dstke

Hi,

We'll be taking our S&S coupled Co-Motion Speedster to Europe in August and will be cycling in the Pyrennees. We did a big trip a couple of years ago in the alps and encountered a few problems. We had several blow-outs due to rims overheating but I've replaced the wheels (the previous set were worn before we started our tour), also replaced the arai drum brake shoes, and will not be towing a trailer - plus we know to take a break on long steep descents. We also cracked the Shimano freehub and I replaced that with a Phil Wood hub. Chains are due for replacement but I have a question about cables and bottom brackets.

With coupled bikes it's common to use cable connectors but I once had a problem with the cable slipping within the connector so I thought why not just get long 3m cables for the rear and front derailleurs and long brake cables for the rear brake and drum break. Looking at the existing set up the only problem would be with the end caps. I would need to remove the end cap when taking the bike apart and crimp a new end cap on after putting it back together. Anyone have experience using something other than end caps, e.g., glue, wax? Would it hold up to being re-threaded through the guides?

Regarding bottom brackets, we went through one on another tour and I'm already hearing some creaking with our one year old shimano BB. Any recommendations for tougher, longer-lasting bottom brackets?

Thanks for the suggestions,

Doug

Team Fab

You could solder the end of the cable.

Mauriceloridans

For end caps I use a couple of drops of fabric paint. It prevents fraying and stabbing but comes off with fingernails when you want to run it back up the housing. You can even get a color that goes with your frame and carry the small bottle with you. It is also good as a light thread lock for rack bolts etc.

Philly Tandem

For bomb-proof BBs, you simply can't beat Phil Wood. I still have one in active use that I first bought for my MTB in 1987 (bearings have been replaced once). It's hard to shell out that kind of $$ on something that gets hidden away (and X2 for a tandem), but if you want the best...

I have several S&S bikes, including a tandem and triplet, and use cable splitters on all of them. I've only had a cable slip once in 12 years of use, and that was because the set screw wasn't tight enough. I now am careful to check the small set screws as a matter of regular maintenance. The benefits of them, especially for a tandem (using regular length cables, etc.) far outweigh and small potential issues. I would suggest keeping them. Sure makes packing the bike a lot easier, too.

twocicle

Which type of Shimano BB are you using - square taper, Octalink, external? Model - ultegra, 105, ...? Creaking front or rear?

dstke

External. Front. I think Ultegra, don't have the bike here, will check this weekend. Started with FSA MegaXO then switched to Shimano.

twocicle

Many of the external BB cups come with a thread lock compound on them. I always do my assemblies using just the opposite - greasing the English threads as those won't unscrew themselves during use. The last thing I want is to have a BB cup seize in the frame or eccentric. Plus, grease is obviously a creak inhibitor.

Since the BB facings and spindle hole are Delrin (plastic), there should be no need to grease those areas.

More likely it is the eccentric creaking.

dstke

You're probably right. Should I grease it?

twocicle

What kind of eccentric do you have? If you don't know, post a photo

Chris_W

I've had a lot more issues re-threading cables through housing than I've had with cable splitters. With the splitters, I've only ever had one problem and that was when I lost 1 screw when changing a cable, so I tried to hold it with just the 1 remaining screw, but that only lasted about 200 km before it let go. I'd been smart enough to put that splitter on the FD cable, so it wasn't a huge hassle to manually move the FD using the limit screws a few times to allow us to complete the ride. As well as spare cables, a spare splitter is now also part of my tool kit for extended trips.

colotandem

^^^^What he said. Go with the splitters and keep spare cables (standard length) and an extra splitter too. Rethreading cables is a hassle. In my experience, the splitters work well.

Good luck!

dstke

Here are a couple of photos of the eccentric. Note the BB is a Shimano SMBB6700

barkersoldbean

We have an S&S coupled Ibis with discs (BB7) and used cable connectors with not a single issue over 10,000 km, including Ventoux, Tourmalet, Hautecam and other pyrenees descents. Only thing is to regularly check the grub screw tightness. Also doing the climbs early in the day so that the descent happens before the tarmac gets too hot and warms up the tyres too much. Plus run tyres at 75psi not 100psi.

vrooom3440

+1 for soldering the end of the cables no matter whether they are going into a splitter or not. Maybe that should be *especially* if they are going into a splitter

The splitter set screws will distort the cable and then it auto-unravels when you take it out. Not good for when you need to re-thread through a housing. So this needs to be done first thing before the cables have been assembled.