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21 votes

What's the strongest way to bond a cable stop to an steel frame?

Don't use cable stops. The biggest load those stops will ever see is when you grab your brakes hard for an emergency stop. So you're likely to find out that whatever you did to bond the stops to the ...
Andrew Henle's user avatar
  • 9,764
19 votes
Accepted

Is it safe to drill a cable exit hole in a seatpost?

I suggest to avoid drilling holes in the seatpost alltogether. Just find a seatpost that has an opening at the top, there are plenty available usually on older seatposts with two-bolt mounting system. ...
Art Gertner's user avatar
  • 1,709
17 votes

What's the strongest way to bond a cable stop to an steel frame?

Beside a professionally done welding, clamp-on cable stops should be a reasonably reliable solution.
Grigory Rechistov's user avatar
16 votes

How to install pre bled brakes with internally routed frame

Usually what you do is disconnect it at the lever, install the lever to the bar, and run the hose up from the caliper end. Because it's sealed on the other end, no more than a few drops of fluid will ...
Nathan Knutson's user avatar
14 votes
Accepted

How to attach cable mounting points to a bicycle frame?

I'd go with full housing for both brake and gear cables and hold the cables on with cable clamps. There are many kinds of cable clamps to choose from. I prefer the type that have a screw clamp over ...
David D's user avatar
  • 19.4k
12 votes
Accepted

How useful/valuable is internal cabling?

One difference that internal cables make is if you transport your bike by car or have to haul it around by hand. Because the cables are inside the frame, they are less likely to get pinched by the ...
RoboKaren's user avatar
  • 28.8k
11 votes

Is it reasonable to run a cable actuated disk brake on a Cannondale CAAD13 disk frame?

I haven't done it, but would also be hesitant that the cable setup might be irreconcilably bad. This picture from the CAAD13 supplemental manual shows the hose routing at the BB: And this one shows ...
Nathan Knutson's user avatar
10 votes
Accepted

What's the strongest way to bond a cable stop to an aluminum frame?

Since you have a relatively "flat" spot there (at least flat in the longitudinal direction) you have two options: You can epoxy on a replacement boss I did this on a recent Al frame with the exact ...
tir38's user avatar
  • 978
8 votes

Campagnolo cabling: can I use other non-Campagnolo brands?

You don't have to buy Campy brand cables, but you do have to buy Campy-compatible cables, because they use a head that's a little bit smaller for both shift and brake cables. If you ignore this, it ...
Nathan Knutson's user avatar
8 votes
Accepted

What are these cable "unions" called

Not sure if there is a tradition term for these. At the time of writing I found Some products simply called cable splitters or separators and Ritchey quick disconnectors
Argenti Apparatus's user avatar
8 votes
Accepted

What methods are being used to stop internally routed cables from touching the turning spindle?

The bottom bracket housing. I'm not saying there has never been a fairly high-end housingless design out there, but all bottom brackets I've worked on, or can find pictures of easily, have a non-...
Chris H's user avatar
  • 52.9k
7 votes
Accepted

Campagnolo cabling: can I use other non-Campagnolo brands?

A quick google research lead me to this article about comparisons of Campy and Shimano cables: Campy / Shimano Cable Comparison: Brake cable end fittings: Shimano "mushroom cap" diameter: 0....
dru87's user avatar
  • 355
7 votes
Accepted

Hydraulic to mechanical conversion - cable routing

You can run the cable outer housing exactly the same as the hydarulic hose. The main reason for using frame stops is to provide sections that don't suffer from compression of the outer housing under ...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 114k
7 votes
Accepted

Can I upgrade to newer groupsets despite my frame not supporting internal cable routing?

Internal cable routing is not a requirement, as long as you have functional cable stops on your the frame, you should be able to cable up a newer cable group set without issue. In fact it should be ...
Rider_X's user avatar
  • 30.2k
7 votes
Accepted

How to replace downtube shifters with stem shifters?

You'll need longer cables in order to bridge the distance between where your original downtube shifters were and the stem (where the new shifters will be mounted). And you'll need to install a shifter ...
Maarten -Monica for president's user avatar
7 votes

Why do hydraulic brake/shifter lines cross in front of the handlebars?

It's far from universal that they cross. Many bikes have a configuration where, for example, the right shifter goes to a port or stop on the right side of the downtube or top tube. There are several ...
Nathan Knutson's user avatar
6 votes

What's the strongest way to bond a cable stop to an aluminum frame?

Good epoxy is known to bond metals, especially aluminum very well. Make sure the surfaces are clean and slightly rough for a better bond. I use the same two part epoxy hobbyist aircraft builders use ...
c10yas's user avatar
  • 369
6 votes

What is this thing called that holds the gear shift cable (not the wire)?

In Shimano-ese, it is part of the "Outer Receiving Unit." You can pull up the exploded view diagram for you specific hub model on techdocs.shimano.com to corroborate what you need. Then you can ...
Nathan Knutson's user avatar
6 votes
Accepted

Installing shimano mt 200 hydraulic brakes to internally routed frame?

The usual approach is to disconnect the lever nut, cut off the hose just below the factory barb, and then feed it through from the caliper end up to the lever. Then you turn the bars all the way and ...
Nathan Knutson's user avatar
6 votes

Replacing internally routed cable with no access holes

Your first challenge is getting to a confident premise of what the cable is supposed to be wrapping around inside the frame to make its turn. It won't be a bare carbon surface. It might be the ...
Nathan Knutson's user avatar
6 votes

Is it safe to drill a cable exit hole in a seatpost?

I would consider this unsafe. Even bottle cage screw holes on bike frames are reinforced, even though bike frame is a redundant structure (if one tube fails, the rest will allow safe temporary ...
juhist's user avatar
  • 16k
6 votes

Is it safe to drill a cable exit hole in a seatpost?

Safety is a scale with completely unsafe on one end and completely safe on the other end. Just riding a bike is somewhere between completely unsafe and completely safe. Not drilling a hole is ...
David D's user avatar
  • 19.4k
6 votes

Tight shifting and handlebar weird stiffness

For the rear derailleur shifting issue, it seems there is too much friction in the system, starting from your shifter ending at your rear derailleur. Common problems are: Dirt in the shifter Bent or ...
olliebulle's user avatar
  • 3,371
5 votes
Accepted

How to guide rear brake cable in a frame without brake guides?

You need top tube cable clamp probably 3 of them, maybe 4. Two will be insufficient. Do measure your top tube first - Top tube could be 25.4mm (1 inch) or 26mm, and you want it right diameter. ...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 114k
5 votes
Accepted

What is this thing called that holds the gear shift cable (not the wire)?

Its definitely a stop for the outer cable, allowing the inner cable to proceed. On a shimano Alfine or Nexus IGH it is on the end of the Cassette Joint, part "CJ-S7000-8" which is part of the "...
Criggie's user avatar
  • 114k
5 votes

Ultegra shifting issue

I looked at some pictures of the bike. The thing that fits most of your symptoms is that when the FD cable is under tension, it does something to the alignment of the guide plate that the cables are ...
Nathan Knutson's user avatar
5 votes

"Non-Aero" cable routing with "Aero" brake levers

There's not a reasonable way of doing it unless you're content with having it look really funny. The closest it comes is on some internally routed bars, the run of housing between the lever and the ...
Nathan Knutson's user avatar
5 votes
Accepted

What does the cable sheathing on internally routed cables do?

They can do a couple different things. Sometimes they play an important functional role in helping create a smooth surface where the cable wraps around the bottom bracket cable guide. Most or all ...
Nathan Knutson's user avatar
5 votes

Re-insert Gear Cable Plug / Fitting

If what you're saying is that you think the liner piece got scooted up out of the frame and there is now an internal area where the cable is meeting higher friction because of it, typically to push ...
Nathan Knutson's user avatar
4 votes
Accepted

Internal cable routing blocked on '80s steel frame. What are my options?

I'm sad to say that I solved my issue by adding a clamp-on cable stop much like this one: . If going down this route an optional extra is to poke the blockage with such force and frustration that ...
tim's user avatar
  • 111

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