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Cable Interference with 3rd Downtube Bottle Bosses

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Cable Interference with 3rd Downtube Bottle Bosses

Old 06-04-18, 08:20 PM
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Cable Interference with 3rd Downtube Bottle Bosses

I don't know if anyone has had this problem, but I imagine with more adventure bikes coming to the market, someone else has had this problem. The FD shift cable interferes with the bottle bosses that are mounted on the underside of the downtube. On most bikes, this is the "third" set of bottle bosses. Interference looks like:

I used a presta nut from a Continental tube (I have no idea why Conti shapes their nuts this way; I assume to use in a rim drilled for Schrader valves) to make a pulley/cable guide:


Sandwiched under the cage, it looks like this:


Hopefully, someone else can use this hack.

Last edited by aggiegrads; 06-04-18 at 08:23 PM.
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Old 06-05-18, 06:28 AM
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Wow mine interfered a little too but not THAT bad, that's just a poor design. Great engineering my man!
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Old 06-05-18, 08:14 AM
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What bike is that?

I've never seen a cable guide so off-center. Although it would be trivial to drill and tap it back to center your hack is better as it requires no tools.
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Old 06-05-18, 11:26 AM
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The cable guide is mounted off center so the RD cable can clear fenders for a 27.5 x 3.0 tire. It is a custom build and I don't fault the builder at all - it is an acceptable compromise to be able to get fat tires and fenders on a smaller frame. The smaller frame also means that the bosses need to be as low as possible to avoid interference with the front wheel (which also has fenders that clear a 27.5 x 3" tire).
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Old 06-05-18, 11:36 AM
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That's interesting, I've not seen a set-up like that before and your solution is even better with those limitations.
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Old 06-05-18, 11:42 AM
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Can you rerun the cables so they enter the bosses at the headtube on the opposite sides and cross under the downtube? This is common to prevent head tube rub.
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Old 06-05-18, 11:50 AM
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Originally Posted by redlude97
Can you rerun the cables so they enter the bosses at the headtube on the opposite sides and cross under the downtube? This is common to prevent head tube rub.
+1

i like to do do this on my bikes as it really cleans up the front end, and with the way the cables run under the downtube it would clear a 3rd set of bottle bosses if my bikes had them.

not it sure how that off centered cable guide would effect things though.
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Old 06-05-18, 11:56 AM
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Originally Posted by redlude97
Can you rerun the cables so they enter the bosses at the headtube on the opposite sides and cross under the downtube? This is common to prevent head tube rub.
This is an excellent solution, and possibly what the builder intended.

Have you sent a photo to the builder to ask what they would do?

You might also try a different cable guide to adjust things over a bit. This one has two locations:
https://www.niagaracycle.com/categor...iABEgJPS_D_BwE
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Old 06-05-18, 11:58 AM
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Originally Posted by redlude97
Can you rerun the cables so they enter the bosses at the headtube on the opposite sides and cross under the downtube? This is common to prevent head tube rub.
That is a great idea, too! Upon inspection, it looks like this will move the problem from the bottom cage bolt to the top cage bolt. Next time I recable, I will see how it aligns.
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Old 06-08-18, 10:15 AM
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Can you add a second cable guide to the other side of the BB and make each guide for a single cable?
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Old 06-08-18, 10:34 AM
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If you are a woodworker. you could take a block (of say oak), drill it with a hole saw roughly the diameter of the BB shell, round one face, file grooves in. then cut thorough the hole with a table saw. (No need for the tab covering the slot. Many older guides did not have them. Or just use a roughly 1/2" X 1/8" strip of metal or plastic kept in place with the same screw as for the guide.)

(Says a guy who made a wooden block to bolt his Planet Bike rear fender to at the chainstays to keep it quiet.)

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Old 06-08-18, 10:43 AM
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And for other fun uses of underside WB cages - I took a Lezyne (sp) cage (those cages with two sides but not wrapping around the top/bottom of the bottle) and used it to carry sandals that I put in a tight fitting bag. The bag has a strap to slip a toestrap through. When secured with the toestrap, nothing is going anywhere. The sandals did a couple of Cycle Oregons on my fix gear so I could give my feet a break at rest stops. (Strapped shoes are a foot killer when you have to pull up against the straps with all your might many times. I have since cut off the straps and installed laces.)

You can see the bag in my avatar. It's quite red.

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Old 06-08-18, 12:29 PM
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Originally Posted by 79pmooney
And for other fun uses of underside WB cages - I took a Lezyne (sp) cage (those cages with two sides but not wrapping around the top/bottom of the bottle) and used it to carry sandals that I put in a tight fitting bag. The bag has a strap to slip a toestrap through. When secured with the toestrap, nothing is going anywhere. The sandals did a couple of Cycle Oregons on my fix gear so I could give my feet a break at rest stops. (Strapped shoes are a foot killer when you have to pull up against the straps with all your might many times. I have since cut off the straps and installed laces.)

You can see the bag in my avatar. It's quite red.

Ben
I am leaning towards putting a tool roll down there, as it is the densest item I carry. I have to believe that the heaviest carried item needs to go as low as possible to optimize handling.

Seems like a good place for your nine-pound chain whip and extra cogs.
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Old 06-08-18, 01:32 PM
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Great place to carry weight. Placebo effect. Since you cannot see it while riding, it doesn't slow you down. (And you cannot feel it when rocking the bike out of the saddle since it is so close to the pivot line, the contact points of the two tires.)

Edit: I carry one, maybe two cogs and the whip weighs 16 oz despite being 20" long. Not a lot more than your cassette, derailleurs, cables, housings and shifters.

Ben

Last edited by 79pmooney; 06-08-18 at 01:35 PM.
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Old 06-08-18, 03:18 PM
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Thinking more about this, I realized that having the cable having to bend around a smooth metal piece is entirely normal for bicycles and shouldn't matter at all. If you'd like to decrease wear and friction, use a short length of cable liner tube where the cable runs over the washers. Your shifting will still be superior to MTB top tube run cabling.
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