Bicycle Mechanics - shifter cables rub when turning

like the subject heading says, the sti cables rub the frame just above the fork. the paint is gone and i am worried more than that if i let it continue. whats the best way to fix this? i would be happy using a glorified duct tape or band-aid if those are made for this problem...

Yoiu could put a couple of pieces of Bike Saver Tape where the cables rub (that's what I do) or you could do the same with some nice colored electricians tape.

I use a piece of the soft side of velcro attached to the frame. I've used this solution on 3 bikes and never had a problem.

The principle is simple: prevent either housing movement or friction. The ideal solution may depend on cable routing.

I have that problem with my bar-end shifter cables on the Trek 520. At first, cables were run in the air, and the best method I found was with 2 zip ties around the head tube. The housings were fixed with the zip ties and couldn't move anymore. Problem solved.

A year later, however, I replaced the chain and cassette for 9-speed and re-routed the shifting cables all the way along the handlebars. The resulting curve I get is fairly tight, and I now use the zip tie by itself around the headtube, so that whatever rubbing that could happen occurs on the zip tie itself.

The bike is deep blue, so black zipties are fairly well concealed.


BTW, some manufacturers, like Cannondale, braze cable stoppers that can't be used for downtube shifters. They have one advantage, however: they are so close to the headtube that housing doesn't rub.

Regards,

When I can, I route the shift cables to the opposite side and then make the cables cross back under the down tube. That causes the cable housing to curve away from the head tube to prevent the problem. Unfortunately, it doesn't work with all bikes because the cables sometimes rub the bottom of the down tube.

Lizard skins sells special patches you can put on you're bike. They look like carbon fiber, very similar to their chainstay protector. There is also company that makes a clear version, not sure where to get those off-hand.

Not only do they look like carbon fiber, they are carbon fiber. They also make a stay protector and offer a kit with the anti-rub patches and stay protector.

thanks all!

michel - heh, it is a cannondale, still rubs.

One more vote for the Lizard Skins. I think they run around $6 for 6. And they work!

i cant find any "lizard skins" patches (or whatever they call them), only the chainguard ones.

spke wrench: i think the cables originally came that way but then i rerouted them motorcycle style.

"Ephemeralskin": thanks for the info; so I'll like my Trek 520 even more...

Regarding criss-crossing cables: on my bike there are two problems with it:

1. The cables would interfere with the under-the-downtube bottle cage (it's a touring bike, isn't it?).

2. I have a 25" frame, with road bars and a high stem (vertical extension: 110 mm). Cable housings have a better line when they run the same side.

On my daughter's bike with straight bars, crossing cables was almost a necessity.

Regards,