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Finally got the nerve to try a full internal cable routing job on a carbon frame
Had this customer's Trek Domane come in with a frayed rear brake cable, and the housing was shot inside the frame. The choice was either to do a messy external fix with zip ties or take the whole afternoon to pull the bottom bracket and route everything internally like it was meant to be. I was nervous about missing a guide tube inside the carbon and making it worse. Picked the internal route, used a ton of that Park Tool IR-1.2 magnetic kit, and a lot of patience. Took me about three hours start to finish, but when I got that new housing to pop out the port at the chainstay, I actually cheered in my empty shop. The brake feel is SO crisp now. Anyone have a favorite trick for feeding those internal cables through tight spots without the magnets?
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danielwhite2mo ago
My buddy had a nightmare with his Canyon last month. He ended up using a vacuum cleaner hose and some fishing line to suck the cable through. Worked like a charm, somehow.
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henry_grant2mo ago
Hah, classic. Tell your buddy he's a genius, @danielwhite. Seriously, that vacuum trick is one of those things you'd never think of until you're desperate. I've seen people fight with internal routing for hours, getting all scratched up. Sometimes the weird, simple fix is the best one. Just glad he got it sorted without having to take the whole bike apart.
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lee_grant9718d ago
Henry, you're spot on about getting scratched up. But one angle nobody's talking about is the fish scale effect from the fishing line. I've seen guys use cheap braided fishing line that actually leaves micro-abrasions inside the frame if the cable's sticky or kinked. That's future trouble waiting to happen. Monofilament line is safer, but then it stretches under vacuum pressure so you lose tension halfway through. Simple fix, but there's a can of worms in the details most people gloss over.
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