Originally Posted by S_B

king_edward - thanks for that - fills me with more confidence - esp after FBinNY's comments
hueyhoolihan - thanks for the heads up re cartridge pads. Think I can get round that by swapping L/R over
Leebo - yes, I considered a full cable housing but didn't want (a) redundant cable stops; and (b) cable clips or zip ties cluttering the top tube. I've run other (winter) bilkes with full cables - for brakes and gears - to avoid the additional maintenance issues you get with exposed inner cables ...

Thanks all - will give it a go and will try to post result pics here.
Cheers - Steve