True vintage routing for non-aero brake cables
12-17-09, 09:36 AM
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True vintage routing for non-aero brake cables
What is the "proper" ( i.e., vintage) way of routing (non-aero) brake cables?
Should they route ahead of, or behind the handle bars?
I have seen them both ways in old catalogs - so I take it even the manufacturers were confused,
but there must be a right way and a wrong way (unless of course you are some sort of a bicycle nihilist).
Should they route ahead of, or behind the handle bars?
I have seen them both ways in old catalogs - so I take it even the manufacturers were confused,
but there must be a right way and a wrong way (unless of course you are some sort of a bicycle nihilist).
12-17-09, 09:51 AM
#2
Mostly Mischief
The way Eddy did it
12-17-09, 10:09 AM
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Vintage Trek routed them both behind the bars as well. The first brochure on the vintage Trek site with pictures is the 1982 one. I have done it both ways (I need to be more consistent).
12-17-09, 10:51 AM
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I think it depends on the length of the stem. With a short stem, you often have to go under / in front of the bar for the rear brake, so you do the same for the front.
12-17-09, 11:11 AM
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I think it also depends on whether you're running side-pull or center-pull brakes.
Neal
Neal
12-17-09, 12:55 PM
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I don't know for sure which way to do it. but I also find stem length to be the factor. If you have a long stem and you run the front brake in front of it, the cable has to bend more then it needs too. If you have a short stem it will be in the way of your center hand position.
12-17-09, 01:07 PM
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The right way is with the minimum of resistance the internal cable will experience. I thought you were going to go to which side the front brake should be on! Oh, there is a thread on that already!
12-17-09, 01:22 PM
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I don't know for sure which way to do it. but I also find stem length to be the factor. If you have a long stem and you run the front brake in front of it, the cable has to bend more then it needs too. If you have a short stem it will be in the way of your center hand position.
Good points - though it seems the vast majority of the bikes I acquire are routed ahead of the bars, regardless of the stem length, side pull, or center pull...
But I just as arbitrarily route them behind the bars every time, which also can be a little more unrestrained. (Maybe that's why some of the older bikes routed this way included a cable clip, to tie the two housings together above the stem.)
12-17-09, 01:56 PM
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Pretty sure all mine go behind.
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12-17-09, 04:04 PM
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Mine go behind like Eddy's and that is how I see most pictures.
Aside from the quest for vintage truth, I like it that way for an unintended, purely practical reason:
When I put the bike in my car, I take off the front wheel and lie the bike on its left side, handlebars turned 90 degrees to the right so they are facing up.
The behind-the-bars front brake cable routing acts as a stop that prevents the bars from dinging the top tube.
Aside from the quest for vintage truth, I like it that way for an unintended, purely practical reason:
When I put the bike in my car, I take off the front wheel and lie the bike on its left side, handlebars turned 90 degrees to the right so they are facing up.
The behind-the-bars front brake cable routing acts as a stop that prevents the bars from dinging the top tube.
12-17-09, 08:24 PM
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Always behind the bar for me.
Also, not like in the Eddy picture. I route the rear cable (if it's on the right side lever) on the right side of the stem. By doing this, the two cables never touch each other and it avoids the little kink that can occur at the lever ferrule. Mind you, this is only practical if the frame has the cable guides on top.
Also, not like in the Eddy picture. I route the rear cable (if it's on the right side lever) on the right side of the stem. By doing this, the two cables never touch each other and it avoids the little kink that can occur at the lever ferrule. Mind you, this is only practical if the frame has the cable guides on top.
Last edited by Antipodes; 12-17-09 at 08:29 PM.
12-17-09, 09:38 PM
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Always behind the bar for me.
Also, not like in the Eddy picture. I route the rear cable (if it's on the right side lever) on the right side of the stem. By doing this, the two cables never touch each other and it avoids the little kink that can occur at the lever ferrule. Mind you, this is only practical if the frame has the cable guides on top.
Also, not like in the Eddy picture. I route the rear cable (if it's on the right side lever) on the right side of the stem. By doing this, the two cables never touch each other and it avoids the little kink that can occur at the lever ferrule. Mind you, this is only practical if the frame has the cable guides on top.
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1959 Bottecchia Milano-Sanremo(frame), 1966 Bottecchia Professional (frame), 1971 Bottecchia Professional (frame),
1973 Bottecchia Gran Turismo, 1974 Bottecchia Special, 1977 Bottecchia Special (frame),
1974 Peugeot UO-8, 1988 Panasonic PT-3500, 2002 Bianchi Veloce, 2004 Bianchi Pista
1959 Bottecchia Milano-Sanremo(frame), 1966 Bottecchia Professional (frame), 1971 Bottecchia Professional (frame),
1973 Bottecchia Gran Turismo, 1974 Bottecchia Special, 1977 Bottecchia Special (frame),
1974 Peugeot UO-8, 1988 Panasonic PT-3500, 2002 Bianchi Veloce, 2004 Bianchi Pista
12-17-09, 09:58 PM
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Not a right or a wrong way, just what works. Ergo:
one over, one under
both under
I think that it is more of a personal preference (and pretty much every bike repair manual I read, states it as this). Mine is over the bars but with as short loops as I can get away with (because there is an aerobar there usually and having my nose rubbing on cables, would bug me
).
one over, one under
both under
I think that it is more of a personal preference (and pretty much every bike repair manual I read, states it as this). Mine is over the bars but with as short loops as I can get away with (because there is an aerobar there usually and having my nose rubbing on cables, would bug me
).
12-17-09, 10:31 PM
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Lay them out. Play with them a bit. You'll see which is the best way. It depends upon a few things like stem length and location of the cable clamps, etc.
I will admit, that on all of my bikes with side pull brakes, they both went behind the bars,... just like Eddie's. Hey, he copied me!
12-17-09, 11:04 PM
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That Bianchi just looks strange to me. Which ever way they go, at least do both the same!
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12-17-09, 11:42 PM
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The original routing on this bike (with bar-end shifters and cantilever brakes) was one in front (the rear brake), and the other behind the bar (the most direct way for the cable to drop right down into the stem mounted cable stop above the front brake). I used the same routing when I redid the cables.
I originally thought it looked funny too, but is seems the least restrictive.
CMC
I originally thought it looked funny too, but is seems the least restrictive.
CMC
12-18-09, 09:00 AM
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The original routing on this bike (with bar-end shifters and cantilever brakes) was one in front (the rear brake), and the other behind the bar (the most direct way for the cable to drop right down into the stem mounted cable stop above the front brake). I used the same routing when I redid the cables.
I originally thought it looked funny too, but is seems the least restrictive.
CMC
I originally thought it looked funny too, but is seems the least restrictive.
CMC
12-19-09, 11:40 PM
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Yes they are the Velo Orange Elkhide. I love them and now that I've learned how to install them (the first side took about an hour, the second half that) I'm seriously considering putting them on my next keeper. I'll probably go for black just to see how that looks.
12-20-09, 04:49 AM
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The where do the brake cable go has been a dilemma for me for a long time. I ensure that I do what I can to reduce friction between the cable and casing by making the casing as short as possible and with a few bends as possible. And any bends must be as gradual as possible. However...
Aesthetics are also important to me. I want to see some symmetry in cable appearance, not like the picture of the Bianchi. That is about the worst looking cable location I can recall, but that is just me expressing an opinion. Anyway, I try to set the height and loop of my cables to look the same.
And, to this day, I do not understand why some people want the front brake lever on the right with the rear lever on the left**********??
Aesthetics are also important to me. I want to see some symmetry in cable appearance, not like the picture of the Bianchi. That is about the worst looking cable location I can recall, but that is just me expressing an opinion. Anyway, I try to set the height and loop of my cables to look the same.
And, to this day, I do not understand why some people want the front brake lever on the right with the rear lever on the left**********??
12-20-09, 07:14 AM
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The where do the brake cable go has been a dilemma for me for a long time. I ensure that I do what I can to reduce friction between the cable and casing by making the casing as short as possible and with a few bends as possible. And any bends must be as gradual as possible. However...
Aesthetics are also important to me. I want to see some symmetry in cable appearance, not like the picture of the Bianchi. That is about the worst looking cable location I can recall, but that is just me expressing an opinion. Anyway, I try to set the height and loop of my cables to look the same.
And, to this day, I do not understand why some people want the front brake lever on the right with the rear lever on the left**********??
Aesthetics are also important to me. I want to see some symmetry in cable appearance, not like the picture of the Bianchi. That is about the worst looking cable location I can recall, but that is just me expressing an opinion. Anyway, I try to set the height and loop of my cables to look the same.
And, to this day, I do not understand why some people want the front brake lever on the right with the rear lever on the left**********??
It's quite unusual to see the front brake connected to the left lever here.