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Home | Product Reviews | Cables | Delta Aztec Powerline Shifter Cable Set | ||||
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Submitted by
Steve
a Cross Country Rider
from Mountain View CA
Date Reviewed: 2/27/2008 12:04:21 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Wet and Muddy |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $30 |
| Purchased At: | Performance |
| Strengths: | Sealed Cables |
| Weaknesses: | Not Stable Insufficient external housing |
| Similar Products Tried: | Gore Ride-On |
| Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz Superlight |
| Bottom Line: | So far very disappointing. There was insufficient housing to do my Superlight. If I didn't reuse some of my Gore housing I would have been out of luck. And it's not like my SL takes a lot of cable. What they provided would have been insufficient for my Trek 5200 road bike as well. As well, these cables are taking a long time to seat. I've had to adjust them each of three rides so far. I don't know if it's the little aluminum links that are settling, for if it's the cable, which seems a bit on the thin side. I noticed Universal Cycles has the Gore cables, so it looks like they are being imported again. I love having sealed shifter cables, so I'll go back to the Gore if these don't work. They are pricey, but they work well in my experience. |
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Submitted by
Dave
a Cross Country Rider
from Lincoln Univ, PA, USA
Date Reviewed: 2/23/2008 8:50:29 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Crack Head Bob (before it was widened) |
| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | local shop |
| Strengths: | "looks" like a good idea, no need for housing cutters, good product support |
| Weaknesses: | don't come with "grubs" to keep water and mud out of the ends of liner; housing is dimensionally unstable (thus requiring constant derailleur adjustment); lateral shifting of aluminum segments kinks liner, rendering them useless within a few months |
| Similar Products Tried: | Gore Ride-On |
| Bike Setup: | Jekyll 1000 |
| Bottom Line: | I have used Ride-On's for years on this and my other bikes. After >6000 miles the ones on my Jekyll finally failed (due to crashes, not wear). I always keep an extra set of cables in stock, but after I used my last set of Ride-Ons a couple years ago I was dismayed to find that Gore had stopped making them. When I saw the Power Lines, I thought they would be a good substitute and bought some. So, when finally I went to use them, the first thing I found was they came with grossly insufficient length of housing. The good news, when I complained to Aztec they acknowledged the problem and promptly sent me another set with enough housing. The bad news, who wants to leave the bike in the shop for two weeks waiting for stuff that should have come in the package? When the parts came I installed them carefully and found: 1) they start out pretty well, but the slop associated with the segmented cable housing means that you will need to make frequent adjustments for proper shifting (which never, in my experience, really settled in); 2) they don't come with a "grub" like the Gore system uses to keep water and mud from entering the ends of the liner (especially important on the front derailleur of the Jekyll, whose cable feeds from beneath the bottom bracket and thus tends to suck up mud), but fortunately I was able to reuse the grubs from my old Gore cables; and 3) the plastic housing tube on the Powerlines that contains the little aluminum segments kinks easily. This allows the segments to misalign, pinching the liner and resulting in friction on the cable that quickly feeds back on itself. So shifting gets worse and worse. When I finally realized the housing was source of the problem, I replaced it (with my old Gore housing that I had never thrown away). That made the rear cable barely usable again, but it was too late for the front one, whose liner had kinked too badly. The good news: Gore has finally brought Ride-Ons back into production, although at a grossly inflated price, $60-65, and the extra cost seems only to have gone into prettier packaging. Still, 6 months (tops) for $40 Powerlines that never really settle in vs. $65 for Ride-Ons that shift beautifully from the start and last indefinitely? Stick with the Gore. |
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Submitted by
Mike
a Cross Country Rider
from Chester County, PA
Date Reviewed: 1/31/2008 10:51:55 AM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | lower ho-chi-minh |
| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | Performance |
| Strengths: | Nokon knockoff- look cool. Neat idea. |
| Weaknesses: | Lots |
| Similar Products Tried: | Avid Flak Jackets, Jagwire, LBS specials, etc |
| Bike Setup: | has a frame, fork and wheels.. oh, and gears, crank, brakes, and pedals... |
| Bottom Line: | Look up "garbage" in the dictionary and you'll see a picture of these things next to this definition- "things that should be thrown away". First off, they don't provide you with enough housing to outfit a modern FS bike (they're on my Blur XC). You'd think for $40 (remember, most cable sets cost $15) they'd give you enough housing to actually use them (they instruct you to order and extension kit for an additional $20). Second- they're frustrating to install- I spent half the time chasing little aluminum barrels across my basement floor (my fault, but still a pain). Third, the cables BARELY fit in the black plastic inner liner. I could hardly push the cable through it- I'm surprised they work at all. Once I “broke them in” they seemed to work ok for awhile. They needed to be adjusted after a couple of rides like the instructions said- no problem. I almost decided I liked the cables until my bike started shifting horribly last night. It seems that the clear plastic outer tube isn't very durable. The tube on the loop at my rear derailleur cracked. I didn't crash, didn't hit it on a rock, it just cracked. Now the cable kinks at that location. $60 plus the hour for installation/chasing the aluminum bits around with a 1-month service life.. I'd have to label this one of the most disappointing purchases I’ve made in a long time. DON”T BUY THESE!!! |
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Submitted by
Steve Nilsen
a Cross Country Rider
from SF/Ca
Date Reviewed: 1/5/2008 1:29:59 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | Jenson |
| Strengths: | - Won't fade performance with time. - Maintenance free. - Doesn't need lubrication, and even that way it is smoother than regular cable and housings. - Lighter - Compressionless |
| Weaknesses: | Price, but worth every penny. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Goretex |
| Bike Setup: | Doesn't matter |
| Bottom Line: | I can't believe how bad you're rating these cables. It is the best system I've ever used and performs much crisper and effortless than regular cable and housings, even the XTR which contaminate as well as many others. Goretex get rusty with time. It is not hard to install. It is much easier than bleeding your brakes. You have to measure and mark with a pen where are you going to cut, every housing segment. Then place the entire housing as it comes from the package on a table. Use a sharp blade to make a flat cut betwen 2 pieces. Add one aluminum piece to every segment you cut and slide it until there is half of each piece exposed to to each end and press the housing ends. This step is very important if you want a perfect install. That is the commom mistake for those of you who refered 'flex or shrink' of the system. Do EVERYTHING in the table and you won't lose the small parts from the outer lining. Add the cable to the shifter, slide the cable cover/liner and make that a straight line. Then slide all 2 or 3 housings you have prepared. Now place every housing on the frame stops. The rest of installation is identical to what you're used to. I have installed these cables on my 3 bikes, the older has 2 years, and performs like new. I usually ride in mud and rain, so I'm not a 'roadie' mountain biker. This system is flawless, just need care during installation. |
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Submitted by
SOGOAK
a Cross Country Rider
from Chicaaga
Date Reviewed: 8/8/2007 8:05:24 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 1 Year |
| Price Paid: | $39 |
| Purchased At: | PMart or Jenson |
| Strengths: | none |
| Weaknesses: | Segments give like crazy and have tones of give in the system. Water got in the outer housing and made it cloudy. "Liner" is brittle and comes out. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Teflon Cables |
| Bike Setup: | 96 Klein Pulse Comp, Manitou Skareb Super, Thompson post/stem, Easton Moneylite riser, king headset, Sram X.9 twisters/shifters, x.0 Cassette and chain, Avid Arch Rival/Speed Dial 7 brakes, WTB Rocket Stealth Team TI Saddle, Ritchey ROCK/OCR Rims 32 Hole Laced to LX hubs. |
| Bottom Line: | DON'T BUY THESE! Guys in our forum where down on them saying they are just hype. They are worse, they are a pain to put on and use. When I was in PMart, Another guy was at the service desk getting new cables for the same reason. I got a brand new set of shop grade cables for $16. I'll just stick with these and swap them every year. Your money is best spent on real cable cutters. |
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Submitted by
dave
a Cross Country Rider
from boise
Date Reviewed: 8/3/2007 2:28:24 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | More than 3 years |
| Price Paid: | $30 |
| Purchased At: | performance |
| Strengths: | smooth shifting |
| Weaknesses: | outer houseing easily cracks |
| Similar Products Tried: | xtr |
| Bike Setup: | 2005 heckler, 2004 ibex trophy |
| Bottom Line: | the outer housing cracks way to easily therfore exposing the inner cable to contaminants, any kind of maintenance that would cause these cables to bend to much even briefly will crack open the outer houseing, what a shame because my shifing problems have been cured with these cables, following instructions results in good performance, the end ferrules need to be flush with the inner housing, takes some very careful trimming.I plan on trying other cables that are more durable...xtr cables work well enough. |
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Submitted by
Greg peplinski
a Cross Country Rider
from calgary, ab canda
Date Reviewed: 6/16/2007 8:29:38 AM |
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| Duration Product Used: | Less than 1 month |
| Price Paid: | $30 |
| Purchased At: | mec |
| Strengths: | none. |
| Weaknesses: | everything |
| Similar Products Tried: | normal cables+housing |
| Bike Setup: | cannondale jekyll 1000 |
| Bottom Line: | these are pathetic. good idea, impossible to mount (figure 2-3 times the work normal cables) shift on par at best, overpriced total crap. would like delta to refund me as i have ridden them maybe 30 min then went home and tossed. dont bother to buy these. if i could give it -1 chili for ripping me off, i would. |
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Submitted by
Rick
a Cross Country Rider
from Grand Junction
Date Reviewed: 5/26/2007 12:39:32 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Ribbon |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $40 |
| Purchased At: | Performance |
| Strengths: | great idea, look cool, good crisp shifting when adjusted correctly, inner cable is isolated from trail dirt and stays clean |
| Weaknesses: | A little difficult to install, Requires daily micro adjusting, especially the rear derailleur cable,always the same way, needing lengthening of the cable housing, my guess is that the inner cable is weak and is constantly stretching. |
| Similar Products Tried: | many |
| Bike Setup: | Yeti |
| Bottom Line: | they work well, but they always seem to require micro adjustments, if you can put up with that then you will love them |
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Submitted by
Kent
a Cross Country Rider
from Kansas City
Date Reviewed: 4/4/2007 5:31:59 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 6 months |
| Price Paid: | $35 |
| Purchased At: | Ebay |
| Strengths: | Sealed cable housing, teflon coated cables, cool looking, great customer service. |
| Weaknesses: | Outer casing cracked. |
| Similar Products Tried: | XTR |
| Bike Setup: | Santa Cruz full suspension. |
| Bottom Line: | Picked these up on Ebay to give them a try, thought they looked cool and the concept is sound. The first problem I ran into was the kit did not come with enough end pieces to complete the job on a full sus. frame. Delta, however sent me some more, free of charge. Everything was going well until I noticed the outer casing cracking near the shifter pod. In all fairness to the Delta Co., this may have happen as a result of a spontaneous dismount. There have been reports that the kit does not come with enough cable. I would say that this is a fair complaint and one that the company needs to address. The kit comes with barely enough cable for a medium Heckler without even a centimeter to spare. Measure-Measure-Measure then cut and pray. So the bottom line- I am recabling with XTR for one reason, XTR housing will not crack. If in the future Delta will make the housing on the Aztec powerlines more durable than I will buy them again, if they could manage to add about 5-7 extra inches of cable/housing to the kit, that would seal the deal. |
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Submitted by
Hank
a Cross Country Rider
from Tucson, AZ
Date Reviewed: 12/11/2006 12:11:05 PM |
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| FavoriteTrail: | Uh... singletrack? |
| Duration Product Used: | 3 months |
| Price Paid: | $25 |
| Purchased At: | on-line |
| Strengths: | Great theory... no housing wires to protrude. Cable is 99% protected from the elements |
| Weaknesses: | Not long enough (and I did order the longest set they had). Slow service. Translucent outer casing cracked. |
| Similar Products Tried: | Standard Shimano cables/housing, Avid Flack Jacket, Jagwires |
| Bike Setup: | 2006 Titus Moto-Lite |
| Bottom Line: | They look cool. Initially, they perform great - though with that said, I was forced to portion housing much shorter than needed because the "kit" was not long enough for the Titus. A call to teh Customer Service # had me initially *paying* for extra housing to finish the job right... but three weeks later, and I still had no housing, so they agreed to send it to me no charge. Then, when I checked this morning, after having the cables on for almost 2 months, I see the housing is beginning to crack! Bottom line - These are the most expensive cable sets around, you would expect that a) they would be long enough to cover all applications, b) if not, their customer service would acknowledge this and send you extra cover/links no cost c) the housing would last longer than a couple of months (noted: the housing only keeps the links lined up for installation - once installed, the links are tight enough that the housing is only ???? I feel badly writing this review, because I know others have had good success with this product - but I would think others would need to know the downside too. |
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Submitted by
Egger
a Weekend Warrior
from Texas
Date Reviewed: 11/22/2006 1:05:55 PM |
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| Duration Product Used: | 2 Years |
| Price Paid: | $25 |
| Purchased At: | REI |
| Strengths: | Let's see . . . Hmmmm, well . . . I DON'T WORRY ABOUT CABLE PROBLEMS EVER AGAIN!!!!!! Yippie!!!!! This may be the single-most important improvement I have ever made to a bike. Delta Customer Service is THE BEST!! |
| Weaknesses: | There wasn't enough material to complete installation on my XL Frame. One call to Delta and the required materials were shipped immediately! Gratis! |
| Similar Products Tried: | Various Teflon coated cables and standard housings. |
| Bike Setup: | Giant Reign - WTB(x3), SRAM(x5), CaneCreek(x2), Thomson(x2), Marzocchi, Ergon, E13 DRS, Delta Aztec, Titec, RaceFace Atlas, Grimeca(x1), nothin' stock but the frame and shock |
| Bottom Line: | Ahhh, the joy of worry-free shifting. I NEVER have problems with dirty cables causing ghost shifting anymore. Between the Aztec cables, and the SRAM X9 Triggers and X0 Deraileur I am now one very happy camper in the shifting department. Used to have to change cables and housings every three months. That "routine" maintenance is now a thing of the past for almost two years so far. I really cannot think of any other item that can make so much difference in the overall riding experience. Just follow the directions during installation and pretty much forget about it after that. Their Customer Service is Top Notch. |
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