Internal cable routing...

williambowland

OK - I am curious...

How does one replace the cabling on bikes with this new fangled internal cable routing tackle =] ...

I have enough ball ache replacing external gear cables!

I have noticed a tendency for WMB to claim internal cable routing gives a "quieter ride"... hands up those who have noticed the deafening cacophony created by their gear cables. I dunno... my hardtail is quite noisy what with the chain slap, Hope free hub and the gruntings / exclamations of its pilot - maybe I am missing something?

W

Anonymous

Actually I've found that people's bikes who have internal routing tend to be noisier, since there's nothing really to stop the cable rattling around inside the frame.


Anyhooooo, the easiest way to replace cables, assuming you've already pulled the old ones out, is to feed some string into the hole at one end, and keep hold of one end of the string. Then stick a vacuum cleaner at the other hole, switch it on, and it will suck the string through.

You can now attach the cable to the string, and pull it through.

Thewaylander

Vacuum for fitting, cables wouldn't have thought of that one Yee, good idea that one lol

Anonymous

Thewaylander wrote:

Vacuum for fitting, cables wouldn't have thought of that one Yee, good idea that one lol

well, to be fair, cables don't think of much apart from sea anemones.

drays

leave the outer in while you replace the inner, then pull out the old outer leaving the new inner in place. and thread new outer over th new inner.

simples

njee20

well, to be fair, cables don't think of much apart from sea anemones.

I'm not sure the vacuum would work - I don't think you'd get a good enough 'seal' against the frame, except on something like a Five with a lot of flat surfaces! Generally the best way (assuming you've pulled the old one out) is to swear lots and spend hours faffing.

My Top Fuel has little 'windows' you can remove around the guides, so you're aiming for a substantially bigger hole, makes things marginally easier!

Anonymous

you really don't need much of a seal though, mind, since the string doesn't weigh much.
It's often enough to just help the seal with your hand.

njee20

Good tip - I like that!

toasty

On a similar note, once you have a cable fitted you should never have to go through the hell again. Even if you're changing outers + inners, just slide out the old outer but leave the inner in position, slide the new outer onto the old cable, then remove the inner and replace.

Or the other way around, basically make sure you always have either outer or inner fed through the frame.

nicklouse

it also varies from frame make to make as some have internal guides.

Chunkers1980

Seems like a lot of faff for little reward.

Anonymous

Chunkers1980 wrote:

Seems like a lot of faff for little reward.

Erm, the reward being a bike that has gears and brakes.
Becoming a fixie rider (particularly against your will) could be considered a fate worse than death.

Chunkers1980

My bike has gears and brakes, just the cables are on the outside.

Anonymous

Chunkers1980 wrote:

My bike has gears and brakes, just the cables are on the outside.

So your bike doesn't have internal routing. Others do - and those that DO, often don't have any external routing points.

Chunkers1980

I know that. My point was on the OP.

So to repeat my self somewhat - internal routing seems like a lot of faff for little reward.

williambowland

Oooh...

I have been looking for an excuse to get my hands on a DustBuster. Maybe buying a new bike would provide me with the reasoning that will surely persuade the missus that I desperately require a little vacuum cleaner...

I reckon there is a cheesy joke on the "cleaner look" vibe there somewhere if you are willing to lower yourself.

Internal guides? What? Surely that is cheating or something?

W

Anonymous

Chunkers1980 wrote:

I know that. My point was on the OP.

So to repeat my self somewhat - internal routing seems like a lot of faff for little reward.

I agree that internal routing is a bit daft, but, if your bike has it, you have no option, so you're not really helping the OP.

Chunkers1980

Are you sure you have no option? What about full length outer gear cables?

Anonymous

No cable stops.
You're still missing the point - it was asked how you replace the gear cables in internal routed designs.

Chunkers1980

You have 2 x cable stops - one at the mech the other at the shifter - zippies, string or anything specifically made for it or not will work should you not want the faff if you're forced into it by your frame being internally routed.

williambowland

I was only curious... my ride is "oldskool" enough to have external routing still =] .

Internal cable routing seems to be on the up - been looking (from a distance) at a few bikes with it so I just wanted to know how to replace the cables.

W

scale20

I had a Klein Attitude that had internal routing, made for a nice clean look to the frame with no cables routed on the outside of the frame. It could be a right mare if you forgott and pulled the cable out without sliding a thin tube in through the frame over the inner cable!