Obsessive small detail: Cable donuts?

[lena...@gmail.com]

Guessing there are others here who attend to such small details as this, so thought I'd ask.

I put several cable donuts on the shift cable run from the downtube shifter to the cable guide under the bb shell. The cable donuts slide down and bunch together by the cable guide.

What do you do to keep the cable donuts in place? If your cable donuts stay put without additional steps, please share what model you use.

Thank you!

Lena

Bellevue WA USA

[Eric Daume]

I had the same problem. My fix was to stop using cable donuts :)

Eric

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[Scott Henry]

I never even considered cable donuts for that run.  I had thought they were designed for split cable rear brake runs.

I guess you could always use a drop of superglue to keep them where you want them.

Scott

Cheers,
Scott Henry
Dayton, OH

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[phoen...@gmail.com]

Yeah, I’m with Scott. You could use a drop of Super Glue under each donut, or even a drop of hot glue.

I think the hot glue may come off with less effort. If that’s a positive or not is up to you, though!

Good luck and let us know what you settle on.

[lena...@gmail.com]

Last week, I installed one of those split rear brake cable runs. I forgot the donuts then. Go figure :-)

Good to know you do not use these on the downtube shift cable runs.

[Brett Callahan]

I've been using heat shrink lately, in order to run dynamo wiring along the cable. It's basically weight free, and provides the added bonus of preventing the derailleur cable from rubbing on the frame.  Once everything is lined up, you heat the plastic and it's in place permanently--no slipping!

Brett

[Mark in Beacon]

I dip mine in chocolate, then add sprinkles. This seems to add enough friction to keep them in place. At least until the ants find out.

[lena...@gmail.com]

Some triathletes store water inside the bike frame. Why not coat the outside with ride snacks?

Brett, intrigued by the heat shrink idea. Are you willing to share a photo?

[David Cummings]

You could also use some Jagwire Slick-Lube cable liner (or something similar). Or you could use helicopter tape on the frame like people do with frame bags. 

At the end of the day, anything rubbing the frame will wear on the paint - it’s just that bare cable wears it faster. The only donut you need is the one that goes in your belly. 

David it’s pronounced “boh-sahzh” in MT

[satanas]

I'm not convinced cable donuts do anything except provide shops something else to sell; my nearly 40 year old audax frame has no detectable marks from gear cables yet. Brake cable donuts rarely stay put for more than a few minutes; people used to whinge about that occasionally. If the cable run isn't exposed on top of the top tube the chances of anyone sitting on it and scuffing the paint are basically zero. If it is on top of the top tube then IME it's badly placed and should have gone elsewhere. Brake cables run internally through the top tube aren't an entirely bad thing, especially if bikepacking bags might be used; at least they're out of the way and won't get rubbed or interfere with bag mounting.

Later,

Stephen (who's not keen on donuts of any kind, edible or otherwise, or internal cables generally)

[Brett Callahan]

Hi Lena, sorry for the slow reply. For some reason the 650b Group will only let me post from desktop, so I had to wait to be back at work and using a real computer. 

Anyway, here's a link to a google album showing dynamo wiring shrink wrapped to the downtube run derailleur cable. I took this bike on a longer ride (for me) this weekend and spent lots of time on rollers, so lots of shifts from big to little ring up front. No negative impact that I could discern. 

Also included is a video of dynamo wiring shrink wrapped to the top tube brake cable on my Atlantis. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/BpikVLNmWJZQxYrBA

Cheers,

Brett in pdx 

[jeffre...@gmail.com]

Brett,

Thank you so much for sharing this!  That is a fantastic way to secure dynamo tail light wiring.

 

Best regards,

Jeff Arita

Claremont, CA

[lena...@gmail.com]

What a creative solution Brett!! Appreciate the video and photos.

[Jim Campbell]

Brett,

Coincidentally, I've got a B&M Secuzed that I'm going to install on my own Lightning Bolt. Your scheme of shrink wrapping to the derailleur cable looks good.

I'm interested in how you routed the wiring inside the rear fender. Would you have any photos?

Jim

[Brett Callahan]

Hi Jim, 

I don't have any photos handy, but can describe.  

1) I mount the rear light on the fender first, since it dictates where to drill holes. Then I drill a small hole at both ends of the fender for cable ingress and egress. Anton at Velo Lumino used to sell some rubber cable donuts to insert and prevent the metal from messing with your wire, but it doesn't look like he does any more. So, file the edges as smooth as you can. A cheap rat tail rasp (I think that's what it's called) works well.  For the rear of the fender, I drill about two inches below where the light will sit, in order to not have a really harsh cable bend. 

2) Once I've got my holes, flip the bike upside down on my work stand, and make sure I've got the cable run the whole length, just lying loose at the "bottom" (because the bike is upside down) of the fender.  This is a long run of wiring, so you may need to buy it after market. Anton at Velo Lumino sells it, and you can get a role at an electrical supply store, too. At the rear, leave yourself enough wire to connect to the light. 

3) From there, I've gone a couple of different ways to secure the wiring to the inside of the fender: shoe glue and aluminum tape. Rene Herse recommends a third: unroll the metal edge of the fender and route there, crimping the metal back around the wire.. I have not tried the fender unrolling technique, which would only work on certain fenders, because I don't want to risk damage.  Of the ways I've tried, shoe glue (or hot glue) is a pain to work with and gets horrendously dirty after riding. It holds up, however.   Better in my mind is to use overlapping strips of aluminum tape the entire length of the wiring run on the inside of the fender. I cut 3-4 inch strips and overlap as I go, pushing hard to get the cable snugged up to the fender and securely held in place. Important!--Don't use the commonly available "Duct Tape" which isn't going to seal to the fender as well, get the stuff you have to peel off from a back like handlebar tape. It's a more permanent seal. Like this. It weighs virtually nothing, and is incredibly secure.  

Hopefully this is helpful.  For extra credit, consider adding a switch or banana clips at the bottom bracket so you can disconnect and remove the fender in the dry months. I've never done this, because the bikes I've run this type of stuff on tend to have fenders year round, but it would be rad :) 

Best,

Brett in pdx

[Jim Campbell]

Brett,

Thanks very much for taking the time to write a detailed description. I like your idea of the foil tape. I was planning on using Schmidt coaxial cable and do have a coax connector pair I may use at the fender junction.

Jim