vwchad

Anyone run their bar end shifter cables under the bar tape all the way up to the center of the bars? Seems to me that having the cable make a big loop from the drops would cause it to interfere with bar bags and such, or at least be annoying. I want to run bar end shifters, but I don't much care for the big loop of cable hanging in the breeze. Thoughts?

Wilfred Laurier

i have a big bike
and I think running the cable up the bars to the stem
might require a longer than normal cable

also
my bar end shifters work so well
that i wouldn't even try using a different set up
but i have certainly heard of people successfully using cables under the tape up to the stem

markjenn

Some folks certainly do it but the cable runs are longer and the bends more acute which may impact shifting quality. Personally, I've never minded standard routing but I don't use a handlebar bag. Anything other than a big bag doesn't have any real interference issues. Visually, it is certainly no more cluttered than the cables that used to be on Shimano brifters fro many years.

If you do it, you might want to try "crossover routing" where you run the RD housing to the left boss on the downtube and then have it cross over to the right side at the bottom bracket guide. (The opposite for the FD cable.) This lessens the severity of the right-angle bend coming out from underneath the bars to the downtube stops.

If you do go with the standard routing that exits at the drops, you may prefer wrapping the bars from the top down rather than the usually recommended bottom to top. Wrapping bottom to top creates a pinching issue with the tape where the housing exits the bar.

- Mark

Wilfred Laurier

really not an issue

my bike has budget faux cork tape
wrapped bottom to top
and until I read your post
i had forgotten that there is a less overlapped wrap where the cable exits

the potential problems with wrapping the bars 'backwards'
imho
greatly outweigh the minor aesthetic advantage
which only matters at all
when viewing the bars from underneath

vwchad

Thanks for the quick responses.

Tim_Iowa

I've never tried routing that way; I always have the cables under the bar tape for until the beginning of the first curve, then have them exit straight out. I use the "crossover routing" markjenn mentioned; it helps keep the cables from rubbing against the head tube.

HOWEVER

I may try to fully wrap the cables on my next build. It's a 90's rigid MTB I'm converting to drop bars, and the shift cable bosses are on top of the top tube. So, if the cables exit the wrap at the center of the bar, they're pretty close to the top tube bosses.

I'll mock it up and see if it's any cleaner than the "traditional" cable routing for bar-ends.

markjenn

Queue up the endless debates about bar wrapping convention.... I wish I hadn't brought it up. My only point was that you do a cleaner exit of bar-con housings from under the tape going top > bottom. Beyond this, debate away.

- Mark

Wilfred Laurier

I agree it is cleaner
but such an insignificant amount cleaner
and to no real benefit
that I don't think it is a good idea

but i also wish not to debate
as this is only my opinion

and I can be wrong sometimes
well at least i thought i was once
but I was wrong

Mauriceloridans

I run my shift cables all the way under the tape. I do use a bar bag and don't like the way "flying whiskers" style interferes. It adds a small amount of friction to the shifting, but you can compensate by adjusting less friction in the levers. That is if you are a friction shifting fellow like me.

vwchad

I plan to use a bar bag on top of a rack up front so this interference is what I was concerned with primarily. Never had bar end shifters so I got to thinking, hey how do other people route these things? Thanks for your input.

Andrew R Stewart 

I rode bar ends (Sun Tours) from the early 1970s to mid 1990s (and I went Ergo). I pretty much routed the housing along the bar bottoms and uo the curve toward the levers a bit. With the Tressostar cloth tape I then used, there was two or three wraps of tape between the housing exit from the bars and the bottom of the levers (always Campy NR). This meant that the housing had a bit of a up angle upon exit from the bars and tended to match the angle of entry to the DT cable stops. This also allowed enough room between the ft and rr housing loops to fit a handle bar bag, for the few times I toured.

I do agree that routing the housing all the way under the bar tape to the tops, much like current brake housing does, requires a longer cable. For small frames like I ride this is no big deal. For tall and long frames this means often a tandem length cable. Andy.

desertdork

59cm frame, 450mm chainstays, 44cm drops

As I recall, a "standard" 2100mm cable did the job.

I find the drops more comfortable with cable routed to top. No difference in shifted over "conventional" routing.

SkyDog75

I've got one bike with barcons and the I routed the shift cables under the tape all the way to the top. It shifts well, but has a six-speed freewheel and friction shifters, so it doesn't need to be super precise. I could probably mount a bar bag without any cable interference, but the shift cables do get rubbed by the centerpull brake straddle cable. If I had sidepull brakes or a frame bigger than 21" (54 cm), there probably wouldn't be any contact at all.

fietsbob

I have a bike which is as you describe, and another 2 where it comes out from under the tape, at the same point It has the brake lever mounting band .
Tidy, since the bar tape wrap has to be interrupted to go around the brake lever . routing the housing to exit on the inside, at the band


Line of the housing upwards and clears the handlebar bag nicely.. on the way to down tube stops.. just touching the rear corner of the bar bag.
not interfering with any hand grips on the bars ..

as suggested .. drag may be a bit much , if taking the extra bends to exit in the center .. die drawn slick cables highly recommended ..

rsacilotto

+.95 - 58cm frame, with moustache bars. I needed a 2500mm cable for the rear, 2100 was just a bit too short. I'm using Shimano 9 speed bar-ends and Jagwire cable housing, standard cables, no issues with friction, shifting is perfect.

vwchad

This bike will be getting an ultra modern..... 7 speed Uniglide cassette. I got a deal on an entire group that was practically brand new, so that's the reason for the parts selection. 54cm frame, so cable length shouldn't be a problem. I'll probably go all the way under the tape.

nesteel 

I prefer the cleaner look that running the cables all the way under the tape gives.

mconlonx

When I set up my commuter, I ran the housing all the way up to the top of the tape, exiting near the stem. Just looks cleaner. Never had shifting or adjustment issues, 10sp cass, index shifting.

Altbark

I have two bikes with bar cons. One is an Ultegra equipped road bike - 2 X 10. The second is a Cannondale T1 - 3 X 9 friction shift. I have routed the shift cables under the bar tape all the way to the stem on both bikes. Both shift flawlessly. I wouldn't do it any other way. Al

dwmckee

I have done this on my Salsa Fargo with great results. I did use Teflon covered cable cores though to reduce friction and ran the housing up the side of the brake handle to make that bend a little wider. I also ran the cable housings tuo the opposite sides of the steerer tube to make the bend less sharp there then it d the cables back to the correct side under the down tube. Worked perfectly. If I can find my old post here I will add the link.