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.

[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/Cables/”/]

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.

Next Full Circle: The 'Evolution' of Mountain Biking »

Previous « Velominati Super Prestige: Elite Women's World Championship ITT 2013

View Comments

frank says:

Sep 24 2013 at 11:46 am

Interesting realization on the routing of the CCX; the cables run a little wonky due to the cable routing being designed for the typical CX setup, which is right-front braking. I've wired mine right-rear, which means the cables run in reverse order, which is something that puzzled me when I was threading them through.

[dmalbum: path="/velominati.com/wp-content/uploads/readers/frank/2013.09.24.11.41.54/1//"/]
frank says:

Sep 24 2013 at 11:52 am

@Ron

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.

I'm using Yokozuna on mine. There is no difference between a Graveur and a CX bike in this case, its just down to tire choice and position. This same bike will be used to race cross after I get back from doing the Heck of the North this weekend.

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?

I would stay away from sealed; I've heard they add a lot of friction, and that's something you want to reduce as much as possible - especially with SRAM. Switching to Yokos significantly improved shifting performance.
Chris says:

Sep 24 2013 at 12:17 pm

@frank

Interesting realization on the routing of the CCX; the cables run a little wonky due to the cable routing being designed for the typical CX setup, which is right-front braking. I've wired mine right-rear, which means the cables run in reverse order, which is something that puzzled me when I was threading them through.

2 / 3

Smooth curves along the rear as well

Slideshow:

Fullscreen:

Download:

Powered by DM Albumsâ„¢

Would the rear shift cable run smoothly if you used the right hand routing? Then the brake cable could run round the front of the head tub nicely.

Looking at all these pictures and my bike, I think I need to ditch the mid cable barrel adjusters for a set that sit in the cable stops. It would make for a much neater curve.
brett says:

Sep 24 2013 at 12:22 pm

Front brake cable goes in front of everything else. Ask any mechanic.

130mm is not a "short stem."

Yep, that's the double-wrap tape job from KT12 and I haven't re-wrapped since! Must get onto that... but at least the tape is wrapped in the right direction.
frank says:

Sep 24 2013 at 12:45 pm

@brett

Front brake cable goes in front of everything else. Ask any mechanic.

130mm is not a "short stem."

Yep, that's the double-wrap tape job from KT12 and I haven't re-wrapped since! Must get onto that... but at least the tape is wrapped in the right direction.

Why would I do that when the photos speak for themselves. Go cut your shift cables down, rewrap your bars and then maybe we can talk.

Ferfucksakes.
frank says:

Sep 24 2013 at 12:48 pm

@Chris

@frank

Interesting realization on the routing of the CCX; the cables run a little wonky due to the cable routing being designed for the typical CX setup, which is right-front braking. I've wired mine right-rear, which means the cables run in reverse order, which is something that puzzled me when I was threading them through.

2 / 3

Smooth curves along the rear as well

Slideshow:

Fullscreen:

Download:

Powered by DM Albumsâ„¢

Would the rear shift cable run smoothly if you used the right hand routing? Then the brake cable could run round the front of the head tub nicely.

Looking at all these pictures and my bike, I think I need to ditch the mid cable barrel adjusters for a set that sit in the cable stops. It would make for a much neater curve.

The shift cable boss is offset and angled towards the left cable exit making an impeccable line to the FD and giving absolutely fantastic shifting performance. Both Veloformas have a small detail on the FD setup that seem to improve front shifting beyond anything else I've used. On the road machine, the boss is angled just a tad so the arch of the derailleur follows the arch of the chain wheels perfectly. Its fuckin' awesome.
brett says:

Sep 24 2013 at 1:04 pm

@frank

Do you stick your sunglass arms under your straps, put your arm warmers over your jersey sleeves and wear socks with your Crocs too?
Beers says:

Sep 24 2013 at 2:13 pm

@frank

@Ron

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?

I would stay away from sealed; I've heard they add a lot of friction, and that's something you want to reduce as much as possible - especially with SRAM. Switching to Yokos significantly improved shifting performance.

I run sealed on my MTB. Up to you, but I find it shifts better sealed than filled with shit while riding...
TommyTubolare says:

Sep 24 2013 at 2:18 pm

@brett

Recable please ASAP.

You can stick a fucking pillow on each side between the cable and a head tube and fall asleep.Too dangerous.

@brett

Front brake cable goes in front of everything else. Ask any mechanic.

130mm is not a "short stem."

Yep, that's the double-wrap tape job from KT12 and I haven't re-wrapped since! Must get onto that... but at least the tape is wrapped in the right direction.

You don't have to ask any mechanic. No such rule exists.You should have looked at some bikes while you were in Belgium.
Weldertron says:

Sep 24 2013 at 2:20 pm

Top route cross bikes are easy to run. Any real reason to run moto on a cross bike? I have mine set up standard and haven't had any issues.

Also, running front brake all the way in the front will put a kink in the line to get into the brake if you run a super low stack on a short head tube bike.