Internal cables

[Clarence1997]

Why do these high quality and expensive Serotta frames NOT have internal cabling?

[DarrenCT]

gotta love that clean look.....

http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/982/newvex65ks9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img361.imageshack.us/img361/171/newvex106ou3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[1centaur]

My Merckx AXM does. It's more expensive to do that, does not change the ride (which is what the high end frames are supposed to be about), annoys the wrench because it's sometimes hard to build and hard to maintain, and has been known in some cases to make rattling noises that turn customers off. Against that you have the aesthetic of a cleaner line. I spend almost all my time riding or looking at my bike from a few feet away, and that exterior cable just is not part of my consciousness. It's simple and works, leaving me to enjoy the colors and the construction. So I don't think it's a surprise that most tube builders don't go that way.

[Fixed]

bro my merckx corsa and my miele team road edition both have it.. the miele has cool rubber plugs that the cable runs through one in ft. one in back . cheers :beer:

[Grant McLean]

Why do these high quality and expensive frames NOT have internal cabling?

My personal preference is two cable housing stops. I feel the brake performace
is better with less housing to compress. There are some methods of running
the inner cable only through the frame, but most are a tunnel for the housing.
Running the inner cable only inside the tube can be a hassle to install, or be
rattled inside.

g

[dave thompson]

Internal cable runs are a potential entry-point for water, sweat, Gatorade. Not good.

[e-RICHIE]

Internal cable runs are a potential entry-point for water, sweat, Gatorade. Not good.
no - that's only if they're done the dirt-floor way.
using a full length of thin wall stainless is the only
way to do this atmo.

[michael white]

and then, mr richie, there is the question whether to use the stainless housing guide, or the narrower one which just routes the cable thru. I think I know which you prefer. . . I own both styles, and both seem to work pretty good for me.

I've had two frames with internal routing rust out badly; both were quite nice frames. (but not as nice as yours)

[e-RICHIE]

and then, mr richie, there is the question whether to use the stainless housing guide, or the narrower one which just routes the cable thru. I think I know which you prefer. . . I own both styles, and both seem to work pretty good for me.

I've had two frames with internal routing rust out badly; both were quite nice frames. (but not as nice as yours)
dare i say - real men use .25" stainless throughout
(the wall thickness escapes me right now atmo).

[Peter P.]

Why aren't builders who use internal housing, mounting the entry and exit ports below the horizontal? That way, any moisture will flow AWAY from the port and is less likely to enter.

We do something similar when installing antenna cables on buildings. The cable forms a "drip loop" that dips below the entry hole in the building, so that any rain or snow that collects will flow away from the hole, preventing leaks.

[ecl2k]

Klein did it the best
http://archive.kleinbikes.com/assets/asset_upload_file181_1441.jpg

Had a klein mountain bike with full internal routing and it looked great without any issues and without extra weight

hard to argue with this:
http://www.wundel.com/pic/jpg/attitude94_white_tobias_1.jpg

except for the platform pedals

[iPaul]

I have something similar on the my merckx cora extra but was never able to pass the full housing through like some have mentioned. in fact I could barely get the housing on one side to side inside the braze-on. Its always was the area of this frame that has made me sad :-(. I've been considering opening up the one end to see if I can at least get the housing to seat.
Does anyone know if the housing was supposed to pass through on this frame?

[Marcusaurelius]

I think mostly because it's a very bad idea that doesn't add anything to the braking perforamce of the frame. I had a colnago with this silly setup and never liked it.

[michael white]

I have something similar on the my merckx cora extra but was never able to pass the full housing through like some have mentioned. in fact I could barely get the housing on one side to side inside the braze-on. Its always was the area of this frame that has made me sad :-(. I've been considering opening up the one end to see if I can at least get the housing to seat.
Does anyone know if the housing was supposed to pass through on this frame?


this is what I was trying to get at with Richie. The housing is not supposed to pass thru on a lot of frames, but I think it is with Richie's and with Goodrich's, etc. I have a Cinelli SC, also a Steelman--both have fairly complex setups where the ports act as stops, and only the cable goes thru. On my Colnago, though, there's an internal tube designed to take the housing.

I think both systems can work well, and both have slight pros and cons. My frames which rusted out were different frames.

mw