Anyone out there replaced the shifter cables and the brake cables on their P2 ? Is it easy to do or am I better off bringing it into the local shop to have it done ? Trying to maybe save a little money. Thoughts ?
The only difficulty compared to a ‘normal’ bike is the shifter cables you have to kind bounce em up and down in the down tube until they finally pop out the hole at the bottom. Takes a couple minutes sometimes but keep your cool and they make it.
Great, thank you for the feedback. Any recommendations as to which cables to buy, or simply go with standard version?
Standard stuff works great.
I like to use a bit of cut-off coat hanger to get the cables out. Cut off a piece about 10-12", put a little hook in the end. Thread the cables into the DT and if they don’t come out, just use the coat hanger and go up form the exit hole, grab them and pull back through.
Not as necessary on the P2 'cuz the exit hole is bigger than on the S2, but a nice trick to have in your bag if needed.
I do arguably all my own wrenching. I recently bought a P2. I swapped out a few parts (like bars) and had to re-cable the bike. It is one of the easiest interal cable routed bikes I’ve worked on.
That may be due to the trick I use for re-cabling.
- pull off the ali cable end thingy off the cable end
- put a drop of super glue on the bare end of the cable.
- wait a few minutes for the glue to dry
- wind some sewing cotton onto the end of the cable, for about an inch or so.
- carefully wrap a single layer of clear scotch tape around the cotton. press it onto the cable end well (si it fits through the holes in the frame)
- remove the cable inner and cut the cotton with lots of spare length.
- remove cable outers as required. cut the cable off the cotton if you’re replacing the cable inner.
- install the new cable inner or outer in the reverse of the above, using the cotton to gently pull the inner through the outer, all the way to the deraillieur or brake.
- crimp a new cable end to the cable.
With any amount of man skills, it’s entirely possible to do it yourself. If you are a woman, or have no man skills, take it to the LBS.
To help get the cables out near the bottom bracket, I put my bike in my stand and rotate it so it’s ready to launch like a rocket so that gravity helps the cables find the outlet. It still takes some time though.
Jack, have you got tririg brakes on the front of your p2? Did the pads line up in the center? On my p2c the pad are only 50% on the rim surface. Thanks in advantage
I only ask as I too just put back together my p2c today and can relate how easy it recabling the frame in regards to the OP.
It’s super easy.
- Cut the end of the cable where the end cap is.
- Unwind 1-3 of the wires about 2-3 inches
- Wrap dental floss around that 2-3 inches and re-wrap the wires around it.
- Remove the cable (the floss will follow behind)
- Cut the floss when the old cable is out (the floss will be running along the internal routing)
- Take the new cable and wrap the floss around the end (just like in steps 1-3)
- Pull the floss and it will pull the new cable through the bike.
- Cut off the excess and crimp the end cap.
This should take 5-10 minutes per cable.
I do arguably all my own wrenching. I recently bought a P2. I swapped out a few parts (like bars) and had to re-cable the bike. It is one of the easiest interal cable routed bikes I’ve worked on.
That may be due to the trick I use for re-cabling.
- pull off the ali cable end thingy off the cable end
- put a drop of super glue on the bare end of the cable.
- wait a few minutes for the glue to dry
- wind some sewing cotton onto the end of the cable, for about an inch or so.
- carefully wrap a single layer of clear scotch tape around the cotton. press it onto the cable end well (si it fits through the holes in the frame)
- remove the cable inner and cut the cotton with lots of spare length.
- remove cable outers as required. cut the cable off the cotton if you’re replacing the cable inner.
- install the new cable inner or outer in the reverse of the above, using the cotton to gently pull the inner through the outer, all the way to the deraillieur or brake.
- crimp a new cable end to the cable.
With any amount of man skills, it’s entirely possible to do it yourself. If you are a woman, or have no man skills, take it to the LBS.
I do this on my P3 but with fishing line. Works great.
Sounds like a perfect time to drill the frame for top tube cable routing! You can run full internal cable guides. Even if you go with bare cable inside the frame, you can pop out the stops in the top tube and slip a spare piece of liner/tubing over the old cable before you remove it to act as a temporary guide for the new one.
This upgrade was worth it for ease of replacing cables alone. Oh, and as an added bonus, you’ll save an aero watt of two and gain aesthetic points
The superglue trick mentioned above is also a good one.
Instructions
http://i42.tinypic.com/14471vq.jpg