Apparently my google-fu is weak today, I'm looking for some tubing to slip over a shift cable for a front derailleur. The cable routes up from under the BB, through a hole in the frame, and out a hole at the top of the BB shell, where the chainstays meet the shell.

It doesn't run clean and rubs on the side of the hole, and I'm wondering if running the cable through a short piece of tubing would be smart. Would maybe need 2-4" of tubing. The front derailleur doesn't get shifted as much as the rear, so it may last a while before replacement.

Does anyone have a source for this, or a few inches they wouldn't mind dropping in the mail for good karma?

Are you looking for 'gear cable housing'? ~1$/ft from local LBS.

Nope, not housing, just tubing / sleeve to cover the inner cable as it passes through the hole in the frame.

Can I just pull a section of liner from a short piece of housing?

Or separate gear cable housing liner? (which since housing has been coming with integrated liner for many years is not abundant)


alternate sources for a plastic tube include heat shrink tubing. a staple of electrical wiring jobs , Automotive and otherwise.

Yes, was looking for a short piece of liner. Maybe I can just pull some liner from a short section of housing and use that.

You have permission to try.

Didn't know if it was fused to the outer housing or not. Thanks for the go-ahead okey-dokey.

decades ago it was not fused.. now that is rarely the case..

Cable liner is widely available on eBay (here’s an example: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Jagwire-Lub...AAAOSwCU1YrbhT )and probably at most good LBS. Cheap too.

[MENTION=3949]Davet[/MENTION], thank you for that link.

Let us know how it works. I have a mild concern that the liner would jam into the holes under the bottom bracket.

Nope, not at all. I use several inches of the liner on the BB cable guides on all of our bikes. On my wife’s Calfee the front derailleur wire goes through a hole in the chainstay bracket, much like the OPs issue. A length of the liner running through the guide, through the aforementioned holemade her front shifting very nice, quiet and smooth.

Well, it looks like I'm on the right track then. Just need to get a few inches of liner and I'm all set.

Run the liner starting about 1/2” or so in front of the BB guide, through the hole in frame/BB and several inches above that. Running it that high up will help keep water and other stuff from gooing you cable up. You can drizzle a little Tri Flow or something similar to keep things nice.

You may have to enlarge that frame/BB hole, you’ll know when you try to insert the liner. It won’t be much. If the liner doesn’t want to go through the BB cable guide, a spoke, awl or something similar, wiggled around a bit will allow the liner to slip through. All this is pretty easy to do.