Straight-wire construction, and a diameter stated twice as two numbers
Jagwire LEX shift housing, 4 mm (0.16 in), 15.2 m (50 ft) roll
A 15.2 meter (49.9 ft) roll of linear-strand shift cable housing with fifty end caps, for derailleur systems only.
What you are getting
A 50 ft (15.2 m) roll of Jagwire shift cable housing with 50 shift end caps. Made in Taiwan. 454 g (16 oz). $26.99.
Read the diameter twice before ordering
The title says 4 mm (0.16 in). The second bullet says “external diameter is 5 mm (0.20 in)”, with 4 mm (0.16 in) end caps.
Those cannot both be right, and the difference decides whether the housing fits. Shift housing is 4 mm (0.16 in) across, near-universally, and a frame’s gear cable stops and inline adjusters are bored for 4 mm (0.16 in). A 5 mm (0.20 in) housing will not enter them.
What the rest of the listing supports is 4 mm (0.16 in): the end caps are 4 mm (0.16 in), and the product is Jagwire LEX, which is Jagwire’s 4 mm (0.16 in) shift housing designation. The weight supports it too — 454 g (16 oz) for 15.2 m (50 ft), half what the 5 mm (0.20 in) brake roll on this page weighs.
So the title and the end caps agree, and one bullet is wrong. Confirm with the seller all the same, because at 50 feet a mistake is expensive.
Its third bullet is the other half of this shelf’s tag
“Inner straight wire structure with plastic sheath lining, specifically designed for derailleur and shift cable applications only, not for brake cable use.”
The tag on this page is that brake and gear housing look alike and are built completely differently, and Jagwire publishes both halves. The brake roll on this page is “spiral bending… wound construction”. This is straight wire: strands laid along the housing’s length rather than wrapped round it.
Longitudinal strands cannot shorten. That is the whole point: a gear cable is held under steady tension and indexed in millimeter steps, so housing that compresses even slightly turns a crisp shift into a vague one. Under brake force, the same construction splits open at a tight bend — which is why Jagwire forbids it.
454 g (16 oz) against 907 g (32 oz), which is the structure made measurable
Same brand, same length, same liner. The brake roll weighs exactly double.
That is the most useful single fact in this group: the difference between brake and shift housing is not a label, it is the steel.
Fifty feet and fifty caps
“Enough cable housing to assemble five bicycles”, and fifty 4 mm (0.16 in) end caps — roughly ten a bike, which is generous: a bike uses four to six shift ferrules.
At $26.99 for 15.2 m (50 ft) that is $1.78 a meter, identical to the brake roll. A bike needs about 2 to 2.5 m (7 to 8 ft) of shift housing.
What it does not include
No inner cable. Shift inner wire is 1.1 to 1.2 mm — the Corki set on this page supplies 1.1 mm and the Shimano gear cable already published on this shelf is 1.2 mm — and neither is in this box.
What is not published
No internal diameter (the 4 mm figure in the title is conventionally the external one), no liner material beyond “plastic sheath”, no compressionless rating, and no minimum bend radius. The listing is otherwise clear and well organized, which is what makes the diameter contradiction stand out.
Availability
Read on the day this page was built: $27 at the American Amazon shop.
Read from Keepa on the day this page was last revised; stock and price both move without notice.
Prices quoted in this text were read on 2026-10-06. The live price is at the top of the page.
