metropical

related to a previous post RE adding an extension to my steer tube.
The cables are original and 15 years old on my CAAD9-6.
The covers and cables look OK, but in thinking about adding this riser, they will get tight with existing cables.
They are not full cover. With little stand off beads under the top tube for the rear brakes.
I assume that I should replace with the same partial cover cables in the same manner and not try to cover the exposed sections?
I think these are the brake set, but not sure of the shifter set.
Amazon.com

datlas 

I think it’s a great time to change/replace cables and housing for brakes AND shifters. The shift cables may be fussy but plenty of YouTube videos out there to walk you through the process.

The little beads are just to prevent rattle when cable slaps underside of top tube, they are not really necessary but your choice on that.

deacon mark

You got 15 years out of a set of cables. My hats off to you that is a complete record never heard anything like that in my life. But truthfully new cables and housing all the way around and you will be shifting and riding so much better with less force and smoother.

choddo

Wow. 15 years is wild. Have you only ridden in perfect conditions?

eduskator

Yeah, especially if it's shimano's STI levers. Lots of them are eating cables because of their designs.

metropical

yup. pretty much. the roads here are too dangerous from inconsiderate drivers, so not worth taking a chance in anything less than perfect.
Used to ride to a local park and do 10 there for a daily of 20. Now I drive to the park and cycle there. But I still don't like slipping on wet leaves.

79pmooney

Before you cut the housing consider whether you want to do the exposed cable run. I am a big fan of full length runs for the rear brake. Has several advantages. It compresses a lot more than the much shorter front. So less power. (Good you say? I find locking up the rear brake to be bad. A more "squishy" rear brake is, at least for me, a far safer one in really hard stops. And over the years, both bike and parts manufacturers have worked deliberately to reduce rear brake effectiveness. Campagnolo with it dual pivot front brakes, side pull rear for a few years. Bike manufacturers have made many bike with longer reaches for the rear brakes, sometimes even spec'ing longer reach rear brakes. Some bikes now spec smaller discs for the rear.)

Second advantage. You will never scratch the paint picking the bike up by the top tube or ranging by the top tube on racks. Third advantage - you have just eliminated two entry/exit points and potential issues with water, grime and kinking.

True, your cable guides aren't right for full length run. (Actually some guides can go either way but I doubt you have them.) I've been known to skip brazed on stops and use of fashioned chrome cable clamps. Might be hard to find for the CAAD's big top tube but good old tape does the same thing.and now there are a bunch of quality tapes that hold up and look good. (And one of the joys of full length runs is nothing has to actually do any more than keep the housing where it belongs and looks good. It never has to resist your hardest lever squeeze.)

To me, the 1980s were the pinnacle of rim brake cable runs. Under the handlebar tape "aero" (I spent many hours on long rides in my racing days wishing they weren't emerging from the tops of my levers where I wanted to put my hands) and full length with attractive braze-on guides down the top of the top tube. Clean, looked "right" and worked very well.