Crud, Mud and stuff

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minnsy

New Member
Cables...have an Spesh Epic and the cables (as with most bikes) run down the underside of frame, under the BB and then along the whatsit and then to the derailleur. And boy do they get covered in stuff... and then the indexing/changing goes all a bit wrong - and that is the most annoying thing I find about MTB'ing in winter (I can put up with rain, mud, fox turd, pretty much anything...but gears not working...)

Option is to re-route the cable (fully enclosed in outer), along the cross bar, and then down the whatsit (note this is a differnent whatsit than the one mentiond above) and to the derailleur, thus potentially keeping the cable mud and glitch free.

What I want to know is if any like minded mudaholics have done this and whether it made the slightest difference...

Thoughts... (and getting a Roloff (sp) like my geeky colleague is not an option)
 

barq

Senior Member
Location
Birmingham, UK
Exposed cable routing under the BB on MTBs is prone to problems. Re-routing along the top-tube and down the seat-tube is one option, although you'd need to check if your front mech is top-pull, bottom-pull or both.

An alternative is to keep the existing routing and use a sealed system like Avid's Flakjacket or Transfil's MudLovers Gear Cable Set. (Both are available from online stores like Wiggle.) Sealed routing does make a significant difference for bikes with down-tube cable routing. A friend of mine converted his Epic using the Flakjacket kit a couple of years ago. It seems to work well for him - which I find impressive given the frequently disgusting state of his bike! :rolleyes:
 
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User482

Guest
I have Transfil mudlover cables on my commuting and mtb bikes. Highly recommended. Like you, I get fed up with having to strip down & lube cables in winter - these beauties solve that problem.

Only problem is that the pack didn't have quite enough outer cable for my MTB - so I just did the rear mech.
 

Steve Austin

The Marmalade Kid
Location
Mlehworld
Treat it to some new cables. I'm currently using Jagwires which are working reet nice, but flakjackets have worked well for me in the past.

I don't generally get many problems with the downtube routing or the under BB bit. Its the huge tight loop of cable at the rear. A rollamajig or a New XT rear mech will sort this, as the cable loops less
 

bonj2

Guest
Steve Austin said:
I don't generally get many problems with the downtube routing or the under BB bit. Its the huge tight loop of cable at the rear. A rollamajig or a New XT rear mech will sort this, as the cable loops less

or just get a sram x9 or x0. My x9 has a routing thingy on it which effectively makes it so that the cable needs to come in from the front top, which is where it naturally comes from.
 

Steve Austin

The Marmalade Kid
Location
Mlehworld
but don't Sham parts fall to bits at the mere sight of mud?

And wouldn't that mean buying new shifters as well?

and buying wholly unreliable parts?

and i thought you suggested full length outers, and how do you route them under the BB?
 
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minnsy

New Member
Well, not going to change from XT mech and XTR shifters to SRAM. LBS suggested changing sleeve and cable regularly, rather than a re-route (which make sense) . So it is currently running as smoothly as very smooth thing.

Will look into Flakjacket and other suggestions - thanks for those...

Back to the mud..
 

bonj2

Guest
Steve Austin said:
but don't Sham (sic) parts fall to bits at the mere sight of mud?

And wouldn't that mean buying new shifters as well?

and buying wholly unreliable parts?

and i thought you suggested full length outers, and how do you route them under the BB?

no, yes, no, and why do they need to go under the BB? Mine just run under the entire length of the top tube and down the seat stay.
 

Elmer Fudd

Miserable Old Bar Steward
minnsy said:
Cables...have an Spesh Epic and the cables (as with most bikes) run down the underside of frame, under the BB and then along the whatsit and then to the dérailleur. And boy do they get covered in stuff... and then the indexing/changing goes all a bit wrong - and that is the most annoying thing I find about MTB'ing in winter (I can put up with rain, mud, fox turd, pretty much anything...but gears not working...

barq said:
Exposed cable routing under the BB on MTBs is prone to problems.
I've always wondered why they route gear cables under the frame on serious M.T.B. bikes when they know that someone who pays that much for a bike isn't going to use it to nip to the shops on a Sunday morn.

I mean, it's gonna get covered in shite, maybe bounced off logs and rocks, so what is the logic behind it ?
 
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User482

Guest
Elmer Fudd said:
I've always wondered why they route gear cables under the frame on serious M.T.B. bikes when they know that someone who pays that much for a bike isn't going to use it to nip to the shops on a Sunday morn.

I mean, it's gonna get covered in shite, maybe bounced off logs and rocks, so what is the logic behind it ?

On the other hand, top routed cables mean that water and dirt runs down the exposed inner on the seat stay, and then sits in the loop before the rear mech. Pros and cons to both approaches...

But I repeat - it doesn't matter if you use Mudlover cables: the system is completely sealed, and neater and lighter than full length outer.
 

barq

Senior Member
Location
Birmingham, UK
Elmer Fudd said:
I mean, it's gonna get covered in shite, maybe bounced off logs and rocks, so what is the logic behind it ?

Originally MTB front mechs were the bottom-pull variety, so the easiest way was to route underneath because if you went over the top, a seat tube mounted pulley was needed to change the direction of cable pull.

I suspect that the bottom routing is still in use on some full suspension bikes where cables would foul the rear suspension, or where there is no continuous seat tube to route along (e.g. unconventional Y shaped frames).
 

bonj2

Guest
User482 said:
On the other hand, top routed cables mean that water and dirt runs down the exposed inner on the seat stay, and then sits in the loop before the rear mech. Pros and cons to both approaches...
Again, not if you have full length outer. The only place my inner is exposed is where it comes out of the ferrule right near the mech, which is pointing downwards, so mud doesn't tend to run into it.

User482 said:
But I repeat - it doesn't matter if you use Mudlover cables: the system is completely sealed, and neater and lighter than full length outer.

hmmm... probably only lighter by about a couple of grams or so.
Personally I think full length outer is neater than not, as it's simpler - no intermediate ferrules. But personal preference I suppose.
You could have full length mudlover cables...
 
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