Classic & Vintage - Routing The Derailleur Cable Through The Chainstay On An Old Trek

I was working on my 1986 Trek 400 Elance-

The bike is in wonderful shape- it's such a beautiful bike- I assume it's a straight gage 531 main triangle with I assume 4130 fork and stays.

For a long time, I've had the urge to "bling" up the bike, over the past few months I've gotten a few parts here and there, and when Junior was home from college, he was complaining about a squeak coming from the back end of the bike- so I decided I was going to replace the rear derailleur- I've had an old Deore XT sitting around, planning for it to go onto this bike because I thought it would look cool. Since I was doing the Rear Derailleur, I decided I was going to replace the shifters with a set of Tri-Color 600 shifters I'd bought for exactly this purpose.

After I pulled the cable, I thought how on earth does this cable go through the chainstay? I tried for like half an hour to poke the cable through. I had the bike on a Park stand, had it straight up and down, a couple of degrees back and forth- and I could NOT get that cable out the exit hole of the chainstay.

I headed to Skip Echert's Vintage Trek site and found a link to a blog with a comment- and that was it for me:


Skip's Site:

http://www.vintage-trek.com/refurbish.htm#threading

The linked site (the tongfamily website):

http://www.tongfamily.com/archives/2003/08/answers-threading-a-derailleur-cable/

There was a comment from "Paul" mentioning a heavy needle and thread. I found the thickest needle I could and tied off a yard of thread and dropped it in. Doggone it if it didn't go right on through. I then tied the thread to the cable (about 2-3" up) and twisted the thread around the cable all the way to the end- carefully pulled it through (with the bike vertical on the stand), and it came right out.

I thought it odd that I didn't see a thread like this here (although someone will dig something up quite easily now), so I figured an easily searchable thread would be a good idea!

I had to wonder if you were using a brand-new cable with welded tip, or if you were putting a used cable thru. It makes a big difference.

I recall putting a cleanly-cut used cable thru one of those, but did have to experiment a bit with a slight amount of curvature in the cable and then to poke it around perhaps a few hundred times (with the bike resting on it's wheels).

I used a magnet to guide the cable on my Klein.

Another trick is to thread the cable backwards then attach the new cable to the backwards one and pull it through. Easier said than done though..

Thanks for the "needle and thread" tip! Good stuff to know.

Cheers,
Chris

I had to wonder if you were using a brand-new cable with welded tip, or if you were putting a used cable thru. It makes a big difference.

I recall putting a cleanly-cut used cable thru one of those, but did have to experiment a bit with a slight amount of curvature in the cable and then to poke it around perhaps a few hundred times (with the bike resting on it's wheels).

It's a "new" cable- but coiled in the package for 20 years.

There was a slight bend to it, so yes it was straight, but there was definitely an arc.

I don't know that the tip is welded- but it's actually cut so there's a point.

After I pulled the cable, I thought how on earth does this cable go through the chainstay? I tried for like half an hour to poke the cable through. I had the bike on a Park stand, had it straight up and down, a couple of degrees back and forth- and I could NOT get that cable out the exit hole of the chainstay.

Those frames with internal shift cable routing left the factory with a small plastic funnel installed in the right chainstay to help guide the cable through the hole in the dropout. It works best with a new (un-kinked) cable with a soldered end.

Full disclosure: one of my duties at Trek was to make the tools that installed those little plastic funnels. It was marketing's idea to route the cable that way, not mine.

It was marketing's idea to route the cable that way, not mine.

Methinks thou doest prostesteth too much.






:D

Methinks maybe these funnels sometimes go missing(?).

I've threaded the needle with that cable on my two 400's six or eight times. Sometimes it takes a few tries, but it always goes through without too much drama. I'd make sure the end is soldered and has a bit of a point to it and then fiddle with the bends. I'm sure you can get it to go. Patience grasshopper.

Gratuitous shot of the one I most recently rebuilt. This is an amazingly nice bike to ride:

http://www.whizmoandgizmo.com/Misc/Trek400Red.jpg

- Mark

I've threaded the needle with that cable on my two 400's six or eight times. Sometimes it takes a few tries, but it always goes through without too much drama. I'd make sure the end is soldered and has a bit of a point to it and then fiddle with the bends. I'm sure you can get it to go. Patience grasshopper.

Gratuitous shot of the one I most recently rebuilt. This is an amazingly nice bike to ride:

http://www.whizmoandgizmo.com/Misc/Trek400Red.jpg

- Mark

Hey Mark- I had a 400T like that. Just a touch too big for me.

As long as I've used a new cable, they've always gone through in one shot for me, first time, no drama. When I've tried to reuse an old one, it's turned into a suckfest.

As long as I've used a new cable, they've always gone through in one shot for me, first time, no drama. When I've tried to reuse an old one, it's turned into a suckfest.

+10 thirty seconds

I've threaded the needle with that cable on my two 400's six or eight times. Sometimes it takes a few tries, but it always goes through without too much drama. I'd make sure the end is soldered and has a bit of a point to it and then fiddle with the bends. I'm sure you can get it to go. Patience grasshopper.

Gratuitous shot of the one I most recently rebuilt. This is an amazingly nice bike to ride:

http://www.whizmoandgizmo.com/Misc/Trek400Red.jpg

- Mark
Holy crossed chains and tortured derailleurs bat man! It hurts seeing that.