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

TommyTubolare says:

Sep 24 2013 at 2:24 pm

@frank

It's a shame your obsession doesn't include ditching these ugly barrel adjusters.They are hardly used on pro bikes including the frames with ICR and ICS.
Weldertron says:

Sep 24 2013 at 2:25 pm

Don't wanna hear about the steerer. I know it has to be done, but my excuse is I ride to much to have the bike down at the shop.

If i run my front brake cable all the way forward, it kinks and pulls the derailleur cable up.
TommyTubolare says:

Sep 24 2013 at 2:30 pm

@roger

Nice bars. Almost as good as Rotundos. I use them on one bike.

Your rear brake cable looks too long and front brake cable too short.
Fausto says:

Sep 24 2013 at 2:37 pm

Dremels are great for cable finishing; those little cutting discs give you perfect ends on your outers and the other grinding bits can square off any burrs from using cable cutters. This level of attention to detail should be matched by soldering the ends of the inners and then you can rest easy knowing everything is just so.

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.
TommyTubolare says:

Sep 24 2013 at 2:39 pm

@mouse

Lovely work mate.

Yeah shit solder just doesn't want to stick to the ends nicely.Worth the investment though when I look at your cables.
frank says:

Sep 24 2013 at 3:20 pm

@brett

@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?

My minds eye just went blind thinking of someone wearing Crocs with socks. Brilliant!

But, no, I don't. And just like with all those things, whenever something is functionally equivalent, I choose the one that looks better.
frank says:

Sep 24 2013 at 3:22 pm

@TommyTubolare

Dutchman unite! You're my boy, Tommy!
TommyTubolare says:

Sep 24 2013 at 3:26 pm

@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?

Brake cables are still mechanical so you'd have to replace them at some point so I'd recommend you installing the control box alongside the front brake cable and attach it using small plastic zip ties provided with the set.Control box cable is short and you can't wrap it around.If you need to replace brake cables just cut the zip ties carefully and that's it.
frank says:

Sep 24 2013 at 3:31 pm

@Weldertron

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.

When you dismount, you have the rear brake in your left hand, not the front. Some people feel like it helps in not going all Joey's OK at the barriers. Although Joey was dismounting on the right for some reason.

@TommyTubolare

@frank

It's a shame your obsession doesn't include ditching these ugly barrel adjusters.They are hardly used on pro bikes including the frames with ICR and ICS.

I was just thinking about that today. I haven't had to use them on the Veloforma. Why I used to have to fiddle with my cable tension constantly on the R3 but never on the Strada iR, I will probably never know, but I've not had to make any adjustments whatsoever since.

That said, I have used the barrel adjuster on the CCX for the FD which I neatly tucked in by the seat tube, but mostly just the initial cable stretch adjustment.
frank says:

Sep 24 2013 at 3:34 pm

@Weldertron

Don't wanna hear about the steerer. I know it has to be done, but my excuse is I ride to much to have the bike down at the shop.

If i run my front brake cable all the way forward, it kinks and pulls the derailleur cable up.

Buy a steerer guide and carbon saw, or call ahead, find out a time the shop is quiet, bring the mechanic a six pack of good beer, and they'll cut it for you while you wait.

Alternatively, buy a second bike which you can ride while this one sits at the shop, waiting to be cut.