Ok guys, Cervelo internal cable routing problem. Cervelo’s have internal cable routing, and I always tape a piece of fishing line to the end of the old cable as I pull it out, and use this line to help guide the new cable it. It always works like a charm. So, I’m changing the cables on my wife’s bike today and one of the pieces of fishing line slides out. My guide line is lost, and it’s next to impossible to feed a new cable through blind and have it come out the stop.
So, are there any tricks to fishing a new cable through the frame without a guide line? I’ve been trying for about 15 minutes, but an see that this will become an exercise in futility without a trick.
I’ve never cabled a cervelo so I don’t know if this would work… but I’ve heard about guys doing internal cabling by sucking a string through the frame with a shopvac.
Feed a good handful of string (sewing thread, floss, etc - something limp, not fishing line or wire) into the starting hole. Bonus points if you can shake/maneuver the frame to get the thread down near the ending hole.
Block off ALL the holes on the entire frame (be creative here) except the one you want the string to come out through.
If using compressed air, blow it into the “starting” hole. Make sure you hold on to (or tape down) the end of the string coming out of this hole to avoid losing it. If using a vacuum, suck out the ending hole.
The string is carried through via the rush of air you’ve created.
FWIW, I find the compressed air method easier, since it seems like a challenge to get a good seal on the shop vac/frame interface, whereas it’s easy to use a nozzle to shoot compressed air into the starting hole. If you’re having real difficulty, tie an inch or so of fluffy yarn onto the end of the thread you feed inside the bike. This gives something for the air to grab.
On my Dual, the only place that this would be an issue is the rear brake. And, for that, the rear cable stop on the top tube is removable (just snaps in/out), so the opening is fairly large when removed.
It’s really not that hard to do. Use an old cable and try to guide that from point at to point b. It’s got some stiffness to it, so it’s much easier to actually guide. Inverting the frame sometimes helps. You can also put a bend in the end of the cable to help it find it’s way around corners or through holes.
If you think the cervelo is hard to route, try a guru…
Why is it so hard?? cervelo’s are really easy to cable internally, I did my P2SL without any fish lines or any other tricks in about 5 seconds per cable (OK, 10 secs for the rear brake cable). The hardest part was getting the housing for the front derailleur cable underneath the BB cut to the correct length.
yeah…just take a normal cable…flip the frame upside down and play a littel… it s not very hard and no need for guide… just play with it and i m sure you will get it pretty quick a flashlight might come handy to figure out exactly how to get it done and where the cable is inside the frame.
Here’s what I do: I use a flashlight to iluminate inside the exit hole (first take out the plastic guide) and I feed the cable slowly until I can see the tip of the cable coming trough where the end hole is. Then I use tweezers to grab the cable and pull it out of the hole.
Hope this helps…
On my Dual, the only place that this would be an issue is the rear brake. And, for that, the rear cable stop on the top tube is removable (just snaps in/out), so the opening is fairly large when removed.
It’s an '04 P2k - it looks like the rear stop is removable, but I wasn’t sure…it’s in there pretty securely. By the way, it’s the top tube (rear brake) cable, so slipping it doesn’t help much. I’ve tried bends off various shapes, but I’ll keep at it and maybe try the compressed air thing if I can’t get it.
If it is difficult, you’re doing something wrong. For the downtube, as long as the frame is level, you stick the cable in at the front and it almost always comes out at the bottom. At most you may need a small hook (spoke end, bent piece of wire) to pull it through the hole. For the toptube, remove the cable stop at the rear and then push the cable in the front. It may not come out, but you can usually see it if the cable is all the way into the toptube and you twist the cable a little to get it to move side to side. Then again a hook will pull it out. I don’t know any bike mechanic who attaches a fishing line to the old cable when they pull it out, simply because it takes more time to do that than to feed through a new cable without such a tool.
If somehow that doesn’t work, please call our customer service and they’ll talk you through it.