srinath.the.man

I have a question about the exposed cable inners on bicycles. I am not sure what their purpose is, because I drilled the cable bosses through and installed the entire inner and outer as a passthrough on my diamondback few years ago.
The result, the section of exposed cable doesn't rust, doesn't catch on stuff when you put it on a stand or carrier and catch on other stuff like your wedding ring. Its as easy to take it off with the barrel adjusters and I've pretty much got better functionality too.

So why the exposed inner cables ?

Thanks.
Srinath.

fietsbob

You have pictures ?

As a mechanic, I chose adding the liner sleeve ( not easy to find now that its bonded into the steel housing)

BTW, 2 kinds of cables Zn treated steel & stainless steel , one resist rust but costs , like, 2x as much..

bikes used to just have housing guides from lever to rear brake 1st clamp bands then brazed on ,
then running internally ..

and later the shorter housed sections divided by stops .. time marches on... now you have more choices..










..

Sapperc

Weight savings and looks. Possibly less friction depending on the cable type, maintenance and how it’s run. But each to their own. No reason you shouldn’t modify your bike as you see fit.

Happy cycling!

CliffordK

Stainless cables are available that don't rust, and are now relatively cheap.

As mentioned.

• No housing to compress.
• Less friction.
• Simple, and easy to maintain.
• Etc.

Many vintage bikes had shifter cables almost entirely exposed except a slight bit near the rear derailleur. However, they might have brake cables fully inside of housing.

srinath.the.man

Yea I'm familiar with those old school exposed all the way cables. I am not modding a steel frame tho, I've been drilling the aluminum mountain bikes, specifically my diamondback outlook as the first one, then I did an ozone I am yet to finish, so that's all, but now that I know its OK I'll do more, anything that needs cables is gonna get modded as I like it.
Thanks.
Srinath.

carlos danger

cables have been stainless for many many years. quality stuff that is.

I also run full length housings when i can, and i always can. zipties is the bomb!! not very pretty though but its more practical.

srinath.the.man

My diamondback and the ozone have no zipties. Just drill those lugs to take the whole cable. Only on by Diamondback I cut one of the cables too long, so it has a curve at the part between the lugs.
Anyway, its far far better IMHO.
Cool.
Srinath.

woodcraft

My CX bike has full cable housings.

Only problem is swapping the RD that needs a different length cable loop requires replacing

the whole long section.

79pmooney

I use full length brake cables on all my bikes. All have the '80s style 3 braze-ons on the top center of the top tube except my oldest frame ('73) which now has two clamp-ons. All my derailleur bikes still have the traditional bare derailleur cables.

I probably will never change the shift cable setups. Just too used to them and their drawbacks. Don't have a hankering to figure out a clean way to alleviate something that isn't much of a problem. But I have never liked bare cable for rear brakes. The entry and exit at the top tube are potential issues and full length housing does a nice job of fairing the lead into the first braze-on and out of the last. Paint really does not fare well when you pick up a bare wired bike by the top tube. Also - full length housing compresses more, which means the rear brake is less effective than the front, leading to fewer rear wheel lockups.

Ben

Camilo

Really easy to set up because no messing around with proper length and properly cut housing. Not saying it's better; just that I've set up a couple of downtube shifter bikes recently and was reminded how quick and easy it is.

Regarding the subject of the thread: What's the problem with exposed cables anyway? I've used them for decades on my road bikes and never had an issue.

srinath.the.man

I've has these things catch the work stand, car carrier, as well as my ring and other stuff, not to mention collect water and rust in that little cable boss, guess I'm not as used to and looking for them as some of the seasoned bikers as well as leave my bicycles outside for extended periods of time.
Cool.
Srinath.

epnnf

where do ppl use zipties?

Jax Rhapsody

Probably in place of those little housing guide clips.

Wilfred Laurier

If the frame mounted cable stops are slotted (most are) then it is super easy disengage the housing from the stop and clean and lube the cable.

I also think you probably get less friction from properly sized partial cable housings and external cables, than you do from full length housing. However, some setups (eg. Shimano Nexus and Alfine IGHs) work better with full length housing.

TimothyH

I've solved this problem permanently.


-Tim-

srinath.the.man

Murderer … LOL.

Cool.
Srinath.

u235

LOL, where do I NOT use them..

srinath.the.man

Like my motorcycle is held together with zip ties, duct tape and inner tube. Thank god the bicycles only have inner tube LOL.

u235

Just this weekend I used a piece of an old 26in inner tube over transmission cooler lines I installed on my car. Worked great for some basic protection and looks legit.

I bet a few of my bikes have a cut down zip tie on the upper stay near the rim. Works great for a really quick "truing" gauge I can spin into place and use in a pinch.

I started a thread last week about potential dirt build up in my lower rear der cable housing and took the advice of the forum and went with sealed ferrules and cable liner for the exposed areas. Time will tell if it makes a difference.