I did my first ErgoPower install over the weekend, and I think I cut the housings/cables too short. Here are some pics:





Should they be a little longer (like maybe overlap in front of the head tube)?

I may need to reposition the levers themselves, so I don't mind if I need to recable, too.

The cables look tense and constricted. I would loosen them up and let them loop more gently to the cable stops. This would result in some small overlap, like you mentioned. Your current setup looks like it will work while riding in a straight line, but I suspect sloppy shifting while the bars are turned.

As long as the cable housing doesn't tend to pull away from the cable stops on the downtube when you turn the bars, I think you're OK. If that happens, the cable housing may not re-seat properly when you turn the bars straight again to start riding (particularly if the cable housing pulls out of the ferrule.) The "hung" cable housing will really mess up the shifting then. I've got a tandem where the cable housing is a tiny bit too short -- I had salvaged the housing from a Shimano installation -- but it shifts fine as long as the cable housing is properly seated.

The general rule is that the cables should be just long enough to let the bars turn all the way in both directions without binding.

I'm going to reposition the levers, so I think I'll just install some slightly longer housing while I've got the bars unwrapped.

Thanks for the input.

Way too short. The smart thing to do is make them long enough that the two sides slightly overlap in front of the head tube.