24
Had a pro shop mechanic call my cable routing 'amateur hour'
I was at a shop in Denver helping a buddy and this old mechanic looked at my internal routing on a Specialized frame and just laughed. He said I was running the housing too tight through the downtube, which causes drag and kills shifting feel. I loosened everything up and gave it more slack, and now my rear derailleur actually snaps into gear instead of hesitating. Has anyone else had to totally redo their routing after getting called out?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
hart.sage1mo ago
Traded barbs with a shop guy in Tucson once over my brake cable routing on a vintage road bike. He said my housing was so tight it looked like I was trying to strangle the frame. I pulled it all apart, ran it way looser like he suggested, and suddenly my front brake actually modulated instead of just grabbing. Still think tight routing looks cleaner though... feels like a tradeoff between looks and function sometimes.
3
clark.alex1mo ago
Nah hard disagree. Clean tight routing shows you care about your build and the extra friction is basically nothing unless you're racing at a pro level. I'll take the cleaner look every time.
6
king.robin1mo ago
Ha, I feel that. I once had a guy at a group ride look at my shift cable housing and say it looked like I was trying to win a contest for the tightest loops. I thought it was pro work. @hart.sage, your brake story hits close because I did the exact same thing to my front brake on an old Cannondale, and I could never stop smoothly until I loosened it up. It's like we're all out here building jewelry instead of bikes that actually work.
2