CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Questions/Support/Help

Bar end shifters - Cable routing?

(18 posts)
  • Started 13 years ago by Smudge
  • Latest reply from Dave
  • This topic is resolved

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  1. Smudge
    Member

    Yet another question, (sorry!)
    I'm converting my hybrid to drop bars and have got bar end shifters which I am in the process of fitting (a new experience as I've always worked on motorbikes or mtb's in the past!).
    My first thought was to route the gear cables up the bars under the tape into the centre where the handlebar tape ends, however the supplied outers are not long enough to do this so I am wondering whether, instead, to exit them just below and to the inside of the brake hoods, that worries me a little about rainwater potentially running down the cables to the shifters :-/
    Anyone on here got bar end shifters? How did you choose to run your cables?
    Cheers,
    Smudge :-)

    Posted 13 years ago #
  2. Min
    Member

    The cables on my Surly are run out of the ends of the bars pointing forwards and across the front of the bike. So they are not run under the handlebar tape at all. It perhaps looks a little bit funny but it doesn't cause any problems. When it is light tomorrow I will take a photo and post it.

    Posted 13 years ago #
  3. kaputnik
    Moderator

    however the supplied outers are not long enough

    longer gear cable outer at 60p a metre?

    Personally I like the idea of a neat job running under the tape.

    Posted 13 years ago #
  4. Rabid Hamster
    Member

    Me, Me, Me... I've got them things (Shimano) they are on top of my understeering bars on my recumbeational machine; they are the dog's blocks! The cable runs under the hand grip which is a 'rubber sock' style, then they curve nicely down under the seat and hang loose till the first brazed lug and clip to carry them to their destination at the appropriate mech; luveli set up!

    Posted 13 years ago #
  5. Dave
    Member

    Just get some longer outer - it's cheap and you'll enjoy better shifting the more outer cable you have to keep the weather at bay...

    Posted 13 years ago #
  6. Smudge
    Member

    Thanks for the input chaps and chapesses :-)

    My hybrid now has drop bars and all the cables neatly exiting at the end of the bar tape :-D

    Min, which Surly do you have? Is it the LHT? If so how do you find it? (avoiding "I just go into the shed and there it is" please ;-))

    Posted 13 years ago #
  7. Min
    Member

    The Cross Check and I think it's brilliant. It is good fun to ride on the roads and managed off road stuff in the recent Coast to Coast no problem. Well IT did, the rider not so much.. Plus it looks great.

    Posted 13 years ago #
  8. Smudge
    Member

    Interesting, glad you're enjoying it :-)
    I've been idly looking for a replacement for my hybrid and was considering a Bob Jackson World Tour frameset however it has been pointed out to me that I could get a Surly LHT frameset for £100 less and I wouldn't need to buy new wheels...
    Could be the decider in the current financial climate(!) especially as they generally seem to get good reviews (less being a little heavy, and given I've normally got a ton of **** in my panniers that hardly seems critical :-o )

    Posted 13 years ago #
  9. Min
    Member

    Yes it is a wee bit heavy but if you are in the market for a super light road bike then presumably you are not looking at cross or tour bikes anyway. I am not an expert in riding light bikes but I don't really think it is an issue. I should think for actual cross racing it would feel heavy carrying it uphill but it would just make you stronger. :-) I find the stability and big tyres mean it just flies along (or feels like it does) anyway. Plus I tend to have heavy panniers too! On the LHT, by definition it should be carrying panniers anyway.

    Getting the frame means you can add whatever components you like. I am not a massive fan of the Tiagra mine came with. It does the job perfectly well and has been very reliable, I just find that when I change gear I know I have changed gear. Bit hard to descibe and maybe it is just me being fussy. But when the parts wear out I'll replace them with something else.

    Posted 13 years ago #
  10. LaidBack
    Member

    Min I find the stability and big tyres mean it just flies along (or feels like it does) anyway.

    The Surly looks neat and TBW rates them. Always a balance between cost, comfort and weight. Big tyres mean you can hammer over rough stuff. So while those on super lightweights are shaking you can make progress. I like Kojaks although Duranos are good too.

    I am not a massive fan of the Tiagra mine came with.

    But you have 18 speed version I think? Although enough to do most things you will have bigger gap beteen high and low ratios than a triple. Tiagra is what's fitted to current Fuego and Furai and it seems fine. Bit of squeeze into big ring on one but think that's cable routing.

    Posted 13 years ago #
  11. Smudge
    Member

    Road bikes are nice, but I feel guilty putting big panniers on them and the skinny tyres are not confidence inspiring on mud. (canal towpath, old railway etc in the winter) I also find them a bit twitchy on fast descents on windy days (must be getting old lol)
    I'm looking for a bike to do everything except mountain, (I have my MTB for that :)), commuting, shopping, the odd bit of touring. I'm getting too old and too busy to seriously race so a tourer seems to tick the boxes, and if I get a 26" wheel version that can take all the bits from my hybridised ex mountain bike then the cash saved will supply a lightish wheelset and even skinnier tyres for any mainly road runs.
    The derailleurs etc are mostly cheap commuter stuff but that's fine for the use they get and can be upgraded if/when they break. (and work fine on the current bike)
    I'm rapidly reaching the conclusion that a LHT is what I need/want, just need to decide what size now.... :-)

    Posted 13 years ago #
  12. Smudge
    Member

    Well I hope I'm right... 'cause I just ordered a 46cm LHT frameset in sexy blue from the bike chain! :-o

    (excited now lol)

    Posted 13 years ago #
  13. chdot
    Admin

  14. kaputnik
    Moderator

    Hurrah! My tourer is a Ridgeback Panorama World in "British Racing Blue" whatever that is. Youd' think a company claiming to be British would know it should be green. In terms of weight and geometry it seems pretty similar to the LHT (although I'd wager at a 58cm it's going to have a few more pounds than Smudge's LHT) From the comments above it also rides the same - stable under load, comfortable over rough surfaces and able to spin up to a decent speed. I do find that on a stop/go/stop/go commute it can get a bit tiring though as I find it hard not to ride it like my road bikes and expect it to accelerate and climb the same.

    It's also my shopping bike, recycling trip bike, towpath bike and old railway track bike.

    Posted 13 years ago #
  15. druidh
    Member

    Smudge - you should have en email about that frameset....

    Posted 13 years ago #
  16. Min
    Member

    Cool. I'm sure it will be great. I saw a woman on just such a beast recently and she had a big smile on her face so it must be good!

    Posted 13 years ago #
  17. Smudge
    Member

    Min, I hope so :-)

    Druidh, got it thanks, hopefully you have my reply?

    Posted 13 years ago #
  18. Dave
    Member

    On the general point - SWMBO got a Genesis Croix de Fer to replace her battered DIY "made from Dave's left-overs" bike.

    We had to test-ride a 54cm so I was able to get a shot too, and I was *very* impressed by how stable it felt (wide drop handlebars) and how easily it rolled over our Edinburgh moonscape on 35mm tyres.

    Much nicer than my own 16lb 700x23 ride! I wasn't convinced it was really any slower in the urban context, anyway.

    The only inexplicable thing is that it comes with chunky knobbly tyres, as if the end user is actually going to cross race with it. Surely 99.9% of buyers are actually riding on-road (especially as disk brakes were, until just recently, illegal in cross races anyway!) and the first thing they have to do is fork out another £40-50 to put some sensible rubber on!

    Posted 13 years ago #

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