Originally Posted by
Grey.
Vanity factor? How about being able to mount devices to the top tube without having to worry about crimping the brake cable, or putting it on a car rack and not having to worry about the shift cables on the downtube? My bike got pretty messy last November and being able to wipe down the entire bike with no external cables getting in the way was a big plus.
And aside from that, yeah, it does look better.
Cables are easy to replace unless they break off in the middle, just attatch it to the old one and pull through. Trek uses guide tubes which pushes them in the right direction and stops them from rattling.
Fair enough!
However, I've no desire or need to mount appliances of various kinds to my bike; one or two bottle cages suffice. I've never, since resuming cycling in a serious way in 2002, attached my bike to my car and driven to a place from which to ride. Just a personal principle (and nothing more!): doing so strikes me as defeating the purpose. Rides should begin and end at one's front door. As to cleaning the bike, never found conventional cabling to be an impediment.