53 pm »
I've got Nokons on two of my bikes and really love them. Shifting and braking is absolutely fine for me.

I was looking at your pics and wondering if that was a Nokon set-up. Most excellent. So you don't think shift quality is altered at all? There are a few reports of people being unable to get the shifting just right with Nokons but equally there are reports of people saying that it is possible if you take your time with setting them up and that you may need to fiddle a bit with the liner length and so forth. Are you using Dura Ace cables in Nokon outers, or Nokon cable too? And are you using the adapter mentioned in the above kit or just a normal Nokon set?

it would just be nice to have the cables out of the way of my lights. 

I feel your pain.
On night rides I have taken to 'restraining' the gear cables using a length of back-to-back velcro between them and the steerer.
It places them just out of the beams of the lights, and so avoids the distracting high spots of light.
Cost : around 17p

Jurek you know me well enough to know that's way too straightforward for me  :P

PB, yes I've seen noodle set-ups but ideally I'd like to see if it is possible to get the cables under the bar tape. But yes it does work fine.

gonzo

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #15 on: 22 May, 2008, 02:06:10 pm »
I was looking at your pics and wondering if that was a Nokon set-up. Most excellent. So you don't think shift quality is altered at all? There are a few reports of people being unable to get the shifting just right with Nokons but equally there are reports of people saying that it is possible if you take your time with setting them up and that you may need to fiddle a bit with the liner length and so forth. Are you using Dura Ace cables in Nokon outers, or Nokon cable too? And are you using the adapter mentioned in the above kit or just a normal Nokon set?

I'm using nokon cables in nokon liners for that bike. In my other bike, I replaced the cables with generic £1.99 ones and they're fine. Shift quality is fine with me. It did take a while to set up and as usual, there's a little stretch after the first couple of weeks which you need to adjust.

Leave yourself at least 4 hours to build a set of Nokons properly.

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #16 on: 22 May, 2008, 02:24:05 pm »
Leave yourself at least 4 hours to build a set of Nokons properly.

Thanks Gonzo. Any tips? Apparently the Nokon instructions are poor. I'm planning to keep the existing brake cables and just Nokon the shifting.

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #17 on: 22 May, 2008, 02:32:12 pm »
...Any tips?

Nokon beads corrode (well, the silver ones do, anyway). I suppose a wipe with a greasy rag once in a while might prevent this, but I shall be reverting to conventional cabling anyway, because I have not found Nokon cables any better than the usual kind.

Those loops to get under the bar tape with current STI levers look to me like an accident waiting to happen...
Profit or planet?

gonzo

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #18 on: 22 May, 2008, 03:24:32 pm »
Thanks Gonzo. Any tips? Apparently the Nokon instructions are poor. I'm planning to keep the existing brake cables and just Nokon the shifting.

Measure twice cut once with the liner cable.

Be prepared to thread and un-thread the pieces repeatadely; it takes a while to get all the bits the right length.

Tape the cables to the bar where they go under the bar tape.

Leave sufficient cable in the thumb loop that you can pull the brake levers through a lot of their rotation; once the brake blocks wear down, you can find that the brakes lever movement is restrained by the gear cable of the thumb loop if it's too short.

If you're using standard (black) brake cables, you might want to use the black nokons as they're more durable.

Most importantly, leave yourself a lot of time so you don't rush it. Rush it and things will go wrong.

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #19 on: 22 May, 2008, 03:30:37 pm »
Great Gonzo, thanks. I am unsure how the thumb loop can restrict the lever movement but I don't have the bike in front of me to look. My plan was to get plain black outers.

gonzo

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #20 on: 22 May, 2008, 03:36:11 pm »
Regarding the thumb loop restricting movement; you'll see once you look at the levers and where the tape fixes the cable in place.

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #21 on: 22 May, 2008, 09:06:49 pm »
Those loops to get under the bar tape with current STI levers look to me like an accident waiting to happen...

I'll have to ponder that. I'm not sure the loops are any more likely to get accidentally caught than the existing Shimano gear cables, but into the fad bracket they go  ;)

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #22 on: 22 May, 2008, 09:22:55 pm »
One reason I am keen to get the shift cables out of the way is that I think they might be vulnerable to damage when packing your machine into a bike bag. Or am I mistaken?

Charlotte

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Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #23 on: 27 May, 2008, 11:22:17 am »
Probably.  Seeing as they mostly sit inside the area of the 'bars, they're safe enough I'd have thought.

Incidentally, I'll post a pic of the Santana set-up tonight, but the way John at JD Cycles has done it is to use about four inches of Nokon cable coming out of the STI, then an inline adjuster, then an ordinary (but shorter) cable.  It looks really good and if you're not using a 'bar bag, just sits much like ordinary Shimano cabling.  Unlike ordinary cabling, you can just twist it to the side if you're going to use a 'bar bag.  Genius  :)
Commercial, Editorial and PR Photographer - www.charlottebarnes.co.uk

Re: Nokon Shimano gear cable system
« Reply #24 on: 27 May, 2008, 02:04:38 pm »
Thanks Charlotte. Damage in bike bag no longer an issue as I've just got one of those dhb bike suitcases from Wiggle  :thumbsup: No bloody sweeties though.

I'll be most interested in close-up photos of the brake cable set up and indeed of the rest of your tandem! Congrats in advance.  :)