VisionTech Aero Brake lever cables

It's been a long day and even longer evening.  Hey, I'm not complaining!  It's good to be busy.  There is something that I'd like to share with you mainly because it's been bugging me.  Today, I was on a quest to find out if there is a specific replacement brake cable set for the VisionTech Aero Brake Levers.  Since the original cables that come with the levers have a unique end, much like a standard shimano derailleur cable, I wanted to know if replacements are available.  I searched their website and a large suppliers catalog and wasn't too successful (I did find a brake cable set of  Drag On cables and housing, but it was listed for mountain bike use and didn't include any other info that might lead me to believe that it was indeed designed for the Aero levers...).  This forced me to call FSA, who owns VisionTech, to get a definitive answer... I was told that a standard mountain bike type cable would work.  I responded that it definitely would not work because the cable end is similar to a derailleur cable.  I asked if there are replacement cables available for purchase.  After placing me on hold, he told me that a derailleur cable "SHOULD" work.... and I quote,  "I mean, like you shift thousands of times compared to braking..."  Unbelievable.  Obviously, I was not satisfied with his answer.  (I'm I the only one that can see the liability issue here?!?  But then again, it was VisionTech that dragged its feet about this...).

I then called the large supplier and left a voice mail with the product manager regarding my concern.  When he promptly returned my call he said that he was given the same answer from FSA and he too was not comfortable with it.  He mentioned that the president of FSA was going to be there later on in the day and that he'll ask him personally.  He promised to get back to me with the answer tomorrow.  Fair enough.  He did mention that the listing in their on-line catalog was a misprint and said that he will get it corrected.  What I'm wondering is  how many people have replaced their brake cables with derailleur cables?  Because there is a significant difference in the diameter of the cables (typically 1.2mm for derailleur and 1.6mm for brake(Shimano DuraAce and mountain)) along with the size of the cable end, there has to be a significant reduction of strength of the cables let alone the ability of the pinch bolt on the brake calipers to hold the cable in the designated groove.  If these are in fact proprietary cables (which is ALL that we really need!), they need to publicly make this known.   I'll keep you posted on what I find out.

Comments

[RogueMechanic]

Thanks for your comment Nick. I'd still recommend using their brake cable for those levers... Just about any shop should now be able to get them for you...Tell them that QBP stocks them. Cheers!

[Nick Stoyanov]

I pretty much went through the same thing. Only I could not reach anyone at Vision - it seems they don't do customer service (that's a way to go)

Well, I do use a shifter cable, since it works with the proprietary cable end design. Did some research - seems like a shifter cable should be strong enough and won't pull out of the pinch bolt. Or so I think. There's substantial streching, though, that makes brake modulating quite difficult. This is a time trial bike we are talking about and one does need a very sensitive rear brake if one should enter a turn at 45 mph.

Bottom line - yes, great job designing products, but complete lack of customer service and the very move to a proprietary cable system is just plain obnoxious.

I've made it a goal now to discourage people from buying ANY FSA/Vision product.

Cheers.

Nick.