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 3:38 pm

@Fausto

However, where I think there is a worrying trend with people thinking that running your brakes front-left is somehow correct. It isn't. My Ducati has it's front brake on the right, running the front brake on the left on my other bikes would result in an unpleasant accident on one or the other. I don't fancy taking my chances, especially with a muscle memory that can't even cope with SRAM Double Tap shifters. Added to that my Look has the entry for the rear brake cable on the right hand side of the top tube, rendering it impossible to route the cable tidily from the right hand side whilst retaining the ability to turn left without ripping the cable out. If Look have designed it to be like this, it simply must be correct. No further correspondence will be entered into.

While we're at it, shall we move the rear brake to the foot peg and put a clutch in the right lever? You may have stumble upon Velominati by accident while you were looking for BRMC.
Chris says:

Sep 24 2013 at 4:23 pm

@Ron

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.

BBB also do them.
Gianni says:

Sep 24 2013 at 4:39 pm

@Nate Your method of cutting housing with sacrificial cable bit, brilliant. That never occurred to me.

@frank Your CX bike with all that orange paint, dogs bollocks man, need that orange on all the Veloformas. Too much black and not enough orange makes a man weak.

@mouse So that's why it no longer worked! I was trying acid core solder and all kinds of shit, different torches, nothing stuck, thanks for the hint. I'll search for that. What is the % silver? WIll plumbing flux work or is that shiet too?
Gianni says:

Sep 24 2013 at 4:44 pm

@Chris

@Ron

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.

BBB also do them.

Roger's suggestion of clear Park tube patches is good. Just protect the frame with those, and they are semi-permanent. Or a section of clear vinyl tubing of the correct (or smaller) ID would work, just slit it and slide it over the housing.
mouse says:

Sep 24 2013 at 6:33 pm

@Gianni

Below a picture of the tools required for cable brazing.
mouse says:

Sep 24 2013 at 6:36 pm

@Gianni

I've also seen cables with a small rubber o-ring threaded on to prevent cable/frame contact. Very tidy. I've had difficulty finding a supply of ones that are small enough though.
brett says:

Sep 24 2013 at 6:47 pm

@TommyTubolare

*From a conversation today with a former pro mechanic...

"Pro mechanics are just as capable of being wrong as Frank. Plus they rarely have time to worry about exact cable lengths or routing - close enough is good enough. Most (pro) riders just want their position and gears dialled and they couldn't give a shit about the rest, so the mechanics get lazier about the OCD details too..."

And we know Pros also run EPMSs, so you can't use that to justify them either.
mouse says:

Sep 24 2013 at 7:23 pm

@brett

Probably why he's a "former" pro mechanic.

(winky face)
Barracuda says:

Sep 24 2013 at 7:31 pm

@mouse

@Gianni

I've also seen cables with a small rubber o-ring threaded on to prevent cable/frame contact. Very tidy. I've had difficulty finding a supply of ones that are small enough though.

problem with those small rubber O-rings is that you normally have to buy them in packets of 1,000,000,000

After youve used the initial 4 rings what the fck to do with the rest ?

Maybe sell them back to Guinea Pig farmers as castration rings for the males ?
Carl says:

Sep 24 2013 at 7:43 pm

A neat cable end fix is..... shrink tubing. Easy on (still have your old Zippo?), easy off (fingernails), comes in colors (should you be so inclined) and weighs less than nothing....