Buyer beware!

[Milzy]

On my wife's Hewitt (that got flattened ) the bottom bracket shell had cable grooves - deliberate I think rather than worn!

Moulded/machined in groves would totally work the same.
Different frames often require different cable guides under the BB to optimize cable routing for the slickest friction free shifting possible.

 

[Blue Hills]

On my wife's Hewitt (that got flattened ) the bottom bracket shell had cable grooves - deliberate I think rather than worn!

Grooves cut into the frame?
When it was made or made by Hewitt?
Mine doesn't have any grooves - just a bit where the cable touches the frame for a short bit as it approaches the guide - and has cut the paint.
Surely this can't be right?

 

[neil_merseyside]

Grooves cut into the frame?
When it was made or made by Hewitt?
Mine doesn't have any grooves - just a bit where the cable touches the frame for a short bit as it approaches the guide - and has cut the paint.
Surely this can't be right?

It was a custom build frame, so I assume done by the builder as cable guides, they had been powder coated.

 

[Ming the Merciless]

Barrel or inline adjusters absolutely needed if you can’t do it at mech or shifter end. I’ve yet to see anyone who can clamp a cable so perfectly that shifting is perfectly indexed and needs no further adjustment.

 

[Chislenko]

I am very happy with my barrel adjusters.

I couldn't live without them.

If anyone needs some pre-stretched cables I have some, they are also known as old used cables!

 

[Milzy]

I am very happy with my barrel adjusters.

I couldn't live without them.

If anyone needs some pre-stretched cables I have some, they are also known as old used cables!

Yes quite. The shop could have supplied some but Planet X have their own type which match up to their frames.

 

[boydj]

A good bike mechanic should pre-stretch the cable so that when it goes to the bike owner there is no more stretch to occur.

Cables don't stretch. The outers may settle in to the cable stops a little or they may not be properly tightened at the initial fitting, but they don't "stretch".

 

[craigwend]

Yes quite. The shop could have supplied some but Planet X have their own type which match up to their frames.

Don't forget a photo when complete (or before) in the Ti thread in Photos section

 

[Pumpkin the robot]

Cables don't stretch. The outers may settle in to the cable stops a little or they may not be properly tightened at the initial fitting, but they don't "stretch".

So what happens when you take them past their elastic limit?

 

[fossyant]

They’d just rub on the frame if tight. You need a guide under the BB for two cables

Not really. Both my steel road bikes just have grooves in the BB shell. The Ribble had two loops that the cable passes through first and my Herety just grooves, with a small bridge to retain the cable if it ever got loose. When I refurbed the Ribble, I bought some PTFE liner to run in the grooves just to save the soft brand new paint.

 

[Profpointy]

So what happens when you take them past their elastic limit?

whilst changing gear on a bike ?

 

[boydj]

So what happens when you take them past their elastic limit?

We're talking about steel cables here. The kind of forces that can be applied when fitting or when using the levers can come nowhere near to what would be necessary to actually stretch the cable in any way. Elastic limits - as McEnroe said 'You cannot be serious!"

 

[midlife]

Using multistrand wires to join things together in the mouth can undergo a small amount of constructional stretch (I think that's what it's called)

 

[Pumpkin the robot]

We're talking about steel cables here. The kind of forces that can be applied when fitting or when using the levers can come nowhere near to what would be necessary to actually stretch the cable in any way. Elastic limits - as McEnroe said 'You cannot be serious!"

You have stated that cables do not stretch, now you are starting to add caveats.

 

[cougie uk]

You have stated that cables do not stretch, now you are starting to add caveats.

Yeah but we are taking about building a bike. Not doing a suspension bridge. There's no need for caveats.