Hi there, I was wondering if anyone has adjusted the original length of cable housing on Bromptons? I have a 2013 M-type Brompton, crashed and ruined the M bars and got a Joseph Kuosac "mid-rise" bar, which is a little shorter in rise than original M bars (ebay has them). I am now switching up the gear shifters with the new 2017 intergrated brake levers and gear shifters. With the shifters now below the bar, I wanted to trim the cable housing a bit. Any advice on how to begin? Do I start with the bike folded to get the ideal length? Thanks in advance.

Sorry to hear about the crash. Hope you and the bike are doing well now. I've got the 2017 shifters and they are very nice. I went from M to S bars and did not shorten the cable. There is a little bit of slack but does not interfere with anything. If you want to shorten it I would do a rough guestimate on how many inches the bars are lower now and take off that many inches. For peace of mind you can install the shifters without the cable, fold the bike and make sure it is not too short by holding the cable where it will be cut at the shifter housing entry point. Good luck!

Myself I changed brake levers so longer cables were needed.. Stock lever angles the cable path downward
Most its straight across...


first bike brake cables you ever changed? Can't show you in person, So...

Go to the Brompton company website and SJS cycles UK
you will find information there and the Park and other places for the how to videos.



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I went the other way from an S bar to something close to the M bar but shorter and I did it by trial and error. I bought the M cables and shortened them as needed. It took a couple of times but I finally got it where I wanted.

I think you'll needto shorten the cables, since they should definitely not get caught when folding. The other thing you might consider is adding a cable tie so they don't get caught.

I took some pics to show how my cables are when folded. Even though it looks like the front brake cable is hooked on the derailleur it comes off cleanly when unfolding. Can't remember if it was the same before I changed bars.

In your case I don't think it will be an issue but if there is too much slack the cables dangles a bit too far under the main tube and can drift towards your right pedal when riding. That's one thing I was concerned about but had no issues. If I were to wear clown shoes it might be a problem though

Thank You! I like it so much that I got another on the way for my wife.