Cable installation advice urgently required

[lejogger]

So i'm in the middle of swapping over my gear shifters from Rival to Red, and my cables from Shimano to Gore Ride-on Pro, yet losing my cable installation virginity is proving complicated.

Everything was removed without an issue as you'd expect, but I have a couple of questions about making sure I get the setup right.

Firstly... does it make any difference at all whether I route the gear shift cable along the front or the rear of the handle bar? I'm pretty sure that they were on the front previously, however on my other bike they're on the back. Will either option negatively accept shifting?

Secondly... my Shimano cables had little silver adjusters for fine-tuning the indexing. The gore cables don't include these. Are they unnecessary? Or should I transfer the old ones?

Ok... I think that's it for now, but there will undoubtedly be more questions as I progress

 

[Jon2]

It shouldn't make a difference routing in front of or behind the handle bars, but you might find one to be more natural. The cable exit from the shifters might lead nicely onto one side of the bars.

They aren't always necessary, as they are sometimes on the components them selves. Brake calipers and rear derailleurs often have them, but in my experience front derailleurs don't. If they aren't on the components, then transferring the old ones would be a good idea, as it makes it much easier to adjust the brakes and gears. The only other way of adjusting being to release the cable pinch bolt and trying to get the correct exact length of cable clamped.

 

[lejogger]

It shouldn't make a difference routing in front of or behind the handle bars, but you might find one to be more natural. The cable exit from the shifters might lead nicely onto one side of the bars.

They aren't always necessary, as they are sometimes on the components them selves. Brake calipers and rear derailleurs often have them, but in my experience front derailleurs don't. If they aren't on the components, then transferring the old ones would be a good idea, as it makes it much easier to adjust the brakes and gears. The only other way of adjusting being to release the cable pinch bolt and trying to get the correct exact length of cable clamped.

Cheers Jon,

I would think having both cables on the same side would be more comfortable... on the SRAM there's two exits you can choose from so I'll probably just go for that.

I have an on-component adjuster on the rear mech, but not the front.The reason I ask about the inline barrel adjusters is that I never ever use the ones that I have on both bikes at the moment. How often are slight adjustments required?

 

[Jon2]

I don't have on for either of my bikes on the front mech and I've managed, but it does make indexing it a little more troublesome at times. Once it's set up and the cables have settled it shouldn't need any more adjustments on the mechs.

 

[Rob3rt]

Install the cables such that they suit your bars, i.e. so they follow any grooves. This will make sure they are most comfortable and won't dig in your hands through the bar tape. For the front mech, just stick an in-line barrel adjuster on the cable and save yourself time.

 

[lejogger]

Install the cables such that they suit your bars, i.e. so they follow any grooves. This will make sure they are most comfortable and won't dig in your hands through the bar tape. For the front mech, just stick an in-line barrel adjuster on the cable and save yourself time.

Thanks Rob,

The bars are pretty low end Ritchey Comp so don't have any grooves at all. Given that I think I'll route them around the front next to the brake cables so that there's not a bulge on both sides.

Re the inline adjuster do you mean install just for the front mech and not bother with one for the rear?

I was hoping not to need them at all, mainly because it's another lot of sizing and cutting that I could end up messing up! But I suppose if I cut the outer to suit the full length required from shifter to downtube it only then requires a snip at a sensible point in the middle. I've saved the adjusters and ferrules from the old cables to transfer if necessary, as the gore system only comes with enough for what is required without.

I did read somewhere that the precise shifting offered by the quality of the Gore Pro cables was such that the barrel adjustment was unnecessary, but I did experience a slight waft of bullsh*t as I read it.

 

[Rob3rt]

You don't need one for the rear, the rear mech has it's own barrel adjuster. But you will want one for fine tuning the front mech.

I have SRAM Red throughout, it all came with Gore cables, yet there was still an in-line adjuster for the front mech, I used it, wouldn't dream of not using it. I'd choose turning a barrel adjuster a little vs pulling over and getting a hex key out when your shifting isn't quite right.

You can hardly mess up the cable length, cut the cable treating it as one piece, then mark where you want the cable adjuster and remove and inch or so of cable at that point.

 

[lejogger]

You don't need one for the rear, the rear mech has it's own barrel adjuster. But you will want one for fine tuning the front mech.

I have SRAM Red throughout, it all came with Gore cables, yet there was still an in-line adjuster for the front mech, I used it, wouldn't dream of not using it. I'd choose turning a barrel adjuster a little vs pulling over and getting a hex key out when your shifting isn't quite right.

You can hardly mess up the cable length, cut the cable treating it as one piece, then mark where you want the cable adjuster and remove and inch or so of cable at that point.

Excellent. Thanks for your advice Rob.