Nokon Cable System
By James Sharp

There are some parts of the modern mountain bike that the Wright brothers wouldn’t recognize. Modern suspension, for instance, has done much to change the way mountain bikes look. There are so many pivots, springs, joints, etc. One thing that they would recognize, were they to be transported to our day, is the drive train. Sure the derailleur is more refined and works better than the brothers Wright could have imagined, but there is still a chain running on cogs. That chain is still moved from cog to cog with the derailleur. A cable still, with very few exceptions, moves that derailleur. Cables are an inherent weak link in the whole mechanism. Sure they have their advantages; they are cheap, reliable (sort of) and easy to work on. But they are prone to contamination, they stretch, they corrode, they aren’t that lightweight and the housing they slide in compresses and is limited to how tight a bend it can make. Well, Nokon feels that they have a solution to many of these issues, without doing away with the ease of use that the traditional cable offers.

What is different about Nokon housing? The most obvious thing is that it is made up of segments. These small cylindrical segments are rounded at the ends and fit together like little ball-and-socket joints. They are made of aluminum so they won’t rust. The flexible inner liner is fiberglass reinforced Teflon to keep things running smooth. By making the outer housing out of aluminum segments, Nokon has eliminated one of the annoying traits of traditional housing, compression. Normal housing is made of either strands of steel wire, or a flat wire coil, wrapped in plastic. Both of these methods, coil or strands, are able to compress, reducing the feel at the brake lever, or interfering with modern drive trains. This wasn’t a problem five or six years ago, but as Shimano, Campagnolo and Sram have put more and narrower cogs (9 cogs in the space that 7 used to occupy) in the same amount of space, shifting tolerances have been reduced to a frustrating level. Now small irritants like cable stretch and housing compression, not to mention contamination, can severely degrade what would otherwise be crisp shifting. Eliminating that compression goes a long way in restoring good feel at the brake or shift lever.

In order to reduce or eliminate contamination, the Teflon sleeve runs almost full length. I say almost because there is a small section in the middle of the cable run where the cable is exposed. Nokon supplies a small clear plastic tube to cover this area. The purpose is to allow the user to lube the cable without complete disassembly. I have found that if my shifting is becoming slow, or if I feel extra drag at the lever, I just drop some lube in the Teflon sleeve, via this access point, and my problems go away. How’s that for ease of maintenance?

Another problem with traditional cable housing is its stiffness. It doesn’t make tight bends and can be kinked. As suspension bikes get more complicated, routing cables becomes more difficult. Nokon solves this by allowing a tighter radius than traditional housing. Also, because it won’t kink, Nokon housing is easily routed around pivots, linkages and other moving parts. As an added bonus, the Nokon housing is lighter than all but the thinnest traditional cable and housing on the market.

I have had the Nokon system on my bike for the last 10 months. In Oregon. Riding all winter. In that time, I have added lube once to the rear derailleur cable, and that is all. My shifting has been crisp. If it feels otherwise, I slide the little tube aside, drop in some more lube, slide the tube back into place and I am on my way. There is nothing like full housing to keep the elements out.

Unfortunately, there is one problem to all the joints that this system has, and there are a lot of joints. Where the segments come together is aluminum on aluminum. Any dirt or dust that collects there will cause the housing to creak. I didn’t notice it so much during the wet weather, but during a trip out to the desert the dust really made it loud. It could be heard every time I turned the handle bar. Like I said, this wasn’t an issue where the humidity is higher and the weather is wetter most of the year, but if I lived in, say, Arizona, I would have to think hard about putting up with the noise.

Summary: For $59 you Nokon gives you a state-of-the-art cable system in silver or black. The Nokon system is superior to standard housing in just about every way. It’s smoother, keeps out the elements better, resists kinking and compression better, it’s tougher and lighter. Set up takes longer, but patience is rewarded with smooth, crisp shifting and an appearance that looks great on any bike out there. Is it worth the premium over standard housing? Only you can answer that, but if you ride year-round in inclement weather, I suggest you take a long hard look at what Nokon has to offer.

James Sharp is a contributing editor for GearReview.com specializing in mountain biking.

For more information, contact:
Nokon Products
4 North Corporate Drive
PO Box 30
Riverdale, NJ 07457
Phone: 1-888-NOKON-77
E-mail: info@nokonUSA.com
www.nokonusa.com