antokelly

have any of you folk come up with a clever way to run a dynamo wire on front light and rear without the ugly cable been seen.
if so can you post photos of this.
i'm hoping to buy a new frameset in the next couple months and i want to maybe run the cable inside the frame if at all possible,so anyone done it.

wahoonc

I run mine mine a variety of ways depending on the bike. Some I use small black zip ties and run it along a cable. Others along the fender stays and then along the cables. On at least one I ran it inside the fender and held it in place with dabs of silicone caulk. I have never run it inside a frame on a retro fit. I have two bikes where the fenders are actually the conductor, they use a snap as a connector. On one of those bikes I do believe the wiring may be inside the frame, will have to double check.

Aaron

antokelly

yeah love to completly hide the cable, i did have it tied down with cable ties on my sherpa neat job but a pain to polish the frame cable and ties get in the way
thanks for the reply.

robert schlatte

I don't notice the wire anyway so I don't worry that it is not completely hidden. The wire up from the hub I wrap the fork. The wire back to the rear I run along the brake cable under the top tube and then under the rear rack attached with tiny zip ties. If bike companies ever get on the ball they could design a bike that is internally wired with all assortment of jacks and plugs and things for electronics. Someday when they figure out it is not all about racing and extraordinarily expensive components that most people could car less about maybe they'll prioritize truly useful bike design.

wahoonc

They already do, I have a 1989 Giant Excursion, the fenders are part of the circuit, ditto a 2003 Staiger Florida. FWIW both of these bikes are Eurospec.

Aaron

niknak

This is common for randonneur bikes. If you do an image search for "dynamo cable routing randonneur", I'm sure you'll find plenty of photos.

For the rear light a hole is normally drilled in the down tube near the head tube and on the underside of the bottom bracket shell. The cable pops out of the BB shell and is then fastened on the inside of the fender until it reaches the light.

For the front light, you can run the cable from the vent hole near the dropout to the vent hole near the fork crown and then run the cable along the inside of the fender until you get to the light. It depends however on where you'll be positioning the front light.

If you decide to run cables internally, I highly recommend adding cable terminals between the bottom bracket shell and the rear fender and between the fork crown and the front fender. That way in case you decide to change the position of the lights, the terminals act as quick release disconnection points so you don't have to mess with the cables that run inside the frame and fork.

Aushiker

This is my take as well and with the installation of my Busch & Muller Toplight Line Plus I ran the wiring under the top tube, down the rear brake cable and then along the centre of the rack out to the tail light at the rear. The wiring is pretty much out of sight and protected.

Regards
Andrew

fietsbob

Getting a frame built ?, have the right fork tip made to accept this end of the axle contact system
and use that hub which is the only one that mates with it.

https://www.nabendynamo.de/produkte/s...kerlos_en.html

https://www.nabendynamo.de/produkte/p...tahlgabeln.pdf
https://www.nabendynamo.de/produkte/p...gabel%2010.pdf

as you see the wire goes inside the fork blade. you can have the fork crown and steerer drilled
then the wire exits down thru the bottom of the steerer tube. and direct to the fork crown mounted headlight ..

hiding the wire back to the taillight is a separate issue. I expect your builder can sort it out,
particularly if they braze the rear rack on the frame, then rack tubes can run the wire though them..

in theory the foil inside SKS mudguards can be a conductor , the Set Koga fitted on my WTR
has grommets that should function as contacts.
but having a conversation with a NL builder, the reliabolity of that scheme is not aas good as just running a Wire..
I have hot melt glued wire inside the mudguards , before.. so it stays on the tire side till it exits near what was a mudguard mounted taillight..
so then you have the downtube to run the wire thru and back out behind the BB shell

my own stuff is not that sophisticated, now ,
I run the wire down the gear cable to the R'off Shift box
then up a rack and mudguard strut..

my bike friday I fitted the taillight so it is right behind the bottom rear of the seat mast
bottle cage..

Aushiker

The OP referred to buying a frameset; not sure that is the same as having a frame built is it?

Andrew

fietsbob

well the Schmidt site lists a few builders selling the SL wire prepared design forks ..

Lex Fati

I prefer to route my dynamo wires internally, though fishing cables through the frame can be a test of one's patience. Typically, I start with an old length of brake or shifter cable to find the path, and then use that to pull my cable through.

On some frames the cable can be routed directly through the opening where the down tube and chain stays enters the bottom bracket. I have done this on more than one bike. On others where I don't have the means of removing the bottom bracket, I have routed the cable out the bottom of the down tube and under the bottom bracket as described by niknak. I also second the use of connectors where it may be desirable to separate parts (for me, that is where the taillight wire on the rack meets the wire coming through the frame).

Whether I route the wire through the fork really depends on the shape and material of the fork.

In any event, I make sure I've got my plan figured out before drilling any holes. Typically, I use rubber grommets where I drill holes. I still file down the sharp edges of any holes, though to keep from cutting up the grommets.

Derailed

This is exactly what I did with my Surly Cross Check. In addition to drilling a hole into the underside of the down tube, I also had the vent holes on the fork expanded a bit. The fishing was tricky, but not ridiculously so, and I've been very happy with the results. (I had the frame modifications done at the same time I had the frame stripped and powder coated.)

If interested, here are a few photos for the bike's evolution, with some closeups of the wire routing:

https://hpscott.smugmug.com/Various/Cross-Check-Makeover

antokelly

lads thanks a million for the links and more so the photos brilliant.
i'm almose certain i'm buying the Thorn Club Tour.
i was ask a guy here in Ireland that makes custom bikes but to be honest i think i will get better satisfaction from a thorn bike.
very clever the way you guy's run the cable very impressed is a very neat job.
thanks again.

tcs

Do you really want to hide the wiring, or would you rather have it out where you can see it, inspect it and maintain it? No wrong answer here, just wonderin'. (Most cyclists don't seemed to had any problem with exposed brake and gear cables for the last, oh, 110 years or so.)

BTW, here's the owner's manual recommended set up for the 1920 Bulli rim drive dynamo with battery powered stand light:

antokelly

much prefair to have the cable hidden also love the way the schmidt hub is connected but will that work with a shimano hub.
https://www.nabendynamo.de/produkte/s...kerlos_en.html

rodar y rodar

I just use two or three bands of black electrical tape on the fork legs, light wire run in conjuction with the computer pickup wire. IMO, it looks clean enough (nicer than coiling around), and when it starts getting ratty I just retape it. For the long run to the tail light, I routed inside a piece of quarter inch black plastic tubing sold for drip irrigation systems. It lays right between two of the three cables on my TT, held in place by black plastic clips and works very well to keep the wire out of trouble. From the rear of my TT to the rack mounted light, I just tied the wire to the bottom of the rack.

Nice job there- looks very clean.

Lex Fati

Gracias, rodar y rodar.

I like it best when I can take out the bottom bracket and run the cable in through the top of the down tube and out near the end of the chainstay (less drilling is a plus) The BB bypass works well, too, though.

Recently with the darkness of winter, I have been thinking of excuses to use reflective tape. Using it to hold a cable/wire in place would give a functional purpose beyond being a reflector.

wahoonc

No, that is unique to that hub. I could see using something like that if I were Randonneuring, but for type of riding I do the expense is not worth it.

Aaron

fietsbob

+1, if you look at the Schmidt hub, in the linked picture.. there is a black ring separating the 2 parts of the axle end.

that's an insulator .. the + terminal is the flange , meets the hot lead face of the dropout inlay..


center of the axle is the ground.


NB:
Just a heads up .. I had my disc brake dynamo hub creep around in rotation , wrapping the cable around the axle .

when the QR skewer was a bit loose..

with the wire short, and fixed in a thru the fork routing , the plug may turn forward

further than the wire slack allows, and you will break the circuit. and need to rewire your fork ..

I had enough extra slack and my tape and zip tie job allowed the wrap up to pull some extra, without damage.


(I'm thinking the magnetic induction drag added up, over the miles,
rather than the disc brake part of the wheel doing the windup.)

tcs

Perhaps this?

antokelly

very nice no point if your going to use rear panniers tho.

Booger1

SHHHH! Top secret.......Kite string fish tape......If you wish to run wires thru tubing....Use kite string and a vacuum.Insert string in one hole,turn on vacuum,suck string out of other hole.Works every time.

antokelly

very clever indeed

Lex Fati

Awesome tip. I hope I can remember that next time I need it!

LuckySailor

[QUOTE=Lex Fati;16497508]I prefer to route my dynamo wires internally, though fishing cables through the frame can be a test of one's patience. Typically, I start with an old length of brake or shifter cable to find the path, and then use that to pull my cable through.

On some frames the cable can be routed directly through the opening where the down tube and chain stays enters the bottom bracket. I have done this on more than one bike. On others where I don't have the means of removing the bottom bracket, I have routed the cable out the bottom of the down tube and under the bottom bracket as described by niknak. I also second the use of connectors where it may be desirable to separate parts (for me, that is where the taillight wire on the rack meets the wire coming through the frame).

Whether I route the wire through the fork really depends on the shape and material of the fork.

In any event, I make sure I've got my plan figured out before drilling any holes. Typically, I use rubber grommets where I drill holes. I still file down the sharp edges of any holes, though to keep from cutting up the grommets.

Where do you get grommets from? Is that a Home Depot item or elsewhere? I want to try to hide my wiring and I like your idea of using the grommets, and the vacuum idea further down in this thread is a fabulous idea too. I have the added convenience of S&S couplers too.