I just finished shortening the housing. That part of it went well. Other parts did not. I'll explain below, and would appreciate tips on how to avoid a couple of issues next time around. In the end though, it's done and is good. Apologies for the play by play but I thought it would be fun to deep-dive.
The good: First thing I did on the brake calliper was flip open the quick release lever so that I can pull the lever to the bars to get at the cable. I then loosened the pinch bolt on the calliper and pushed the cable up through the lever so it was sticking out 5-10 inches. After determining where I wanted to cut the housing (about 4" of it off) I then inserted a spare brake cable into the open housing and cut the housing with spare cable inserted. That went well. It did not compress the housing, I just filed the end so it was even, after pushing the good cable back through the housing, knocking out the spare. This part took like 2-3 minutes. Should have been done in less than 10 minutes! First bad thing: somewhere along the way the existing cable frayed. The bad part was just below the pinch bolt, which meant when I engage the quick release lever on the calliper my finger would get poked. That was a pain as I swap wheels throughout the season, once every week or two. Second bad thing: I couldn't figure out the best way to tighten the pinch bolt while pulling the cable taught. I would tighten it, and then when I pull the lever it went right to the bars (too loose). Played around with that for 5 minutes, trying different ways. Feeling pretty dumb at that point. Perhaps making the frayed cable worse. Third bad thing: I wanted to replace the cable. I had a spare cable, full length. I pulled out the old one, but struggled to insert the new one into the hole inside the lever. I was frustrated and figured I will have to go to a shop. However, it eventually worked (inserting an old one reverse and then following it back in through the top (hopefully that's clear, I thought it was pretty smart lol). I then learned that those cable ends are different for road vs mtb, I had a mtb one and it didn't fit into the holder inside the Tektro RRL lever. Now I'm frustrated, kicking myself for not leaving well-enough alone! The recovery: I have an old road bike on the trainer. It actually has 1yr old cables, and thanks to me loving the Roadini, it's not playing outside again. So I removed the rear brake cable. That slid easily into the Tektro lever, sat nicely inside the holder, and lots of extra cable.after inserting it through the pinch bolt, with the quick release lever loosened, I figured out how to get the right 'pull' on the cable before tightening the pinch bolt. Can't explain, but used my fingers to maneuver it so the pads were far enough away from the rim, but not too far, so when I re-engaged the quick release the pads would sit an appropriate distance from the rim and when I pulled the lever it was just right. I never over-tightened the pinch bolt until I was sure of this position, so I loosed the bolt, made small adjustments, tightened and checked. I was no longer pulling the cable so hard with pliers, more finesse. After the struggles I've actually learned more about cables and housings. I would probably replace them myself next time I'm ready to. I would be interested in your thoughts on why that cable frayed, and if that usually happens or perhaps I was sloppy somewhere in the process. Next is what's the best way to adjust cable attention before tightening the pinch bolt (maybe I got lucky in the end and didn't really know what I was doing). Thanks! On Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 3:22:33 PM UTC-5 [email protected] wrote: > My success rate at re-inserting cable into trimmed housing is about 50%. > I often get a strand stuck somewhere along the way and mess up the cable > enough that I just have to replace it completely. If it's a rear cable, I > save it for a future life as a front cable. > > Will > > On Wednesday, January 15, 2025 at 2:23:48 PM UTC-5 Patrick Moore wrote: > >> I’ve done exactly what you describe, only, you ought to add one more >> step, which is to file the housing wire flat to remove any sharp ends or >> burrs that might wear through the cable. >> >> Elegantly short (but not too short!) housing is one aesthetic plus for a >> build, IMO. >> >> On Tue, Jan 14, 2025 at 6:00 PM Jay <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> When the shop built up my Roadini they gave a lot of room for running >>> the bars higher than I ended up going with after getting the bike home and >>> dialling it in. As a result, there is a lot more cable/housing than >>> needed, in particular the front brake, and it sometimes gets in the way >>> when I'm on the tops. >>> >>> This isn't a big deal, but if I could easily trim the front brake >>> cable/housing, without removing the bar tape, is it just a matter of: >>> - loosen front brake calliper pinch bolt >>> - using something like needle nose pliers, pull 4-5 inches of cable up >>> through the front brake (Tektro RRL) >>> - cut off some of the housing to desired length (I have a cable/housing >>> tool, haven't used it in a long time though) >>> - push the cable back through the housing (maybe drop in some tri-flow >>> first) >>> - tighten pinch bolt, cut excess cable, put a cable end on >>> >>> I'm an average mechanic at best, so I don't usually mess with something >>> if it isn't broken. But if this is simple, I'll go ahead and do it. >>> Thanks! >>> >>> [image: image1.jpeg] >>> >>> [image: image2.jpeg] >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>> Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>> an email to [email protected]. >>> To view this discussion visit >>> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ead36532-c089-442c-a921-296fe549e0a5n%40googlegroups.com >>> >>> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/ead36532-c089-442c-a921-296fe549e0a5n%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >>> . >>> >> >> >> -- >> >> Patrick Moore >> Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, and other writing >> services >> >> >> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- >> >> *When thou didst not, savage, k**now thine own meaning,* >> >> *But wouldst gabble like a** thing most brutish,* >> >> *I endowed thy purposes w**ith words that made them known.* >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/9427020a-852a-418b-a7fb-3482cc6963d5n%40googlegroups.com.
