Epic fails with RD cabling today

Jul 2, 17 10:19

Post #1 of 23 (3892 views)

I recently learned how to cable my road bike, which is an externally-routed, standard Shimano setup. Wasn't hard, and I got a lot of confidence in doing so.

Decided to recable my Cervelo P2 this morning. It should have been on slightly harder due to the internal cable routing, but man, I seemed to have figured out every possible way of screwing it up before I got it right:

1. Couldn't figure out how to get the cable to pop out near the BB. After 20 mins of trying, got a magnet, and 10 mins later, popped it out.

2. Fed it to the RD in triumph, to realize that I neglected to recut the cable housing that leads to the RD. No biggie, cut it and installed it.

3. Had a weird thing where my cable was hitting my chain, and realized that I'd routed the cable literally through the chain - untangled it.

4. Got it to sort of work, to me 5 more mins to realize I'd forgotten to route it through the cable routing channels under the BB and it was sliding around and catching.

5. Finally got all the cabling right, no catching, and then realized I had left the cable housing leading from the aerobar to the frame too long and it was dangling all over the place. This of course, meant I had to remove the cable from the internal housing - drat!

6. Pulled EVERYTHING, recut the aerobar cabling, reinstalled EVERYTHING (thanks magnet - still took 5-10 mins to get that cable out the bottom!), took a deep breath -

7. And realized that I had forgotton to internally route the cable housing through the aerobar hole, so it was drooping there, even though it worked. I could have just taped it to the aerobar, but since I'm a perfectionist -

8. Redid EVERYTHING yet again. Finally got it all to work. Indexing it was by far the easiest part, including the limiter screws!

9. Managed to snap 4 cable end caps before I realized my crimper sucked, and then took me awhile before I saw that my pliers had a good crimping section on it I could use.

WHEWWW!

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 2, 17 10:35

Post #2 of 23 (3862 views)

And now you'll only screw it up three or four times the next time you go to do it. It is worth knowing how to do on your own.

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 2, 17 10:40

Post #3 of 23 (3857 views)

Most important, you managed it even with adding a reminder .. with that knowledge switching to electronic would be brutal now ;-)

*
___/\___/\___/\___ the s u r f b o a r d of the K u r p f a l z is the r o a d b i k e .. oSo >>

Last edited by: sausskross: Jul 2, 17 10:41

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 2, 17 14:06

Post #4 of 23 (3733 views)

After about an hour and a half, I finished my through-the-frame and through-the-aerobars routing to discover that my rear brake is on the left handlebar, and my front brake is on the right.

And there they remain, 2 years later.

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [apmoss] [ In reply to ]

Jul 2, 17 14:19

Post #5 of 23 (3716 views)

apmoss wrote:

After about an hour and a half, I finished my through-the-frame and through-the-aerobars routing to discover that my rear brake is on the left handlebar, and my front brake is on the right.

And there they remain, 2 years later.

Haha - I did that EXACT same thing with my brakes! (I did painfully redo-it, which was surprisingly annoying since my brakes seem to 'just' fit into my aerobars, which meant a lot of swearing to get it out!)

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 2, 17 14:33

Post #6 of 23 (3695 views)

Front brake should be on the right.
Bloody arrse backwards mericans.

Think twice do once will prevent this sort of pain.
Visualise just like you would before you race about how you you are going to do it and all the steps involved.
Write down an order to do list if need be.

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 2, 17 15:05

Post #7 of 23 (3654 views)

At least you made most of the mistakes in one day.

A funny mistake i made a long time ago was to trim the rear derailleur housing rear loop to fit better without pulling the cable out of it first :p

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lyrrad] [ In reply to ]

Jul 2, 17 15:18

Post #8 of 23 (3636 views)

"Front brake should be on the right.
Bloody arrse backwards mericans."

I was using a metric measuring tape to cut the cables to length....

And to the OP and in re: steps. After about 8 mos, in this sport, years ago, I used Zinn to take apart a bike down to the bearings and put it back together, but he makes better lists than I do...

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [jaretj] [ In reply to ]

Jul 2, 17 15:34

Post #9 of 23 (3612 views)

jaretj wrote:

At least you made most of the mistakes in one day.

A funny mistake i made a long time ago was to trim the rear derailleur housing rear loop to fit better without pulling the cable out of it first :p

Actually, I did that one on my road bike 2 months ago! I was wondering why it was so friggen hard to cut the housing - then DOH

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 2, 17 17:33

Post #10 of 23 (3539 views)

1. When pulling the old cable on an internal frame -
a. Either run the thin routing guides that come with new frames over the cable, then pull the cable out
while holding the guide in place.

b. Tape a string or something to the housing / cable, pull them leaving the string in their place.

Additionally, Park makes a kit that is helpful if you do this a lot. It's essentially a cable that threads into various kinds of housing with a magnetic end. You then use an external magnet to slide the cable through, pulling the housing behind.

I've also sucked a string through with a vacuum. Can work in a pinch.

2. It doesn't sound like the P2 has full internal housing, but if it does: you didn't need to pull everything when the extension length was too long. Pull out the back of the frame until the slop is gone (leaving enough room to turn the handlebars). Once the housing is correct in front, you'll have too much at the end. Push the cable through the housing toward the shifter / brake, pull from there to partially pull the cable end into the housing. Cut the housing, push the cable back through.

I talk a lot - Give it a listen: http://www.fasttalklabs.com/category/fast-talk
I also give Training Advice via http://www.ForeverEndurance.com

The above poster has eschewed traditional employment and is currently undertaking the ill-conceived task of launching his own hardgoods company. Statements are not made on behalf of nor reflective of anything in any manner... unless they're good, then they count.
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Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [xtrpickels] [ In reply to ]

Jul 2, 17 17:38

Post #11 of 23 (3533 views)

Interestingly, I own the Park Tools Internal Routing cable kit that comes with a (weak) magnet.

Aside from the magnet, I didn't find it helpful at ALL, and the magnet sucks too as it's a weak one, not a strong one - fortunately it was just enough for me to hear it attract the cable tip.

It seems to be a kit much more designed for electronic Di2 wiring - all the tips and ends seemed to be designed for the Di2 kit. I don't even know how one is even supposed to attach a bike cable to the ends they provide - they have a triangular piece that will accept a piece of housing shoved on to it, but I didn't have a long enough piece that I felt comfortable cutting to size internally (I'm afraid it'll someday get left within the frame, rattling around forever...)

I may be doing it wrong, but if there are any tips/tricks on getting this tool to work at all, lemme know. (This tool also did not fit any of the tips into the vertical front derailleur hole for the cable on my P2 - the hole is too small for any of the tips to enter.)

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 2, 17 18:14

Post #12 of 23 (3502 views)

LOL, this sounds literally like every wrenching attempt by me. I'm an expert at screwing things up the first time. Seriously, never let me work on your bike. :)

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 3, 17 13:43

Post #13 of 23 (3265 views)

And this is why I want my next road bike to be eTap. My current road bike is fully externally cabled, which I don't mind too much when I do swap cables and housings...but it's one less thing I'd like to deal with, especially since a lot of road bikes frames are now internally cabled.

I generally ride about 8-11k miles a year, so I do like to change cables and housings often.

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [Jason N] [ In reply to ]

Jul 3, 17 14:01

Post #14 of 23 (3255 views)

Jason N wrote:

And this is why I want my next road bike to be eTap. My current road bike is fully externally cabled, which I don't mind too much when I do swap cables and housings...but it's one less thing I'd like to deal with, especially since a lot of road bikes frames are now internally cabled.

I generally ride about 8-11k miles a year, so I do like to change cables and housings often.

Yes, eTAP looks great. Friggin' expensive, though! $1000+ is simply too expensive for a lowly AGer like myself, especially since I was perfectly happy with the excellent performance of my Shimano 2200 drivetrain (yep, lower than Sora!) before I upgraded to current-gen Tiagra on my road bike. The Tiagra shifts perfectly fine, but I'm dead honest when I say that my 2200 rock-bottom gruppo that came with the bike shifted every bit as well and smoothly as my current-gen Tiagra, amazingly enough. The brifters had a mildly annoying shifter button instead of the DA-style brifters, and it was an 8-spd setup, which didn't work with my PT hub wheel, though.

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 3, 17 17:41

Post #15 of 23 (3190 views)

When I remove a cable inner on an internal routed bike, I super glue some thin thread onto the end of the cable. Then slowly remove the cable inner, dragging the thread with it. To install the cable, super glue the thread to the end of the new cable inner, and slowly, gently pull it through, and out the tiny little hole in the frame.
Hey presto, you're done! (that part at least)

TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [iamuwere] [ In reply to ]

Jul 3, 17 17:42

Post #16 of 23 (3189 views)

iamuwere wrote:

And now you'll only screw it up three or four times the next time you go to do it. It is worth knowing how to do on your own.

Also, it helps you understand why bike stores charge what they charge.
Everything is quick and easy when you say it fast. Not so much when you do it with your fingers :-)

TriDork

"Happiness is a myth. All you can hope for is to get laid once in a while, drunk once in a while and to eat chocolate every day"

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [iamuwere] [ In reply to ]

Jul 7, 17 18:20

Post #17 of 23 (3008 views)

iamuwere wrote:

And now you'll only screw it up three or four times the next time you go to do it. It is worth knowing how to do on your own.

Despite all that went wrong, I did a hard bike ride this past weekend, and my cables on my road bike got a little loose (new cables) so much so that my index adjusters weren't correcting it.

To my pleasure, it took 5 mins of cable adjustments and it was back to perfect shifting on my bike stand. That's a huge plus in knowing how to adjust your own stuff! (Helps a LOT to know your derailleur hangar is correctly aligned.)

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 7, 17 18:28

Post #18 of 23 (3001 views)

Cables don't stretch.
What happens is that the ends of the casing sort themselves into the shortest configuration.

If you cut the cables with a view to this, normally there is no settling in period.
Make sure you cut them straight, and with the rear loop, cut it while the casing is actually bent in the diameter of the loop.

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 7, 17 19:45

Post #19 of 23 (2951 views)

I've cabled a ton of internally routed bikes. Get a small hook ie strong paper clip and you can pull the cables out easy. Also if you want a hard routing job. Pick up a 2009-2010 s3 or p4 with the port holes. I almost threw those through the window a couple times.

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 7, 17 20:10

Post #20 of 23 (2935 views)

A similar experience to yours is how I truly came to understand division of labor. I realized there are things I can do well and things like cabling I can't for the amount of time and blood pressure spikes it costs me. Off to the LBS I go!

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [Grant.Reuter] [ In reply to ]

Jul 7, 17 20:13

Post #21 of 23 (2933 views)

Grant.Reuter wrote:

I've cabled a ton of internally routed bikes. Get a small hook ie strong paper clip and you can pull the cables out easy. Also if you want a hard routing job. Pick up a 2009-2010 s3 or p4 with the port holes. I almost threw those through the window a couple times.

How do you hook the FD cable out the tiny hole in the vertical post? That's the one that kills me - the RD cable is a straight shot and no problem. For some reason, on my P2, the FD cable just doesn't want to go where it should, and it's too small for a hook (it's so small even the Park Tool internal cable routing tips don't fit into the <5mm sized hole!)

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 7, 17 20:24

Post #22 of 23 (2924 views)

So lately I've been using this black cable sheathing. It's super thin and it can route the cable pretty easy. I might have one in the basement I'll try to post a picture tomorrow. I think my p5 came with it. Otherwise try to flip the bike over and run the cable through it that way it's a pain you just need to keep guessing but if you're not upside down it'll probabaly be a bit easier at least

Re: Epic fails with RD cabling today [lightheir] [ In reply to ]

Jul 8, 17 1:26

Post #23 of 23 (2869 views)

Learning is not a fail!

http://www.jt10000.com/

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