which Shimano shift cable

[hamishm]

I need some shift cable outer to go with my new Shimano RS-685 shifters. Two questions;
1. Is outer available separately? Probably easier just to buy a shift cable set anyway.
2. Which outer to get? I see there's DA-9000, 6800 and 5800 "Optislick" all at difference price points. Does it matter?

Now I remember why I've been riding Di2 only for the past three years

[Duck!]

The "badged" cable sets will have different coatings on the inner cables depending on the level, but all use the SP41 outer, which is Good Stuff.

If you get a full cable set DON'T get the Dura-Ace, it has the polymer-coated cables which are crap; the coating peels off & clogs the outer.

[hamishm]

If you get a full cable set DON'T get the Dura-Ace, it has the polymer-coated cables which are crap; the coating peels off & clogs the outer.

Thanks for the tip. The Ultegra set seems to have the polymer coated inner too eg here: https://www.bikebug.com/shimano-ultegra ... 38810.html

[Patt0]

I did the broken rear on my 685 and it had coated cables. Like Duck said, all the coating had come off. Replaced with sp41 outer and shimano SS inner. Shifts as good as it ever did.

[biker jk]

I buy Shimano SP-41 gear cable outer in bulk (10 metres). Then use Shimano stainless steel cables (PTFE).

[hamishm]

I did the broken rear on my 685 and it had coated cables. Like Duck said, all the coating had come off. Replaced with sp41 outer and shimano SS inner. Shifts as good as it ever did.

Oh, you have BR-685 shifters and they came with the polymer coated stuff? Damn, I was looking for plain outer to go with the supplied inners on my new shifters, maybe I need to throw the lot then.

biker jk, where do you get the bulk outer? (Actually I don't really need 10m. I saw an ebay seller doing it by the meter, but I guess then you need to source the end caps.)