I recently installed a new/shorter stem on my tri bike (QR Caliente) and am still working on getting the cabling/housing "perfect." After seeing a bunch of the pro's tri/time trial bikes on previous posts, I was wondering if there was a better way than others to route the cables. Current setup is pretty standard on Syntace Streamliners. One of the main issues or questions I have come up with is how short or long you have to leave the cables and housing to still function correctly. Some of the pro bikes look pretty difficult to handle based on how little housing and cable they have exposed. Hard to maneuver the front end if there is no play in the cables. I know taking it to the LBS would be the proper and easy solution but a 4 hour one way drive isn't worth it when I can get the expert advice of the Slowtwitch Forum.
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Some bike mechanics won't route them properly, either. I have seen some bikes turned ugly from the cable routing.
Cable housing length is a hard one. If you have too much housing, shifting is slow. If you have it too short, you could shift the bike by turning the handlebars.
My rule on housing length: just enough housing that when the handlebars are turned, the cable does not get too much tension.
I have always had good luck running the housing under the tape. Even though having the housing exit right at the bar end of the bar con (and not under the tape, making a large loop from the bottom of the aerbars to the cable stops) allows for the best , friction-free routing, it is terribly unaero. Yes, I care about cables, as it is the cheapest way to aerodynamically clean up the bike.
If your route to the cable stop is low on the downtube (whether by location or a long headtube/high stem), you have to orient the barcon to where the cable exits at the bottom. If your cable stops are high or internal (as most well-executed internal stops are high on the downtube), you can run the barcon where the cable is routed on top of the aerobar.
Older aerobikes, as well as many monocoque bikes (like my Corima Fox) will have full-length cable housing, which makes getting good shifting difficult to achieve, therefore requiring a shift pulley that attaches where the cable housing would normally enter the rear mech. Some bikes will need one of these, as some cables will be very, very long (or the frame builder did not put the locations for shift cables correctly). Since I had discovered this nifty little item (which is a mainstay on some mountain bikes, as well as something similar used on V-brakes used with road levers), I do believe that I will use one on any future bike I have that needs longer cables, whether we're talking a shift/brake lever equipped bike or one equipped with barcons. They add a trivial amount of weight (low double-digit grams, here), and they just make shifting so much nicer.
Cable housing length is a hard one. If you have too much housing, shifting is slow. If you have it too short, you could shift the bike by turning the handlebars.
My rule on housing length: just enough housing that when the handlebars are turned, the cable does not get too much tension.
I have always had good luck running the housing under the tape. Even though having the housing exit right at the bar end of the bar con (and not under the tape, making a large loop from the bottom of the aerbars to the cable stops) allows for the best , friction-free routing, it is terribly unaero. Yes, I care about cables, as it is the cheapest way to aerodynamically clean up the bike.
If your route to the cable stop is low on the downtube (whether by location or a long headtube/high stem), you have to orient the barcon to where the cable exits at the bottom. If your cable stops are high or internal (as most well-executed internal stops are high on the downtube), you can run the barcon where the cable is routed on top of the aerobar.
Older aerobikes, as well as many monocoque bikes (like my Corima Fox) will have full-length cable housing, which makes getting good shifting difficult to achieve, therefore requiring a shift pulley that attaches where the cable housing would normally enter the rear mech. Some bikes will need one of these, as some cables will be very, very long (or the frame builder did not put the locations for shift cables correctly). Since I had discovered this nifty little item (which is a mainstay on some mountain bikes, as well as something similar used on V-brakes used with road levers), I do believe that I will use one on any future bike I have that needs longer cables, whether we're talking a shift/brake lever equipped bike or one equipped with barcons. They add a trivial amount of weight (low double-digit grams, here), and they just make shifting so much nicer.