wannabfaster

Hello, I'm wondering if anyone knows how to remove the plastic plug on the left side of the down tube, that secures the 3 cables routed to the bottom/rear of the bike. It's a 2020 Trek FX3. I've removed the allen screw near the top/front of that plug, and now I can yank on the group of cables fairly hard (pulling sideways, away from the bike centerline), which will pull the front part of the plug away from the frame. But no matter what I try I can't get the entire plug to come farther out or slide upwards. It almost acts like something else is holding it in place. Has anyone successfully removed that plug?

I have the dreaded "internal cable rattle", similar to another poster in this forum a while back, but in my case I'm certain it's caused by one of the cables inside the down tube (it's loud and obvious if you listen closely). I really want to put some sound-damping material around the offending cable, but absolutely need that plug removed to do it.

Thanks!

wannabfaster

Well, no responses here, but I did find the answer myself today after a discussion with a mechanic at the local Trek store. I thought I'd share in case it might help someone else.

My bike's issue was indeed caused by one of the internal cables. There is a sheath around it (smaller diameter than the black vinyl-looking cables you see externally), and that had somehow slid down towards the bottom bracket. The mechanic slid/poked it back up towards the handlebars, and the rattle was gone.

As to the question of the frame plug, that can be removed after first removing the allen screw AND disconnecting both derailleur cables from the derailleurs, thus relieving the tension on them. (That's according to the mechanic; I haven't tried it myself.)