Vintage Nokon cables

term1te

I can't resist a bargain, and picked up some Nokon brake and gear cables in a charity shop. Unused, still in original packaging, probably from 1999, as the packaging says successfully tested in 1997/8 Tour de France.

Apart from looking different, would they offer any advantage over the standard Shimano cables that have been on my bike for the last 5 years? I've only ever seen them on a few bikes, generally the more "pimped" looking ones. The ones I've got are silver, so a bit more understated, and might look good with a titanium frame? I've got no complaints with the current cables, so is it worth replacing/"upgrading" to the Nokons for anything other than aesthetic reasons?

rolf_f

You have a spare set of cables. Your current ones will wear out eventually. Then you replace them with the Nokons. It's a waste for no gain to replace them sooner.

ugo.santalucia

Rolf F wrote:

You have a spare set of cables. Your current ones will wear out eventually. Then you replace them with the Nokons. It's a waste for no gain to replace them sooner.

You heard that Rolf? 99 is vintage... I wonder if the neolitic now extrends all the way to WW2... :roll:

Monty Dog

I run Nokons on 3 bikes - they are simply fit and forget if you run the inner sleeving full-length. Some people rubbish about them, mainly because they failed to install them correctly, meaning they sag and droop. Because the outer sections twist as they move, they don't scuff-up the paint as bad either - they work really well where you have a short headtube or tight-turns.

rolf_f

ugo.santalucia wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

You have a spare set of cables. Your current ones will wear out eventually. Then you replace them with the Nokons. It's a waste for no gain to replace them sooner.

You heard that Rolf? 99 is vintage... I wonder if the neolitic now extrends all the way to WW2... :roll:

I did notice that. It makes me feel old to regard 1990 as maybe vintage but at least that has the justification that there are mildly significant functional differences between bikes pre 1990 and present!

I think WW2 actually counts as Jurassic!

term1te

Thanks for the comments, I'll leave them in the box of useful bicycle bits for the moment then, at least until I need to change the cables or handlebar tape.

I've always taken vintage to mean of a particular year, generally relating to something of high quality, especially wine. So for me 2012 was a vintage year for cycling, whereas, I'm led to believe, 1978 and 1990 were vintage years for Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

ugo.santalucia

1998 was a vintage year for the Tour de France... the last time I actually enjoyed it...