Internal cable routing - Canyon Ultimate CF

CptKernow

I'm just replacing the groupset on my 2012 Canyon Ultimate CF SL frame. I've already replaced cables a couple of times but have always used the plastic lining tubes that came with the frame - i.e. the straw-like tubes.

This time I can't find all of the tubes so am wondering if I need them. I'm kind of assuming that the frame doesn't have internal guides so am holding off.

Can anyone confirm this one way or the other?

Thanks.

Ben6899

CptKernow wrote:

I'm just replacing the groupset on my 2012 Canyon Ultimate CF SL frame. I've already replaced cables a couple of times but have always used the plastic lining tubes that came with the frame - i.e. the straw-like tubes.

This time I can't find all of the tubes so am wondering if I need them. I'm kind of assuming that the frame doesn't have internal guides so am holding off.

Can anyone confirm this one way or the other?

Thanks.

The idea is to thread the 'straws' onto the existing cables - from one cable stop/entry to the next - to act as a guide through the frame for the new cable. When you remove the existing cable, the straw remains in place... does that make sense?

So you only need one straw, assuming it's long enough for all scenarios, to re-cable your bike. Use it for one cable at a time.

CptKernow

Ben6899 wrote:

The idea is to thread the 'straws' onto the existing cables - from one cable stop/entry to the next - to act as a guide through the frame for the new cable. When you remove the existing cable, the straw remains in place... does that make sense?

So you only need one straw, assuming it's long enough for all scenarios, to re-cable your bike. Use it for one cable at a time.

Thanks for the reply.
What I was getting at though wa do I need the straws? (or is there internal routing?)

Ben6899

If the bike was supplied with straws, my suspicion is that you need them and that the internal routing of the bike constitutes no more than holes in the frame.

CptKernow

Decided not to find out the hard way and have bought some ptfe tubing (4mm outer diameter / 2mm inner). Lots of it on eBay as it seems to be used for 3d printers...

ghostintheshimano

CptKernow wrote:

Decided not to find out the hard way and have bought some ptfe tubing (4mm outer diameter / 2mm inner). Lots of it on eBay as it seems to be used for 3d printers...

I tend not to use the tubes as moisture sits against the cables causing them to furr up (those nasty black jagwires seem the worst for this) - making the release of the cable slower. Also, I've come across several that are crossed over in the down tube (presumably from factory and never picked up along the way) which causes shifting anomalies when in the big ring. (Tension is deflected across the rear mech cable as the front mech cable tensions, stopping the correct cable release of the rear mech and making it slow to drop into harder gears at the back)

Use a strong magnet to guide the cables out the bottom of the down tube, check they are not crossed over and feed them through their respective holes to the mechs.

This should result in a much lighter cable action. And better longevity.

*I do often use a bit of PTFE outer casing around areas of high friction like the bb cable guide or the ferrules with the nice long pipe out the back where they enter the frame at the headtube.

Ben6899

ghostintheshimano wrote:

CptKernow wrote:

Decided not to find out the hard way and have bought some ptfe tubing (4mm outer diameter / 2mm inner). Lots of it on eBay as it seems to be used for 3d printers...

I tend not to use the tubes as moisture sits against the cables causing them to furr up (those nasty black jagwires seem the worst for this) - making the release of the cable slower. Also, I've come across several that are crossed over in the down tube (presumably from factory and never picked up along the way) which causes shifting anomalies when in the big ring. (Tension is deflected across the rear mech cable as the front mech cable tensions, stopping the correct cable release of the rear mech and making it slow to drop into harder gears at the back)

Use a strong magnet to guide the cables out the bottom of the down tube, check they are not crossed over and feed them through their respective holes to the mechs.

This should result in a much lighter cable action. And better longevity.

*I do often use a bit of PTFE outer casing around areas of high friction like the bb cable guide or the ferrules with the nice long pipe out the back where they enter the frame at the headtube.

The straws, in the OP's case, don't stay in the frame. They won't affect the shift.

CptKernow

Ben6899 wrote:

The straws, in the OP's case, don't stay in the frame. They won't affect the shift.

Yes, just for guiding the cable through when setting up.

Got the PTFE tubing I ordered today. Just about fits but I probably wouldn't recommend 4mm for the outer diam. I think you can get 3mm.

CptKernow

Actually, scrap what I said above. 4mm is too thick.

I ended up buying a length of gear cable and striping off the outer plastic and cable to get the ptfe tubing in the middle.