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englertracing

you owe me a sandwich
Mar 5, 2012
1,666
1,159
La Verne
Ooooh, you mean the old exposed cables that collect dirt and jam up the shifting. Yes, there is less resistance in those...until they jam up with dirt and screw up the shifting. So glad we are done with that and not having to change housing ever few months like back in the 1990s.
You used to be able to wipe the exposed portion down slide the housing over it, clean where the housing runs, lube it, make it hella fresh.

But im saying a hybrid of intetnal/exposed, use the frame as housing.
 

rideit

Bob the Builder
Aug 24, 2004
24,679
12,474
In the cleavage of the Tetons
This seems like an engineering solution looking for a problem. The only advantage here would be saving 50 grams of housing (but that would be offset by whatever stopper mechanism and ferrules you might need).
 

englertracing

you owe me a sandwich
Mar 5, 2012
1,666
1,159
La Verne
This seems like an engineering solution looking for a problem. The only advantage here would be saving 50 grams of housing (but that would be offset by whatever stopper mechanism and ferrules you might need).
Um no.
It would eliminate the possibility for rattling and make an ordinary cable perform like a coated cable, and a coated cable work that much better.

Its called an improvement
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,825
7,073
borcester rhymes
plenty of brands do TITS style internal routing that prevents rattling entirely and uses internal cables. That's one thing the evil did very well...routing was totally painless, just jam it through until it comes out the other end. My BMC is a big empty toob, so I needed to wrap the housing in order to get it quiet. I'm still not sure it's as quiet as I would like.
 

toodles

ridiculously corgi proportioned
Aug 24, 2004
5,840
5,215
Australia
This discussion kinda begs the question: have any frames tried to do internally-routed, non-full length housing?
Not sure if they still do it, but my friend's Trek Remedy had a cable housing stop where the internal routing went into the frame. The inner cable was exposed on the inside of the frame. He pays in beer for me to fix his shit so I ended up doing a bunch of work on that thing and routing a bare inner through a frame is a dickload harder than running an outer through one. In the end, one port got damaged and we ended up drilling the other and converting it to a regular internal routed full length outer. Negligble friction difference when you consider the housings and cables available these days.
 

Bikael Molton

goofy for life
Jun 9, 2003
4,088
1,235
El Lay
thanks. I think it’s a neat idea actually depending on the execution.

Frankly I think some frames sacrifice low-friction cable routing just so the bike can look “clean” with internal routing and suboptimal bends in the housing.

Not sure if they still do it, but my friend's Trek Remedy had a cable housing stop where the internal routing went into the frame. The inner cable was exposed on the inside of the frame. He pays in beer for me to fix his shit so I ended up doing a bunch of work on that thing and routing a bare inner through a frame is a dickload harder than running an outer through one. In the end, one port got damaged and we ended up drilling the other and converting it to a regular internal routed full length outer. Negligble friction difference when you consider the housings and cables available these days.
 

maxyedor

<b>TOOL PRO</b>
Oct 20, 2005
5,496
3,141
In the bathroom, fighting a battle
plenty of brands do TITS style internal routing that prevents rattling entirely and uses internal cables. That's one thing the evil did very well...routing was totally painless, just jam it through until it comes out the other end. My BMC is a big empty toob, so I needed to wrap the housing in order to get it quiet. I'm still not sure it's as quiet as I would like.
Sounds like BMC belongs on the kill list. Not running tubes in tubes for internal cables is totally unacceptabu
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,141
10,688
AK
Ooooh, you mean the old exposed cables that collect dirt and jam up the shifting. Yes, there is less resistance in those...until they jam up with dirt and screw up the shifting. So glad we are done with that and not having to change housing ever few months like back in the 1990s.
It's like I'm living in a time warp...
 

englertracing

you owe me a sandwich
Mar 5, 2012
1,666
1,159
La Verne
It's like I'm living in a time warp...
Are your frames full of dirt?
What would the harm of exposed cable in the downtube be?
A cable inside a tube(housing) inside a tube(housing guide) inside a tube (frame)
Fucking briliant..... A+ in engineering
 
Last edited:

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,141
10,688
AK
Are your frames full of dirt?
What would the harm of exposed cable in the downtube be?
A cable inside a tube(housing) inside a tube(housing guide) inside a tube (frame)
Fucking briliant..... A+ in engineering
Well, dirt DOES get in there IME, the more holes and doors you have, the more gets in, not so much that it's bouncing around usually. I have to think though that this would totally violate the KISS/Occam's Razor concept, making the frame and cable much more complex than it needs to be. You aren't by chance using those shimano "000"-series shifters that require the crazy thumb-force to upshift? On the high end SRAM stuff I can't say that there's any excessive force and it's pretty light action all the way around...even with the 30 miles of outer housing. I can't say I've ever once thought since we went to full length housing "wow, we should go back on that because it's making my shifting too heavy". Hell, we are eliminating cables as we speak with electronic, so it's not going to be a problem for you for much longer?
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,825
7,073
borcester rhymes
Sounds like BMC belongs on the kill list. Not running tubes in tubes for internal cables is totally unacceptabu
There are plenty of reasons for BMC to be on the kill list. That being said, this is like a 5.5lb frame so I think their focus was on making it light rather than internet forum approved. I do hate internally routing brake lines (i'm swap happy), but I'll take derailleur cables.

I'm running AXS on the road bike and I expect that to take over MTB quickly ones it's released. No cables, easy tuning...
 

slimshady

¡Mira, una ardilla!
Well, dirt DOES get in there IME, the more holes and doors you have, the more gets in, not so much that it's bouncing around usually. I have to think though that this would totally violate the KISS/Occam's Razor concept, making the frame and cable much more complex than it needs to be. You aren't by chance using those shimano "000"-series shifters that require the crazy thumb-force to upshift? On the high end SRAM stuff I can't say that there's any excessive force and it's pretty light action all the way around...even with the 30 miles of outer housing. I can't say I've ever once thought since we went to full length housing "wow, we should go back on that because it's making my shifting too heavy". Hell, we are eliminating cables as we speak with electronic, so it's not going to be a problem for you for much longer?
This. Whenever the upshift force on my X1 shifter gets into Shimano figures I know it's time to buy a couple miles of housing and a new cable.
 

englertracing

you owe me a sandwich
Mar 5, 2012
1,666
1,159
La Verne
Well, dirt DOES get in there IME, the more holes and doors you have, the more gets in, not so much that it's bouncing around usually. I have to think though that this would totally violate the KISS/Occam's Razor concept, making the frame and cable much more complex than it needs to be. You aren't by chance using those shimano "000"-series shifters that require the crazy thumb-force to upshift? On the high end SRAM stuff I can't say that there's any excessive force and it's pretty light action all the way around...even with the 30 miles of outer housing. I can't say I've ever once thought since we went to full length housing "wow, we should go back on that because it's making my shifting too heavy". Hell, we are eliminating cables as we speak with electronic, so it's not going to be a problem for you for much longer?
Right tripple tubes is simpler than a door with a cable holder and a straight shot... Sure sure....

Being picky Cable friction isnt just about shifting to larger gears its also about shifting to smaller gears quicker, when the cable has enough friction that shifting to a larger gear is noticably harder it is worn out junk and shifting to smaller gears takes a long time
 

William42

fork ways
Jul 31, 2007
4,013
775
There are plenty of reasons for BMC to be on the kill list. That being said, this is like a 5.5lb frame so I think their focus was on making it light rather than internet forum approved. I do hate internally routing brake lines (i'm swap happy), but I'll take derailleur cables.

I'm running AXS on the road bike and I expect that to take over MTB quickly ones it's released. No cables, easy tuning...
I mean, I gotta be honest, I don't think I've ever once lifted my bike up and thought "boy this sure is light"

Light bikes exist pretty much exclusively for internet approval. There isn't much reason for them otherwise.

That said, no hate from me. If it rides well, it rides well.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
20,141
10,688
AK
Right tripple tubes is simpler than a door with a cable holder and a straight shot... Sure sure....

Being picky Cable friction isnt just about shifting to larger gears its also about shifting to smaller gears quicker, when the cable has enough friction that shifting to a larger gear is noticably harder it is worn out junk and shifting to smaller gears takes a long time
Man, all these problems I didn’t even know I had!!
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,825
7,073
borcester rhymes
I mean, I gotta be honest, I don't think I've ever once lifted my bike up and thought "boy this sure is light"

Light bikes exist pretty much exclusively for internet approval. There isn't much reason for them otherwise.

That said, no hate from me. If it rides well, it rides well.
I think responsible weight saving is smart. Sacrificing durability and performance for weight gets dumb. Then again, i purpose built my bike. I simply do not ride as hard nor as fast as many of you, and instead I wanted an efficient mid travel bike (downcountry? ugh) that would be great for xc but could also get shreddy....not a shredder that can climb when forced. The bmc ticked a lot of boxes.
 

StiHacka

Compensating for something
Jan 4, 2013
21,560
12,508
In hell. Welcome!
I think responsible weight saving is smart. Sacrificing durability and performance for weight gets dumb. Then again, i purpose built my bike. I simply do not ride as hard nor as fast as many of you, and instead I wanted an efficient mid travel bike (downcountry? ugh) that would be great for xc but could also get shreddy....not a shredder that can climb when forced. The bmc ticked a lot of boxes.
Didn't your BMC frame crack during our last ride? :busted:
 

Westy

the teste
Nov 22, 2002
55,993
22,030
Sleazattle
I've never had problems with internal or external mounted cables. I do prefer to run full housings to keep the dirt out, don't care if that is internal or external. I do have problem with cable bosses that run a danger to your scrotum and taint if things go sideways.

Neither solve the problem of cable rub. Not as much of a problem for me anymore but when I rode in sandy soil a lot, cable rub could destroy a frame or fork in no time even with substantial added protection.
 

buckoW

Turbo Monkey
Mar 1, 2007
3,838
4,881
Champery, Switzerland
I think responsible weight saving is smart. Sacrificing durability and performance for weight gets dumb. Then again, i purpose built my bike. I simply do not ride as hard nor as fast as many of you, and instead I wanted an efficient mid travel bike (downcountry? ugh) that would be great for xc but could also get shreddy....not a shredder that can climb when forced. The bmc ticked a lot of boxes.
If you don’t sacrifice durability or performance in your use case, then why would someone want a heavier bike?

I like light bikes because I can bunny hop a little higher, gap a little farther, whip better and I get way less tired meaning an extra lap or two with more fun per lap. Why are heavy bikes now cool?
 

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,486
4,212
sw ontario canada
If you don’t sacrifice durability or performance in your use case, then why would someone want a heavier bike?

I like light bikes because I can bunny hop a little higher, gap a little farther, whip better and I get way less tired meaning an extra lap or two with more fun per lap. Why are heavy bikes now cool?
Are there not reports of people not liking too light bikes as they feel they get knocked off course too easily / feel a bit frail or sketchy - or is more a matter of taking the extra time to acclimatize?

Not applicable to me, my Trailbike is 34lbs and my DH bike is 37, so no extra light whippets for this hack.
 

englertracing

you owe me a sandwich
Mar 5, 2012
1,666
1,159
La Verne
Are there not reports of people not liking too light bikes as they feel they get knocked off course too easily / feel a bit frail or sketchy - or is more a matter of taking the extra time to acclimatize?

Not applicable to me, my Trailbike is 34lbs and my DH bike is 37, so no extra light whippets for this hack.
the solution is to reduce friction and unsprung mass not increase sprung mass.
 
I've never had problems with internal or external mounted cables. I do prefer to run full housings to keep the dirt out, don't care if that is internal or external. I do have problem with cable bosses that run a danger to your scrotum and taint if things go sideways.

Neither solve the problem of cable rub. Not as much of a problem for me anymore but when I rode in sandy soil a lot, cable rub could destroy a frame or fork in no time even with substantial added protection.
Yeah, I wind up taping under cable housings when that sets up.
 

Sandwich

Pig my fish!
Staff member
May 23, 2002
21,825
7,073
borcester rhymes
my DH bike is 37, so no extra light whippets for this hack.


37lb is pretty light for a DH bike. Not crazy, sure, but you're telling me the difference between your two bikes is 3lbs???? I mean switching from a 36 to a 40 is like two pounds right there, plus dual ply tires, fat cranks, a strong frame, etc. I think my DH bike hovers in the low 40s, as I run full coil, dual ply tires, and aluminum bars/cranks like a good boy. The BMC is somewhere in the high 20s, but that's because it goes up far more than it goes down.
 

mykel

closer to Periwinkle
Apr 19, 2013
5,486
4,212
sw ontario canada


37lb is pretty light for a DH bike. Not crazy, sure, but you're telling me the difference between your two bikes is 3lbs???? I mean switching from a 36 to a 40 is like two pounds right there, plus dual ply tires, fat cranks, a strong frame, etc. I think my DH bike hovers in the low 40s, as I run full coil, dual ply tires, and aluminum bars/cranks like a good boy. The BMC is somewhere in the high 20s, but that's because it goes up far more than it goes down.
It is not so much that the DH bike is light, but the trail bike is heavy. On the trailbike, going from 26 to 29, both aluminum Knolly's I gained over 4 lbs. Burly Onyx wheelset, a coil in the rear, Avy open bath in the fork and a huge ass 12 speed cassette don't come light. And I screwed up, so add a lb to the DH bike as I forgot it now has Maxxis DH rubber instead of Michi WR2's that it wore last time it was on the scales.