Do break cables make a difference

[Brickleberry]

Recently bought a new bike second hand with full ultegra group set 10 speed. But I have to say the Tiagra brakes on my old bike work ALOT better. I have noticed the ultegra set up has some Chinese break cables called Shang An hooking them up. Could this be the reason, would it make that much difference ?

[Vetseun]

Recently bought a new bike second hand with full ultegra group set 10 speed. But I have to say the Tiagra brakes on my old bike work ALOT better. I have noticed the ultegra set up has some Chinese break cables called Shang An hooking them up. Could this be the reason, would it make that much difference ?

If your break cable doesnt brake, you should be fine.

[David Marshall]

Cable won't make much difference.  Brake blocks and block alignment will.  I have found the RavX red pads to be the best all round for me.

[JA-Q001]

If your outer is not properly installed or worn, then yes it will make a big differance. I would suggest replacing with some proppr cables.

[Mongoose!]

Recently bought a new bike second hand with full ultegra group set 10 speed. But I have to say the Tiagra brakes on my old bike work ALOT better. I have noticed the ultegra set up has some Chinese break cables called Shang An hooking them up. Could this be the reason, would it make that much difference ?

Why you calling it break cables? Because they are from China?

[Butterbean]

Ya outers make a difference.

 

But make sure the following is set properly:

 

Brake pads aren't worn

 

Pads are aligned along the braking surface correctly. Should be 1/2mm from the edge of the rim.

 

Set your brakes toe in - this makes the biggest difference to me. Assuming your alignment is already correct, take a credit card or a thin business card folded in half. Pop it behind the trailing edge (rear side) of the brake pad, between the rim and the pad. Pull caliper tight, and loosen the pad. Then, pull tight as you can and tighten the pad bolt. Repeat front and back and you're done.

 

I've found higher end calipers have better arm stiffness(Ultegra vs sora, for instance), but shouldn't make a massive difference. Also check that the cable setting doesn't set them (at rest) too far from the rim. You want to be as close as possible without brake run on climbs or hard efforts. This way, you need to pull less and apply less force to the lever to get the max power out of the caliper.