Bicycle Mechanics - Cable housing question...

Hello all,

I just finished swapping out my wife's flat bars with drop bars - she loves the new position but the bars need to be about 2 inches higher for optimal comfort. Unfortunately, with her current fork the threadless steerer tube does not have enough length to put the bars where she needs them and a hi-rise stem with a length greater than 60mm is not an option. Therefore, I need to replace the fork to get more steerer tube height.

Herein lies the "problem": the brake and der cable housings will be too taut once I raise the bars on the new fork and I want to avoid having to remove/replace the cork tape and replace all the housing up front. I know that I can add a length of der housing by adding an inline adjuster such as this:
http://www.jagwireusa.com/images/largeImages/cha035.jpg

But it is suggested that you do NOT use them for brake housing. So...is there such a thing as a cable housing ferrule "coupler"? Something like this:
______________
______|_______

Essentially, I am looking for a "double-sided" 5mm ferrule to couple the existing length of cable housing with another 3-4" of housing. I've searched and cannot find anything like this.

Does such a thing exist? Is my question clear? TIA

Housing is $1/foot typically and cable $3-6 each. You may have
to bite the bullet and replace all, though you could recycle the
RD and rear brake cable/housing by shortening them for the
front.

But it is suggested that you do NOT use them for brake housing.

Maybe you should look for another adjuster. You kind of have to use them for disc and cantilever brakes on road and cross bikes.

Hello all,

I just finished swapping out my wife's flat bars with drop bars - she loves the new position but the bars need to be about 2 inches higher for optimal comfort. Unfortunately, with her current fork the threadless steerer tube does not have enough length to put the bars where she needs them and a hi-rise stem with a length greater than 60mm is not an option. Therefore, I need to replace the fork to get more steerer tube height.

Herein lies the "problem": the brake and der cable housings will be too taut once I raise the bars on the new fork and I want to avoid having to remove/replace the cork tape and replace all the housing up front. I know that I can add a length of der housing by adding an inline adjuster such as this:
http://www.jagwireusa.com/images/largeImages/cha035.jpg

But it is suggested that you do NOT use them for brake housing. So...is there such a thing as a cable housing ferrule "coupler"? Something like this:
______________
______|_______

Essentially, I am looking for a "double-sided" 5mm ferrule to couple the existing length of cable housing with another 3-4" of housing. I've searched and cannot find anything like this.

Does such a thing exist? Is my question clear? TIA

The answer is to recable. Thread over.

The answer is to recable. Thread over.

I agree with Operator.

You're considering replacing the whole fork but you don't want to spend the last few dollars to replace the cables and handlebar tape in order to finish the job properly? Do it right the first time and be done with it. It's not that much more work.

Agree about recabling. FWIW, you can usually reuse the cork tape if it was very recently applied. Just carefully unwind to the shifters. I've done this a few times when I did not have tape handy and wanted to finish a job.

The answer is to recable. Thread over.

+1

It's a good skill to have. Make sure to get all the housing ends finished nice and flat (use a file if you don't have a Dremel or a grinder) so that there's minimal slop in the cabling.

The Park Tools Fourth Hand is a real winner in my tool box for cable work.

Thanks for the replies...but you guys are misunderstanding my intentions...


The answer is to recable. Thread over.


I agree with Operator.

You're considering replacing the whole fork but you don't want to spend the last few dollars to replace the cables and handlebar tape in order to finish the job properly? Do it right the first time and be done with it. It's not that much more work.

Let me be clear...I'm not trying to avoid spending extra money (I'll spend whatever it takes to do it right and will do it again and again until it is perfect) - I was looking for a shortcut. If there were such a thing as a simple cable ferrule that coupled two lengths of housing that takes minutes to complete vs having to redo the entire cockpit,well...which would you rather do? Adding the ferrules would not affect shifting or braking performance, so it's not about what's right or wrong - it's about efficiency and alternatives.

I've been building bikes for over 20 years now - I am not a newbie. As with any discipline, if you've done something enough times, encounter problems along the way, you get creative and try to find the most efficient solutions to save both time and money...that was the impetus for the question I posed. I am not a cheapo nor a slacker - just exploring possibilities.

I did not expect to receive so many condescending replies for trying to think outside the box. :notamused:

I did not expect to receive so many condescending replies for trying to think outside the box. :notamused:

So the rest of us are all out of step?

I don't know of any way to do this without recabling. If it existed, I suspect we'd all be doing it.

So the rest of us are all out of step?

My god...I'm not here to argue.


I don't know of any way to do this without recabling. If it existed, I suspect we'd all be doing it.

Thank you - that's all I'm trying to find out.

My god...I'm not here to argue.
Thank you - that's all I'm trying to find out.

What it comes down to is that you'll spend less time fiddling with it by recabling than you would by trying to use adapters.

Think about it this way:
You have to buy a section of cable housing in order to do the extension. To put the adapter/extension in in you have to pull the cable out of the housing. If you're adding more than an inch, there's a good chance that the cable won't be long enough to reach when it's inserted into the lengthened housing. Of course the cable clamp may have mangled the cable enough that it won't thread through the housing anyway...

Been there, done that. It's just a lot simpler to recable.

BTW: If you want to take a useful shortcut, get a threadless stem extender, rather than replacing the front fork.

If they make such a thing, a cable housing splice gizmo would be nice to have around for quick lengthening of cable housings. I wondered about a part like that several years ago on a project bike as I already had several short cut lengths of housing laying around.

What it comes down to is that you'll spend less time fiddling with it by recabling than you would by trying to use adapters.

Think about it this way:
You have to buy a section of cable housing in order to do the extension. To put the adapter/extension in in you have to pull the cable out of the housing. If you're adding more than an inch, there's a good chance that the cable won't be long enough to reach when it's inserted into the lengthened housing. Of course the cable clamp may have mangled the cable enough that it won't thread through the housing anyway...

Been there, done that. It's just a lot simpler to recable.

BTW: If you want to take a useful shortcut, get a threadless stem extender, rather than replacing the front fork.


Thanks. I would have had to replace the cables for sure and at this point, it looks like recabling is the only option. I have a couple of the inline adjusters from a previous build so I will use them since my wife's Bianchi does not have downtube adjusters.

Regarding the stem extender...been there done that on a friend's bike. It was an option I considered but my wife hates the way it looks - yeah, I was surprised she actually cared about that.

If they make such a thing, a cable housing splice gizmo would be nice to have around for quick lengthening of cable housings. I wondered about a part like that several years ago on a project bike as I already had several short cut lengths of housing laying around.

Ahhhh...so I am not alone :thumb:

I use the Jagwire barrel adjusters on several of my bikes.

http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=BR4044
http://aebike.com/page.cfm?PageID=30&action=details&sku=CA2218

Yes, it says not recommended for brakes, but I've been using them, to great satisfaction, on four different bikes (canti and v brakes).

The problem I see for you is that you want to tag this on to the end of the existing housing. Depending on your existing brake setup (canti?) this might not be as clean as you think.

For a few bucks more, you can do it right. Your already spending the money on the drop bars, stem, fork, etc, etc, whats a few bucks more?

Guys, "it" exists: Product: Shimano Cable Housing Junction Ferrule, 5.0mm I.D., Each ID#: BPC317324 (http://www.bikeparts.com/search_results.asp?ID=BPC317324)

http://www.bikeparts.com/pimage/BPC317324.jpg
In the image you can see a slight protusion surrounding the tube just below the midsection. I saw that and decided to take a chance and order a couple from Bikeparts.com. When they arrived, I opened the package and to my delight, they are indeed double-sided! Unfortunately at $3.99 ea they may seem prohibitive for a lot of applications, but for that special situation every now and then it seems completely reasonable to use these.

I knew there had to be such a thing.

Thanks to those with helpful input and to the doubters and haters, well...:p (in a light-hearted, childish fashion mind you)

Now, to get really interesting, there are also inner-wire cable splitters that you can use to extend the length of the cable -- if you need to because of extending the housing. They're about $10 apiece though. I use them on my bike.