# Power Cordz with Rohloff and Nokon?



## arne_and (Dec 5, 2006)

I have a Rohloff Speedhub, where I use Nokon liners and Shimano XTR teflon coated wires. I have problems with the wires becoming permanently bent, which makes shifting harder. I have tried different positions of the grip shift, but for some reason the wires become bent after a short while. I am therefore looking for shift cables that are not made from metal, and I found Power Cordz. I have some questions:

Does anyone know if the Cordz will become permanently bent if they are severely bent, like steel wires, or will they retain their original shape?

Since the 1.5mm Cordz are compatible with Nokon housing when used with the Power Cordz Nokon compatible line, this seems like my best bet. Does anyone know if the 1.5mm Cordz will fit the Rohloff gripshift? Power Cordz writes:


> 1.5mm Derailleur Cordz™ are compatible with all major shift systems but may require slight modification at the cable inlet hole of the shifter. 1.5mm Derailleur Cordz™ are compatible with: '07 Shimano XTR MTB shifters without modification, with SRAM X0 grips and trigger MTB shifters without modification and with pre-'07 Shimano XTR MTB shifters with slight modification to the right shifter (by enlarging the cable inlet hole with a 1/16 drill bit).


I have e-mailed Power Cordz, but I expect their experience with Rohloff is minimal to none, thus I am posting here as well.

Thanks,
Arne


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## OldMTBfreak (Apr 8, 2006)

Are the housings becoming bent? Or the shift wires? The wires do become bent around the shifter and around the thimble in the rear. The wires bending around the shifter and the thimble don't cause problems with my Ronloff. If the housings are bent, fix your routing or put longer housings on. Remember to use brake housing, not shift housing. This is a known gotcha with the Rohloff. Another thing to keep an eye on is the grease in the shifter. I use lots of grease between the two parts of the shifter or I find it's hard to move the shifter. Also leave a little slack in the shift housings, a couple of mm is ok.


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## arne_and (Dec 5, 2006)

The wires are becoming bent, not the housing. The bent wires seem to cause excess friction when the bent section is forced into/out of the housing. I use Nokon liner and housing, and I can see the bent section of the wire making the housing and liner bend as it moves.

When the wires are freshly installed, the shifting is quite easy. After a short while, it becomes much harder, and at this point I also notice the bent wires.

I use shift cables, not brake cables, since I use Nokon liners. Is that a problem?

I leave a bit of slack in the wires/housings, I think the shifting works better that way.


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## OldMTBfreak (Apr 8, 2006)

Well, I thot of this problem while I riding my road bike this morning(it has Nokons). I was caught in a hellacous thunder storm and while riding along cold, wet, and my glasses fogged up, I may have hit upon the answer. The Nokon's must not be supporting the slack cable. You may have observed that during shifting, one housing is tight, one slack. You really don't need any sort of fancy cable system with the Rohloff. Since indexing is done in the hub, all we gotta do is twerl the thimble on the shifter shaft to effect a shift. Put a glob of grease right in middle of the thimble. After you reattach the shift box, the grease will cover all the moving parts. Also check that moving the bars doesn't bind the Nokon's. I would save the Nokon's for your road bike. They work well, they also squeak if you don't oil them occasionally.


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## swift (Apr 3, 2007)

arne_and said:


> I use shift cables, not brake cables, since I use Nokon liners. Is that a problem?


Derailer cable and larger diameter brake housing is the correct setup. Smooth runs with no kinks in the housing. The housing should run the entire length from shifter to hub, without breaks.

Good luck!


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## arne_and (Dec 5, 2006)

I have installed Powercordz Nokon liners and 1.2mm shift cables, and the difference is phenomenal! The old cabled were severely bent and were really hard to shift with, while the new setup shifts effortlessly. The cables are really soft and supple, so I think this will be a smooth running setup for a long time.

There is an issue when installing the cables in the external shift mechanism. The synthetic cables are not very compatible with the mechanism for fixing them. If the screws are tightened too hard, the cable breaks. If they are too loose, the cable will pull out. I advice some experimentation before cutting the cables. I imagine this issue can be minimized by fortifying the synthetic cables with short stubs of strands from normal shift wires.


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## bstiff (Jul 21, 2004)

I'm inclined to believe that there's some issue with your setup that was causing the bent cables. Too much/too little slack?

I've been running the same cables since I put my Rohloff on, three seasons ago. The shifting is only getting better over time.

What did you use for guidance when you set up your shifting arrangement?


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