Use cable stops on top tube ??
08-12-21, 12:06 AM
#1
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Use cable stops on top tube ??
Random thought. Instead of having the brake cable housing snake across the entire top tube, anyone ever try using stops on the 2 end eylets, with bare brake cable in between ?? I guess it would mimic some mountain bikes in that regard. IMO it would clean up the top tube and get rid of that slightly dated look. Bonus if your middle eyelet has rusted or broken off. If you have to invent one that works, I want naming rights and 80% of the profits 
08-12-21, 01:03 AM
#2
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08-12-21, 01:04 AM
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i'm not positive but would these Jagwire Cable Guide Stoppers work for what you're describing? one in the front and rear brake cable housing guide with bare brake cable in between?
08-12-21, 01:07 AM
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looks like they have split versions too for easier brake cable removal:
08-12-21, 01:16 AM
#5
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and get rid of that slightly dated look.
Actually, zero exposed cable is kind of in vogue at the moment. Hydraulic lines obviously require continuous housing, and a lot of cable connections these days keep the cables hidden to prevent contamination.
08-12-21, 02:25 AM
#6
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Yeah, a couple of years ago I considered trying that on my Ironman, replacing the cable housing with lightweight cable liner. I hoped the cable stops would eliminate the problem with cable housing creep, which pulls the brake calipers off center, causing brake rub. Same setup as my early 1990s Univega Via Carisma (a MTB-lite or hybrid), which needs cable stops and hangers to function properly with cantilever brakes.
Never got around to trying that. But now that I'm rebuilding a 1993 Trek 5900, also with external brake cable housing along the top tube, I might revisit that idea. It might save a whole gram, which isn't a futile gesture with that carbon fiber bike. It's still lightweight even by contemporary standards.
Never got around to trying that. But now that I'm rebuilding a 1993 Trek 5900, also with external brake cable housing along the top tube, I might revisit that idea. It might save a whole gram, which isn't a futile gesture with that carbon fiber bike. It's still lightweight even by contemporary standards.
08-12-21, 03:00 AM
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I did that on a Fuji Ace I recently rebuilt. I did not like the cable rubbing or slapping against the top tube and used some cable donuts. I really did not like the look and returned to using housing. It was strictly aesthetics.
08-12-21, 03:47 AM
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My Marinoni has 2 cable stops on the top tube.
The bare cable does rub the paint off, so I ended up running some automotive stripe along the top tube to protect it.
The bare cable does rub the paint off, so I ended up running some automotive stripe along the top tube to protect it.
08-12-21, 04:54 AM
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08-12-21, 06:27 AM
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08-12-21, 06:31 AM
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Like this? Looks slightly dated though.
Tim
Tim
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08-12-21, 07:41 AM
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08-12-21, 07:53 AM
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Now, if I can only find some carbon fiber or titanium donuts for the bare cable...
08-12-21, 08:25 AM
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[QUOTE=52telecaster;22181266]looks freaking awesome
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I've done this with my '82 Trek, thought it'd look neat. Let me dig up a picture. I used these which I had bought for another purpose, but they fit snug in the TT cable guides as cable stops. The previously mentioned inserts above didn't fit in my cable guides (also had a set for another purpose). No significant improvement or deterioration in braking.
https://jagwire.com/products/small-p...nless-end-caps
https://jagwire.com/products/small-p...nless-end-caps
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08-12-21, 08:44 AM
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What you're describing has been done for decades, as the Raleigh Super Course posted above shows. Raleigh was doing it out of their Carlton workshop in the 60's.
IMO, there's an optimal place to put them. Older Italian racing bikes had them brazed on the top of the top tube. Sweat from riding gets trapped between the guide and cable housing, and they get very rusty after awhile. Put them on the bottom of the top tube, and every time you pick up the bike and throw it over your shoulder that cable digs in to you, and the exit at the far end makes for an ugly bend. I prefer to braze them on at the 4:30 position if you're looking from the front of the bike, pretty much how that Raleigh above is done. For "right rear" brakes (lever on the right operates the rear brake), I put them on the non-drive side for a nice, clean arc of the cable housing. Left rear (motorcycle style) I'll braze them on the drive side for the same reason.
IMO, there's an optimal place to put them. Older Italian racing bikes had them brazed on the top of the top tube. Sweat from riding gets trapped between the guide and cable housing, and they get very rusty after awhile. Put them on the bottom of the top tube, and every time you pick up the bike and throw it over your shoulder that cable digs in to you, and the exit at the far end makes for an ugly bend. I prefer to braze them on at the 4:30 position if you're looking from the front of the bike, pretty much how that Raleigh above is done. For "right rear" brakes (lever on the right operates the rear brake), I put them on the non-drive side for a nice, clean arc of the cable housing. Left rear (motorcycle style) I'll braze them on the drive side for the same reason.
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08-12-21, 09:31 AM
#17
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Great info guys.
Yes, I know it's partly an aesthetic thing, and therefore subjective. My first thought was for bikes with the cable running on top of the top tube, as I was staring at my Ironman with the housing not laying flat, or straight, and because of how tight the eyelets are on some bikes (my Ironman included), rust inevitably starts on the inside of the eyelet and shows up in the early stages as it transfers to the housing. The housing on my Ironman is even cut from how tight the eyelets are, and dirt and slight discoloring is showing where things are tight near each eyelet. That's not gonna fly with me since only bad things happen because of that. IIRC the Tenax Schwinns had the same issues. Cannondales are an example where there is a bit more breathing room. So the idea is functional as well. At least for me, no sense in waiting for the rust to take hold before wondering what to do. IMO the Super Course is a great example of how it "cleans up" the top tube even though it runs on the bottom
Yes, I know it's partly an aesthetic thing, and therefore subjective. My first thought was for bikes with the cable running on top of the top tube, as I was staring at my Ironman with the housing not laying flat, or straight, and because of how tight the eyelets are on some bikes (my Ironman included), rust inevitably starts on the inside of the eyelet and shows up in the early stages as it transfers to the housing. The housing on my Ironman is even cut from how tight the eyelets are, and dirt and slight discoloring is showing where things are tight near each eyelet. That's not gonna fly with me since only bad things happen because of that. IIRC the Tenax Schwinns had the same issues. Cannondales are an example where there is a bit more breathing room. So the idea is functional as well. At least for me, no sense in waiting for the rust to take hold before wondering what to do. IMO the Super Course is a great example of how it "cleans up" the top tube even though it runs on the bottom
Last edited by sdn40; 08-12-21 at 10:10 AM.
08-12-21, 12:11 PM
#18
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^ Use black housing.
You could probably clean that cable guide up quite a bit. I'd start with naval jelly. Maybe paint the inside of it. Mask off the top tube first.
You could probably clean that cable guide up quite a bit. I'd start with naval jelly. Maybe paint the inside of it. Mask off the top tube first.
08-12-21, 12:46 PM
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Dave Levy at TiCycles keeps wanting to put those guides on the bikes he builds me. I always insist on the old pure housing only guides because I have always felt they nailed it in the early '80s with the brazed on top ot the tube guides and full run of housing. Cables never damage the paint, even when the bike is handles clumsily by the top tube or the rider sits on the top tube. Full length housing depowers the rear brake and adds "sponge" to better compliment the front in hard stops and minimize rear tire skidding. Cables have two fewer entrance/exit points to develop issues or incur water/sweat entry (and that forward one is under the sweat zone for a lot of us).
