Integrated / invisible cables, the new trend for road bikes?
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It's probably just me but I'm a bit confused as to what's being discussed or what it means to people, ie. "Integrated / invisible cables.."
We had another Emonda post above, but a quick look at Trek's site, here's an Emonda. Cables aren't invisible.. but in certain areas of the bike they seem to be inside the tubes:
Here's a Specialized carbon bike.. tarmac I think
Here's another big brand carbon bike Synapse Cannondale.
We had another Emonda post above, but a quick look at Trek's site, here's an Emonda. Cables aren't invisible.. but in certain areas of the bike they seem to be inside the tubes:
Here's a Specialized carbon bike.. tarmac I think
Here's another big brand carbon bike Synapse Cannondale.
"internal cable routing" = frames with cables/hoses running inside them, which is what you posted, and as far as I can tell would be every carbon frame available at the moment.
"integrated cockpit" takes it a step further and routes the cables through the handlebars, stem, and into the frame.
You can have internal cable routing without an integrated cockpit (most bikes, like the ones you posted), but you can't have an integrated cockpit without internal cable routing.
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As opposed to the same between DA and Ultegra now? I think it’ll be that the new 12-speed DA has to arrive, then maybe when that extends to Ultegra then 105 will be eligible for electronification because it won’t threaten the Ultegra. Which means I still might not do it, since I won’t want to spend that much on the older speed system. Hrm.
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I don't think we'll ever have electronic braking (but I've been wrong before). With Di2, if you forget to charge the battery, or something else goes wrong, you have a single speed until you sort it out. With electronic brakes, you have a lot of broken ribs and missing teeth.
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https://www.gtbicycles.com/usa_en/grade-carbon-pro-1840
Look at the bottom of the downtube.
$4k for the complete bike.
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Seems like electronic shifting is must-have on top tier bikes now,and nearly every top-end bike from big manufactures is disc brake. I know some pros are still on rim brakes (and maybe some on mechanical shifting?), but I'd be curious to see recent consumer sales numbers on mechanical & rim brake versions of SRAM Red and Shimano DA.
The mechanical Ultegra groupset will become the nostalgia build.
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when I was going over options and such for my 2016 Madone 9 purchase, the mechanic told me that the bike was designed to function well with mechanical. It makes sense. A manufacturer narrows the frame to the high end market by having a frame that is not compatible with mechanical. It limits their ability to hit the lower price points.
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when I was going over options and such for my 2016 Madone 9 purchase, the mechanic told me that the bike was designed to function well with mechanical. It makes sense. A manufacturer narrows the frame to the high end market by having a frame that is not compatible with mechanical. It limits their ability to hit the lower price points.
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when I was going over options and such for my 2016 Madone 9 purchase, the mechanic told me that the bike was designed to function well with mechanical. It makes sense. A manufacturer narrows the frame to the high end market by having a frame that is not compatible with mechanical. It limits their ability to hit the lower price points.
In a few years, it seems likely rim brakes will be gone completely, and electronic shifting will cover the majority of the range.
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Old fart here. I think they mailed in in the early '80. Very clean cable runs. Full length rear housing run on top of the TT with brazed on guides. Trouble free and easy to inspect that replace. Easy on mechanics. Worked really, really well. (And running the cable housed and on top means that when you pick up the bike by the top tube, you don't scrape the paint.)
Yes, I know the speed freaks gotta have aero. And with carbon fiber, all that internal stuff can be don in mass production. But as one who has built ~50 fiberglass boats by hand, I shudder to think about riding a reinforced fiber laminate that is both complex and never seen with human eyes, especially critical ones like the QA.
Yes, I know the speed freaks gotta have aero. And with carbon fiber, all that internal stuff can be don in mass production. But as one who has built ~50 fiberglass boats by hand, I shudder to think about riding a reinforced fiber laminate that is both complex and never seen with human eyes, especially critical ones like the QA.
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Yes.
https://www.gtbicycles.com/usa_en/grade-carbon-pro-1840
Look at the bottom of the downtube.
$4k for the complete bike.
https://www.gtbicycles.com/usa_en/grade-carbon-pro-1840
Look at the bottom of the downtube.
$4k for the complete bike.
Is this to stop rattling?
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No idea. I had that frame in SRAM Force a couple years ago. Mine was a carbon frame and the hoses as well as the shift cables were both routed like that. My C3 is the first bike I've had with internal routing. I like. These new internal cockpit setups look nice and I'd love to have one, but not at the expense of not being able to use the bars I prefer. Also I'm too happy with what I have now to drop $$$ on a new one.
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I don't think we'll ever have electronic braking (but I've been wrong before). With Di2, if you forget to charge the battery, or something else goes wrong, you have a single speed until you sort it out. With electronic brakes, you have a lot of broken ribs and missing teeth.
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I would suppose, when SRAM worked on their eTap system for shifting, they also considered braking system, maybe not WIFI but electric wired one. They might still pull it out of the hat anytime soon. Then tons of problems with hiding cables would be history.
Of course, what first comes to mind is the fine control over braking that simply would not be there, but I imagine it could be made. Perhaps not WIFI but electric brakes should be sensitive enough to precisely follow the fine pressure on brake levers and without any noticeable lag. And wires can be hidden much more easily in the cockpit.
Of course, what first comes to mind is the fine control over braking that simply would not be there, but I imagine it could be made. Perhaps not WIFI but electric brakes should be sensitive enough to precisely follow the fine pressure on brake levers and without any noticeable lag. And wires can be hidden much more easily in the cockpit.
Last edited by vane171; 06-20-20 at 07:08 PM.
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Besides data about your ride, it would also show the traffic around you - in the future I speak about, every vehicle and every person would be chipped, autonomous cars then would not need optical systems, like laser beams scanning, because every car would know where other cars and people are in certain radius, no matter if hidden behind curves or objects/buildings or whatever, I believe autonomous cars will only be practical reality when everybody and everything will be chipped. BTW I am not a friend of chipping under the governments we have, but we can surely do better, sooner or later, and then this chipping would not be of any concern. The current antagonistic setup of people vs their governments is just a sign of primitive times we live in and will be a history in the future I have in mind.
In bike races, it would show other riders as colored dots, with your team mates being different color, so you would always know the position of all them in the peloton. In zoomed out view, you would see bigger area road map with rider dots on it, so you would see who fell a mile behind as well as who escaped the peloton, You might even specify before race which riders not on your team you want displayed in specific color, so you can track their position easily.
With all that said, I know about that discussion in pro racing concerning current walkie-talkies and the resistance to the trend, just saying what the future likely will bring, whether we like it or not. And maybe only the young ones might live it, it won't happen tomorrow but probably sooner enough than one might think.
Last edited by vane171; 06-20-20 at 06:45 PM.
#43
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As many have already clarified, I was talking about "integrated" cockpits, as opposed to just internally routed cables. My 2008 tri bike was internally cabled and it wasn't breaking new ground then, but my 2014 Scott CR1 has all external routing. With so many bikes now boasting both hydraulic disc brakes AND electronic shifting (wired or wireless), it seems like having a cockpit without any cables visible would be pretty straight forward (without worries about kinking or binding steel cables). The biggest challenge I assume would be the routing from the front brake lever down through the fork to the caliper. At least the routing for the rear brake would go through the frame as internal cables typically do.