Sticky bottom....

[Globalti]

...bracket problem.

Got your attention, so now here's the problem: on long rides I put maltodextrin in my drinking water. It dribbles down the frame and ends up drying on the cable guides under the BB, which makes the rear derailleur cable stick causing dodgy shifting. I usually wash it off after a long or dirty ride, when shifting becomes quick and accurate again.

Now I was sniffing around a bike shop last week and I saw a new bike that was only part built. Under the BB was what looked like whiskers and when I looked more closely I realised it was a couple of thin plastic tubes designed to protect the cables where they are most exposed at the BB. This got me thinking that if I could sheath the gear cables for a couple of inches each side of the plastic cable guide I could resolve the problem as the cables would no longer be running naked in the cable guide.

Any suggestions?

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Is this a leaky or overfilled bottle problem rather than a gear cable problem?

 

[ColinJ]

I suggest that you buy bottles that don't leak!

I have spilt the odd drink on my frame, and yes, it is sticky, but if you are spilling so much that it is affecting the operation of your bike then something is wrong.

Are you sure that the problem is caused by drinks and not what is thrown up by your front wheel?

 

[ianrauk]

I find a dab of grease on the cables helps with that problem.

 

[Globalti]

No, it's caused when I grab a mouthful of drink and some dribbles down the bottle or even sprays off the wet nozzle as the bike runs over bumps. Usually the down tube is dotted with little shiny splashes of maltodextrin like the toilet seat in a boys' school.

 

[Andy_R]

Strange school you must have gone to if you sprinkled maltodextrin over the toilet seats.

I find a dab of grease on the cables helps with that problem.

+1

 

[smokeysmoo]

I find a dab of grease on the cables helps with that problem.

+1 I put a dab at every point where the outer cables end and the exposed inner comes through. I had a gear cable seize in the outer years ago, I've done this ever since and it's never happened again

 

[Globalti]

I don't want to lube the cable where it runs through the plastic guide because that will attract dirt, which will get mixed up with more sticky maltodextrin and the whole thing will become a mess. I'd rather keep it clean so that the cable slides over the plastic as it is supposed to do.

 

[Kestevan]

Odd request.

Still.....could you not cable tie a couple of inches of cable outer to the frame, and run the cable through this?

 

[Globalti]

Hmmm not a bad idea, thanks. I'll look at that. Might even be able to P clip a piece of cable using the hole drilled for the plastic cable guide.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I don't want to lube the cable where it runs through the plastic guide because that will attract dirt, which will get mixed up with more sticky maltodextrin and the whole thing will become a mess. I'd rather keep it clean so that the cable slides over the plastic as it is supposed to do.

Dry lube or a wax-based lube might be worth a try.

 

[redjedi]

It it's always causing you a problem can't you just give the cable guide and cables a wipe after every ride? It would only take a couple of seconds.