I am fairly mechanically inclined and happen to have the day off tomorrow so I am thinking of putting on my new aero bars Since I currently have bar end shifters, anything I need to know, or have a step by step guide to doing it? Just want to make sure I do not tear it apart and not be able to get it back together correctly.
Any special tools needed?, am I alright to reuse the cable, I am a ways from needing to replace the cables since the bike is still quite new.
Now on a P2, how much could you typically take off the cable housing to shorten it up without going too short. I am not running any spacers.
When routing the cables, I know there is typically a hole on the underside of the bar to let the cable exit. Like some of the Felt bikes offer with the integrated bars, would it be worth routing the cables out of the back of the bar by tapping through the plastic caps on the rear of the bar to keep the lines cleaner?
I did my first aerobar swap a few months back & I had no idea what I was doing. Mechanically inclined, but total newB to that part of bike maintenance.
Few things for you to keep in mind…
I’m not sure how your cables are internally routed (full length guide vs holes only).
My QR was holes only. In retrospect, I should have taped some string or cable to the cable I was pulling out, for easy of re-entry. Would have saved me alot of time.
Not sure what kind of shifters you have, but DA are kinda finicky. Try to keep them as compressed as you can when you take them out, they like to blow up into a million pieces & it’s like a jigsaw putting back together.
You may be able to use old cables, but you’ll probably have to cut the cables to get them out and back in, as they will be bent past the derailleur bolt. So they’ll be shorter. Cables are dirt cheap, get some new ones.
Housing. I just make sure I can freely turn my bars side to side. I don’t know why you’d need 360° on a tri bike. Use your judgment here, the length should be obvious.
If your bars have holes drilled for internal mounting, I think it’s a cleaner cable job if you drill a hole in the back cup too. Other way is fine, but I’m a perfectionist.
I think that’s about it.
It’s really a pretty simple project. You’ll run into a few hangups for sure, but they are not earth shattering. You think it’ll take you 30mins. It’ll take you a few hours, but it’s fun, and a hell of a way to learn.
You’ll need a large 6mm Hex wrench with a long reach to get the mounts in/out of the base bars. Remember, that 6mm Hex bolt is not lefty loosey, righty tighty. It’s lefty tighty, righty loosey. Other than that, keep all the parts of the shifter together when you take them off the mounts.
You can also search the Park Tools website for instructions if you don’t already have them.
Good luck! It’s really not that hard. I did mine a few months ago and had no problems.
would it be worth routing the cables out of the back of the bar by tapping through the plastic caps on the rear of the bar to keep the lines cleaner?
YES
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