La Vie Velominatus: Cable Obsession

Cable organization perfection: resistance is futile.

I’m fluent in three languages: Dutch, English, and Hyperbole. The third is an acquired talent developed by creative and narcissistic tendencies; the narcissism feeds a belief that normal words can’t properly describe the magnitude of my experiences, and the creativity struggles to cope with restrictive paradigms like “facts” and “reality”. I have also been diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder which, when taken with everything else, suggests that my darling partner exhibits some questionable judgement.

I have a visceral response to clutter; when I see things out of order, my insides turn about themselves and cause me physical discomfort. If the clutter escalates to becoming a “mess”, my mood changes and I become irritable. This applies to everything from our house, my workshop, my office, desk space, my computer desktop, my briefcase, and my bicycles’ cable organization. I don’t have to tell you that the last one is the only one that really matters.

The tidiness of the cables on a bicycle are one of several key factors that elevate the Velominatus above the Common Cyclist. The old style of STI shifters and their protruding cables were barbaric; they represented a principle reason for my dislike of Shimano’s system. Campagnolo took a few extra years to produce the Ergo shifters, and I am quite convinced they spent that extra time sorting out how to internally route the cables.

The organization of a rider’s cables and the length to which they are trimmed is a critical detail to which we must all pay close attention. No matter how beautiful the bike, disheveled cables will always bring it down. I hereby give you the V Principles of Cable Routing:

It is of paramount importance that the housing exit the bar tape at precisely opposite points on the bars. This extends beyond the cables taken in aggregate, and applies to both the brake and shift housing meaning that if they are routed together, the brake cable must always be below the shift cable, and if they are route front/back on the bars, they must both be routed in the same fashion.
The housing must be organized such that they mimic and mirror each other’s curves to the maximum capability of the frame and application. This is to say that housing intersections and contact points must be minimized and under no circumstances may a shift-brake cable pair be split by another cable running from its mirrored set.
Cable housing must be cut to the shortest length possible while still allowing full movement of the handlebars. It must, however, be cut long enough to allow that the cables run in a smooth curve at all points, minimizing friction. The shift cables should be cut such that they overlap only slightly; the ideal is that they just kiss each other at the apex of their arch to the frame.
Inner cables must be cut to a length not exceeding 2cm. The ideal length is 1.5 times the length of the cable end.
Cable ends will always be crimped using a crimping tool. Extra points awarded for a diagonal double-crimp. Under no circumstances are frayed cables to be tolerated.

Go with Merckx, and do not violate these principles. Vive la Vie Velominatus.

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frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

frank says:

Sep 24 2013 at 9:31 am

@936adl

@frank

Whilst i can understand your focus there's another couple of areas regarding cabling that drives me nuts.

1. The crossing of gear cables under the downtube. Please no, it just looks dreadful. It's amazing how many bikes you see it on.

2. On bikes with curved top tubes, the routing of the rear brake cable can be tricky. The lazy, and wholly unacceptable choice is to be left with a cable that doesn't follow the contour of the tube. Looks bloody awful. The only real way around this is to go internal, and that has its own set of problems....

Per #2: never buy a bike with a curved top tube.
frank says:

Sep 24 2013 at 9:35 am

@The Grande Fondue

Di2 routing? Where to clip the control box? Should the cable be wrapped around the cable? I've seen some people use heat shrink tubing to keep it aligned with the brake cable - is that the best way?

Di2 routing and storage of the battery can best be remedied by not running electronic gears.

That said, SKY appear to have the market cornered on doing the best possible job with that.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/pro-bike-ian-stannards-pinarello-dogma-65-1-think-2
frank says:

Sep 24 2013 at 9:36 am

@roger

when building up the c59, i went about the cable housings a bit differently. i scored the outer covering and removed about 2-3mm of it, with the interior of the cable guide exposed. it kept the cable from being pinched and subsequently needing an awl to re-open. might not be the fastest method, but i'll be damned if it isnt clean.

what is the robotic looking housing? is it supposed to be stiffer than plastic housing? lighter?

I think its heavier, but compresses less. Make a difference, especially on the cross bike where there is so much more slop in the brake action.

They are Yokozuna Reactions.
frank says:

Sep 24 2013 at 9:39 am

@roger

@brett where is the bit of lore regarding front brake cable to the very very front? i run my rear brake cable in a nice gentle swoop around all others, and have the front and rear mech share a slight embrace...so many nuances, so many reason and ideologies to back them up...love these arbitrary articles

Its bullshit created by people who run (a) short stems and (b) right-front. The cable pair should take the shortest, smoothest, and most direct trip to their destinations, which on my bikes is underneath the the rear.
Ron says:

Sep 24 2013 at 9:43 am

Impeccable timing, Frank!

Just getting ready to recable my cx race bike and put on some new TRP CX8.4 brakes. See ya cantilevers! The VMH recently bought a Dremel tool so she can grind down the doggie's nails. I'm hoping this will be an improvement over filing the housing ends. Can anyone confirm this?

Also, was going to use a Jagwire Racer Pro cable kit. Anyone using Yokozuna or Nokon cables on their cross bike? (this is the gravel bike, I think, Frank?). A few friends said stainless cables and a decent kit on the cross bike is the way to go, the price of the sealed kits not being worth is on cross bikes when recabling so frequently.

And, have heard some say sealed is the way to go on RD cables on a cross bike. My cable stops won't permit this unless I bore them out, something I don't want to do. I thought I might use a piece of internal routing housing on the TT between the stops and on the right seatstay where the cable is exposed. A good idea or unnecessary/it'll trap mud and grit?
RedRanger says:

Sep 24 2013 at 9:52 am

@frank

@RedRanger

I think we should add that the correct brake lever should go to the correct caliper

and I will probably be whipped for this but I am not a huge fan of The V cogs on the handle bars.

Me neither, they are gone already, to be replaced with matte black ones. Its just the only photo I had on hand with the correct routing.

ok, I didnt see what it said on the picture itself.
Ron says:

Sep 24 2013 at 10:53 am

Does anyone else make the rubber housing sleeves aside from Jagwire? I think those are the only ones I've seen and a set of four is like $8-$10 USD. Seems crazy for a few pieces of rubber.
Nate says:

Sep 24 2013 at 11:25 am

@Ron Dremel works good!
roger says:

Sep 24 2013 at 11:31 am

the purpose of those sleeves is to protect the headtube but i still had gunk collect behind it and rub the HT. i am trying the park tool patch kit pieces and it works a charm. maybe give that a go ron?
frank says:

Sep 24 2013 at 11:41 am

I have to admit that as I was going for a quick spin and I started taking more detailed shots of the cabling awesomeness, that indeed my front cable was preposterously long. Naturally, I had to correct the situation before I could head out on the ride.

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