Setting Up An Internal Brake Cable

[bobscott]

I recently bought (from William her at the forum) a very nice Steel Serrota. It is fillet brazed and has an internal brake cable along the top tube. I am starting to get it set up. I was surprized to find that there is a housing stop on each end of the internal tubing and that only the cable itself (and not the housing) runs the full length of the internal tube.

Here's the problem. If I put a normal length ferrule on the end of the housing it visible and, to my eye, ruins the beauty of the cable entering the top tube.
What is the proper way to set this up? Should I drop the ferrule all together, try to shorten it so it is not visible or something else?

Thanks,
bobscott

[Ahneida Ride]

Bob

The Skunk Bird is one nice looking bike.
Pictures never do this frame justice. It just never fit Uncle William.

Good Riding ..... :D :) :p :beer:

[11.4]

There are two basic ways to run an internal top tube brake cable. One is to have a continuous tube, preferably stainless, that runs from exit to exit. You simply push the housing and cable through it. The other is as you describe. The advantage of the continuous tube is that no water can get into the frame itself; with yours, you have a problem trying to seal the openings so that water and perspiration don't get into the top tube (where it can be quite hard to monitor, protect, or clean out). This type of top tube run has had enough problems over time that you might literally think about taping over the holes and use some small zip ties to mount the cable along the outside of the top tube. Not as elegant, but more reliable.

If you want to use your existing setup, you might see whether you have a later version that takes a plastic internal liner (alternatively, file out the cable hole slightly with a very fine jewelers' reamer). Then run a piece of plastic cable liner through it and only use cable housing that accommodates a removable internal liner. It'll slow down water incursion into the frame and you can leave the liner in place and just replace the cable as needed (or pull the liner off with the cable left in place, and then coax a replacement liner over the existing cable, when that becomes necessary). When you do this, I'd pack the base of the entrances with silicone o-ring grease (not caulk and not a petroleum grease). The silicone grease is good for this use because it doesn't move when it gets hot, it doesn't damage the paint over time, and it's pretty good at keeping water out.

As for ferrules, if you go with one of the cable housings that have internal liners, they come with their own ferrules (custom ones needed with larger holes at the ends to accommodate both the wire and the liner). I'm not usually a huge fan of Nokon, but this is a nice place for the stuff. It also helps with the sharper bends coming out of the top tube.