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Front Shifter Cable Routing: This can't be right, can it?

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Front Shifter Cable Routing: This can't be right, can it?

Old 07-11-08, 07:45 PM
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Front Shifter Cable Routing: This can't be right, can it?

This is what I found on my newly acquired Centurion; it's a mistake, right?

CableRouting 002.jpg

Should it be routed simply around the bottom bracket??

Thanks!
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Old 07-11-08, 07:50 PM
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Yes..
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Old 07-11-08, 08:14 PM
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Rofl. yes that is completely wrong.
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Old 07-11-08, 08:56 PM
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It'll saw right through the tube after a while....

There SHOULD be a plastic slider block under the bottom bracket to feed the cable through Or some other arrangement for the cable to run thru. If there isn't one there than you can buy them from most bike shops and use a screw that fits into a threaded hole in the bottom bracket that looks like a drain hole.
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Old 07-11-08, 09:01 PM
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Originally Posted by BCRider
It'll saw right through the tube after a while....

There SHOULD be a plastic slider block under the bottom bracket to feed the cable through Or some other arrangement for the cable to run thru. If there isn't one there than you can buy them from most bike shops and use a screw that fits into a threaded hole in the bottom bracket that looks like a drain hole.
Yep, spot on.
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Old 07-11-08, 10:09 PM
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Should you have difficulty finding what you need, you'll find a new cable guide and screw online at LooseScrews for $2 plus shipping. A real deal.

https://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi

FWIW, I lost such a screw, wanted to ride the bike, so I attached the cable guide with adhesive caulk. That was about 6,000 miles and countless shifts ago. Works fine. But use the screw if you have it.
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Old 07-11-08, 10:30 PM
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There should be a guide on the BB either as part of the BB or one that is screwed on. Make sure there is a guide for the cable for the right angle for both the FD and RD.
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Old 07-12-08, 02:22 AM
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Originally Posted by BCRider
It'll saw right through the tube after a while....

There SHOULD be a plastic slider block under the bottom bracket to feed the cable through Or some other arrangement for the cable to run thru. If there isn't one there than you can buy them from most bike shops and use a screw that fits into a threaded hole in the bottom bracket that looks like a drain hole.
Any problems with taking this screw out on occasion to act as a drain hole? I ask because I didn't realize the parking lot at work was flooded when I rode through it.
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Old 07-12-08, 02:38 AM
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Originally Posted by TromboneAl
Should it be routed simply around the bottom bracket??
Basically, yes. But it should be a plastic fitting between the BB and the cable as well, with a groove for the cable to run through.

Dang, you guys are fast typers...
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Old 07-12-08, 03:43 AM
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Some frames have a metal tube on the BB that guides the cable. I think in that picture, you can see the end of that tube where the cable exits. Then it should go up to the FD, not rearwards past the chainstay bridge.
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Old 07-12-08, 05:04 AM
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It's not so odd... a new carbon frame I acquired recently had the plastic guide fitted on the BB, but it is far too short to prevent the cable so it doesn't rub on the rearside of the BB wall as it changes direction upward to the derailleur. I fitted a short piece of derailleur cable outer to protect the finish and stop the cable sawing through the BB!

This frame wouldn't have been fitted originally with a tubular guide clamped on to the seat tube immediately above the BB, by chance? Seems to me that the guide has been removed and the previous owner had no other way to route the cable. Creative engineering, in my book.
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Old 07-12-08, 08:23 AM
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Yes, Rowan, that's exactly how it seems on mine, and I can seem some scratches where it was rubbing. Did you attach the cable housing, or just let it float?

It also looks like it's going to hit another part of the front derailleur when I route it directly up. I'll play with it today.

Please excuse the grime, etc.






Last edited by TromboneAl; 07-12-08 at 08:30 AM.
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Old 07-12-08, 08:35 AM
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I would say the cable should run straight up the back of the BB shell, definitely should not be extending around that connector tube between the chainstays. The angle that the cable connects up to the front derailleur fixing screw will look a little different but thats the way it should be.
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Old 07-16-08, 11:03 AM
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For completeness, here it is after routing it the correct way. It really only kisses the back of the bottom bracket, and the angle is fine for the FD, so I'm not sure why someone installed it incorrectly.


Last edited by TromboneAl; 07-16-08 at 11:07 AM.
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Old 07-16-08, 11:57 AM
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That's a riot.
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