Fraid cable

[mickeg]

... there's plenty of examples of people suggesting not all cables are as good as others.
...

There are better cables and poorer cables.

The discussion of will a non-Rohloff cable work, that is a fit question, in this thread it is a diameter of cable head question.

For indexed derailleur shifters, minimizing friction is quite important for precise shifting when the indexing is in the shifter, less important for a Rohloff.

And cable composition.  Last year I had a shifter fail on one of my touring bikes, cable was four years old.  I was quite sure that I only bought stainless cables, but looking at the cable that failed, I think a galvanized cable snuck into my box of spares.  That cable that failed looked like corrosion caused it.  Two photos.   A cable in bar end shifters is easily exposed to sweat in your hands that can cause corrosion.

And as Dan noted, if the head is too big, you can make it smaller.  On my rando bike I have a vintage Huret friction downtube shifter for the front derailleur.  That shifter uses a cable that has a head shaped quite different from current common cable heads.  With a file I was able to quickly re-shape a modern cable head to fit in the Huret shifter.

[PH]

... there's plenty of examples of people suggesting not all cables are as good as others.
...

There are better cables and poorer cables.

The discussion of will a non-Rohloff cable work, that is a fit question, in this thread it is a diameter of cable head question.

What was the question...
I've just looked in the "living with a Rohloff" booklet, it says

The EX box uses conventional cables, found in every bike
shop in the world - 1.1mm gear inner cable and conventional
(brake) outer casing.

I'm going to take that as the definitive answer, you can use any cable.

But then the question remains why SJS/Thorn recommend a particular one when they stock dozens.  I don't know the answer to that, I'm going to assume there's a reason and given that it's just as easy for me to get a recommended one as one that isn't I'm going to stick to doing just that.

[mickeg]

...
I've just copied this from the facebook Rohloff Group

Please advance me about shift cables that works with Rhohoff. I bought Shimano standard, but apparently this cable's head is too wide, diameter 5 mm, and it gets stuck in 8th gear! Seems like Rohloff original is 4 mm wide.

...

You identified one of the many reasons I never got a Facebook account.

...
I've just looked in the "living with a Rohloff" booklet, it says

The EX box uses conventional cables, found in every bike
shop in the world - 1.1mm gear inner cable and conventional
(brake) outer casing.

I'm going to take that as the definitive answer, you can use any cable.
...

Thank you for posting.

[Bill]

would gorilla glue work? Epoxy?

The thing about super glue is it soaks in between the cable's strands and adds virtually nothing to the outside diameter. I tried Gorilla Glue once and had to recut the cable as it added too much bulk. There's not a lot of room to work with when inserting cable ends to the little pulley wheel in the EX shift-box.

There's several types of cyanoacrylate-based super glue. I prefer beta-cyanoacrylate as it will bond securely through light contamination and I've found even new cables that have been degreased with brake cleaner can still carry a little of the lubrication from the forming dies -- it gets between the strands when they are wound. You can quickly check for this contamination by drawing a fresh cable between our fingers. If it leaves a dark mark in your fingers, that's die oil. Regular super glue can/has come loose for me on occasion for this reason -- it doesn't fully bond through oil traces. If glue is not specifically labeled "beta-cyanoacrylate", check the packaging to see if it is also recommended for leather, rubber, and wood. If so, it is "undeclared" beta.

EDIT/Addendum 1: A file can reduce the outer diameter of lead cable ends. I did it back in the day to adapt larger ends for use with Simplex shifters. Being soft, the lead comes off quickly and with little effort. We're only talking tenths of a millimeter in most cases. I prefer my Niehoff automotive ignition points file (any else remember points even though they are now er, "pointless" on modern cars?).

Addendum 2: My favorite cable cutter of all time is my prized SunTour, which must be close to 40 years old by now. It is easily resharpened and uses two v-shaped jaws so it doesn't flatten the cable. For housing, I prefer my Felco cutters, also with dual v-jaws and can also be resharpened; it will even cut SIS indexed housing while keeping the strands intact. Both cut cleanly and won't squish or spread even unglued cables.

Best,

Dan.

So much good, interesting, esoteric information here, thanks everybody.

[joesoap]

Buy the Park Tools cable cutter and you will have perfectly cut cables for evermore. Job done.