Bikes & Gear

Reviews

Bike Features

Workshops

Buyers Guides

Powercordz gear cables review

|

$69

Change Currency What's this?
Powercordz Cables

BikeRadar verdict

3.5 out of 5 stars

"Slick science that’ll lighten up shifting feel and weight instantly"

3 comments
Fri 12 Jun 2009, 1:00 pm BSTBy

Shopping partners

There are lots of different slicker shifting steel cable sets around, but Power Cordz are a whole new string for your bow.

Rather than steel inner cables, you’re getting 10,000 PBO (a rigid rod isotropic crystal polymer) fibres coated in low-friction nylon with an anodised nipple on the end.

These deliver the same braking strength as steel cables but at 25 percent of the weight and minus any corrosion.

There’s no need for Gore-style liners and they won’t stretch or need adjusting after a week. They feel silky smooth too, especially in Shimano shifters.

The recent dry weather hasn’t been the most gruelling test but the science says they should stay that way longer than most cables.

And though they’re pricey for cables, their lighter weight means you’ll knock about 50g off the average bike a lot cheaper than you would by swapping other equipment.

You do need to clamp them super tight to grip the fibres, which can split the coating and make them fray. A single kit won’t do a fully ‘through-routed’ bike either.

What's the score with BikeRadar reviews? You can find a full explanation of our ratings here.

Manufacturers description

Our 1.5mm Derailleur Cordz System is designed to drop into most existing shift systems (Shimano, SRAM, Campy compatible) with little to no modification. We sweat the small details - this means including everything you need to easily upgrade your road or mtn bicycle properly. The 5mm derailleur system includes our lightweight, compressionless Kevlar lined housing (you can't find this quality spec'd on many bicycles regardless of the price range), our famed 1.5mm derailleur cables and our own sealed, alloy ferrules that resist bending and deformation. Power Cordz housing is pre-lubed with special Teflon grease to withstand water and is formulated to stay put in the housing where it belongs. Our sealed ferrules are made of alloy to prevent bending and housing deformation. They are lined to reduce friction and sealed to keep out the grit. These small details ensure your Cordz operate flawlessly for many years. EZ-Bend housing segments are included to aid with the tight bends encountered when running housing on drop bars. Plus, they prevent the tedious need to re-wrap your bars in the event you need to remove your handlebar (think shipping). The bottom line - our system is far superior to the cheap cables & housing spec'd on even the most high-end road bikes. We've considered weight savings, durability, and shift precision to build a cable system that every high end bicycle deserves.

You might also like...

User Reviews

There are 3 reviews on this post

Showing 1 - 3 of 3 comments

  • ooooh, anodised nipples

    shame my weight weenie bike has no cables on it or I might be forced to spring for a set of these. My other bikes wouldn't benefit from a 50g weight saving tbh

  • £60? they must have really thought hard about pricing these competivly, fail!

  • One of the best products I have used.

    I ride a 6" FS, I didn't notice the 50g, but I did notice the improved shifting and the fact that after a year I have not had to touch my gears.

    £60 is a lot of money, I just bought the inners, that is the important bit.

Submit Your Review:

You need to login or register to post comments.

Specification

Name:
Cables (09)
Built by:
Power Cordz
Price:
$69.00

Length (mm):
2000 mm
Diameter:
1.52 mm

Related links

BikeRadar is not responsible for the content of external websites

Also on BikeRadar