scozim 

I'm sure this has been addressed before but my searches are proving fruitless right now. I'm giong to be trying some bar end shifters for the first time and was wondering how those of you that have them route the cables.

My friend's Nishiki Competition has them like this:


I can't say that I like the way the loop way out in front. Does anyone run the housing further up the bar and then out to avoid the large loop.

AEO

I don't. That's a lot of bending the cable has to do and the less bends there are, the smoother and crisper the shifting will be.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

I ran the housing so it exits at the same place as the brake cable housing...I prefer the way it looks. I needed a longer length cable for the RD though because of the added distance of the run around the bars. Works fine (friction shifting)

DRietz

I had a thread exactly like this. "Bar end aero cable routing" I believe is what it was titled.

But yeah, I run them all the way up the bar. Some people run them to the thumb area of the brake lever and then have them come out. It's personal choice, really.

toytech

under the tape and out with the brake cables (if aero levers)

sced

After originally installing the barcons in the traditional manner as shown in the OP's picture, I redid my wife's Bianchi with the cables inside the bars and coming out through holes I drilled near the stem. It shifted poorly with a 7 speed freewheel with a 1st gen Chorus RD because of the longer cables and higher friction making the bends. Maybe it would've been ok if I'd just run longer housings around the outside of the bars under the tape, but my results were bad enough for me to put it all back the way it was originally, which indeed provides the fastest, smoothest shifting possible.

dbakl

I've always done them the traditional way, which is like the Nishiki...

onetwentyeight 

I went as far to drill my handlebars to run internal housing and have them coming out near the stem. I chose this method for both aesthetics and to keep the cables from the bar ends from avoiding with a handlebar bag.

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

^^ Awesome Stem and Great Bike

toytech

I should qualify that I was using 10 speed Dura Ace barcons indexed. Shifting was fine with them under the tape, but the bars had a pretty deep drop so not too sharp on the bends.

khatfull

Same here, under the tape as far as possible, Suntour friction drivetrain:

The Thin Man 

+1, I agree, nice ride, however, how does it shift? Smooth? Fast?

atmdad

Nice pics khatfull. I printed some copies to use as a reference since I am eagerly awaiting an order from Niagra so I can finish up a Miyata 610 I picked up. UPS tracking shows it passing through Louisville this morning and on schedule for Friday delivery.

Andrew F

Timley topic! I had this same conversation with our LBS Owner/Tech. yesterday regardiing the barcon cable for a Sturmey 3spd. His response was "that running a longer cable with more bends (under the tape or through the bar) works better with friction shifting than with indexed". I'm sure there are exceptions but that seems to be what is being played out here.

More Cowbell

I ran mine up to the top of the bar. I haven't had any shifting issues so far.

khatfull

No problem, although it occurs to me I slightly oversharpened the first one...

Do lightly tape everything in place and mess around with which housing it makes sense to have in front of the other. Mine worked best on the left side having the brake housing towards the rear rather than the front like the right side. Made for a cleaner bend down to the adjuster hangar. YMMV.

scozim 

Good photos. The one thing I see is the potential for housing rub on the head tube. My thought is to run the cables from the bar to the opposite side of headtube - so right side would go into the left cable stop - and then cross the cables under the downtube. My Bianchi was set up this way with the ergo levers and the crossing of the cable didn't seem to be an issue for shifting and it provided a more rounded bend from the bar to the cable stop.

sciencemonster

Sorta related, but I ran my Ergos the same way - under the tape - and the friction of the cabling against the head tube wore out the paint in little spots. Kind of a bummer on the copper paint job, but there it is.

khatfull

I tried but the Suntour cable stop has the connection point mid-tube...and the cables rubbed if they were crossed under. I wanted to, believe me.

Glad you reminded me, I meant to get some of these:

https://www.competitivecyclist.com/mo...paign=Datafeed

Andrew F

Khatfull- Don't be embarassed, but there is a speck of pollen on the top tube in the first picture!

I for one would like to see a drive side photo of that lovely Fuji, please?

atmdad

This may be a simple question, but i've never wrapped a bar with barcons. Typically you overlap the bottom slightly so a little tape gets pushed in with the end plug. I would think the barcons would need to be fully in place to get the cable housing positioned correctly before you start the wrap. So do you just use electrical tape to secure the wrap at the bottom as you do on the top?

Zaphod Beeblebrox 

You don't really need to because the loose end is tucked under the rest of the tape unlike at the tops where the loose end is on top of the rest of the tape and needs to be held down.

But yes, the barcons should be in place before you start wrapping.

Andrew F

I like this it's totally understated. It would so sick with a blacked out chainring and crank. Kinda the retro War-time look.

Back on topic- Sturmey IGH hubs shift fine using their Barcon and the cable routed under the tape.

RFC

Wrapped to the stem, 7-speed indexed. Works just fine.

randyjawa 

This is the way that they did it in 1987. This Bianchi Volpe is absolutely original, right down to the cloth handlebar tape. Nubbie things still on the cross tires. Anyway, the cable routing for the Barcons is as pictured.

I love Barcons but tend to run my cables a bit higher before exiting the bar tape. This helps to overcome the eventual sag that will occur. Also...

There is no reason to follow the Old School method, these days, in my opinion. The new reduced friction brake cables and housings are much better at dealing with the friction of the long cable.

Hope this is a help.

Bianchi_Volpe_HandleBars_1..jpg Bianchi_Volpe_Full_TQF_3..jpg