Well, the Schwinn Maddy arrived today and quite a few parts were missing (shame on you Schwinn / Nashbar). Missing are pedals, front brake, and rear brake cable ties.

I'm sure Nashbar will supply me with the missing parts, but I am curious to hear what you all prefer to use to secure the rear brake cable to the top tube. I've seen both metal clips as well as zip ties. Is there a benefit of one over the other or just personal preference? Thanks.

Cable clips.

Cable clips look much nicer, and do not spin around the tube.

Do the cable clips scratch the paint up any - being metal?

yes, but so do zip ties, the friction from the cable housing has worn holes thru many paintjobs on my bikes

How to do it:

Cut a rubber band in half, trim to length, and lay under the metal of the clip.

Works for me.

I did the cable clips for a few weeks, said **** them and put some white zip ties on.

Why?

I'd use cable clips as well. Zip ties look terrible.

Thanks for the replies and tips everyone. Cool idea, Faux.

As I said, the Maddy didn't come with any so I just used some electrical tape for the time being. I just wrapped a spot in the middle. In fact, this way might look cool with some vintage bar tape or cloth tape in a frame matching color... hmmm...

I do think stainless clips have a cool vintage vibe look to them, I just didn't know about the frame scratch factor. The frame being steel and rusting is what concerned me about them.

I was stepping onto my bike one time and it caught my shorts, and instantly got pissed enough to remove them.