Campagnolo cable guide 626/A on a Ram

[Steve Wimberg]

I've never been a huge fan of how the derailer cables are routed underneath the bottom bracket of my Ram, due to the fact that they are just rubbing against the bare frame. Does anyone have any thoughts on using something like this Campy cable guide?

http://velobase.com/ViewComponent.aspx?ID=E553FEF8-9918-4B47-B24E-AE4603CBCB14

It attaches to the downtube and routes the cables above and to the side of the bottom bracket. However, from what I can find, it looks like it is sized for a 1 1/8" tube, while I believe the Ram down tube is 1 1/4". If that is indeed the case, could the guide possibly be made to squeeze out that extra 1/8"?

Thanks for any info,
Steve

[Eric Norris]

I have some experience using Campagnolo and other old-school clamp-on devices. I don't think the 1 1/8 clamp can be stretched to fit 1 1/4. The diameter of the circle the clamp would need to fit around is about .4 inches longer (do the math here: http://math.about.com/library/blcirclecalculator.htm), which is too long, even if you used a longer screw.

Eric N

www.CampyOnly.com

CampyOnlyGuy.blogspot.com

Twitter: @CampyOnlyGuy

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[Dave]

I think more than a few of us may have been initially weirded-out by
using the bottom bracket shell as a cable guide, but honestly it really
doesn't make any difference. Friction is friction, and no one in the
history of derailleurs has even sawn through their bottom bracket. What
I and many others do is to put a couple inches of Teflon cable housing
lining on the cables under the shell. They stay there just fine and
provide a slick crud barrier for the cables, smooth out the shifting a
hair, and take out the creepy thought of slowly, ever slowly, cutting
into the shell. You'll need to keep an eye on it a couple times per
year; the cable will eventually cut its way through the Teflon and
you'll need to replace it.

[ascpgh]

I agree with Eric and Dave; some cable housing liner is the ticket. I use a bit more to make sure that it extends up beyond where the  spray of the front wheel could put some grit into it. The diameter of the BB shell is large enough that it doesn't really bear through the plastic sleeve that fast; once a season maybe. Having had frames with the hook cable guide things, the friction of the route around the BB shell is lower as the hooks accumulate wear at a much higher rate. 

Andy Cheatham

Pittsburgh, PA

[Benz, Sunnyvale, CA]

Seeing that the cable stop on the chainstay is on the bottom of the chainstay, even if you can route the rear derailleur cable using the Campagnolo cable guide, how will you address the chainstay cable stop issue?

Go with the Teflon cable lining. New cable installations should likely have extra lengths of housing you can salvage the lining from.

[Peter Morgano]

Thought I was original and clever using this trick a few years ago.... ah shoot!

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[Toshi Takeuchi]

I got some plastic tubing that I route the cables through. I thought
that maybe it's fairly standard practice. The first time I saw it is
on my Santana tandem, so when I went to my tandem shop (Crank 2
tandems in Pleasanton) and got some extra tubing for my Ram there
(needed some tandem stuff too). I don't know if standard bike shops
carry this...

Toshi in Oakland, CA

[Steve Wimberg]

I've seen the idea of using cable lining before. How does one go about extracting it from the housing?

Steve

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[Rambouilleting Utahn]

I used similar cable covering when building up my Atlantis, while buying bulk brake and shifter housing at my LBS I just asked for some which they had in bulk.

[Scott Henry]

 Are we really thinking that a piece of wire is going to cut into a 1/8th inch thick piece of steel and it wont cut right thru a plastic cable liner?

 

Scott

[Rambouilleting Utahn]

No but it will cut into the paint.

[Jim Thill - Hiawatha Cyclery]

It's sold separately (and pretty cheap), not extracted from the housing. The term 'housing liner' is misleading. If you have a lbs, they may give you a chunk for free.

[Benz, Sunnyvale, CA]

I use a sharp utility knife and carefully whittle the outer plastic casing away. Once you get a nice 2-4" bare section of housing (you will see the longitudinal winding of this type of "compressionless" housing), you can extract the lining with a needle-nose plier after "uncoiling" the housing. If your spare housing length is short, you may not even need to whittle.