On my '99 custom Franklin it has a grooved-into-the-shell cable guides which were getting a bit rough and chewing up shift cables. So I used an old portion of a 1.6mm brake cable line as a sort floss to smooth the groove of any roughness. I wanted to thread in a section of slick inner housing, but all I had was leftover parts of brake cable inner liner and it was too large in diameter to fit through guide holes. Not be daunted by that, I found Jawire sells just the derailleur cable slick liner, made for 1.1/1.2mm cables. Threads through the holes like a form fitting glove. I wasn't sure how much to cut, so I let and inch or two on both sides. I put some light grease on the cable in there, but it's stainless cable anyways and it rarely gets wet there in the first place. I can't say I've ever had a corroded cable of any kind ever, even galvanized. My bikes stay indoors.
This wasn't a shift performance thing other than from the roughness of the cable sliding over the steel and chewing up cables, and as of this year the cables exhibit no signs of wear under the BB. So if anyone has an older frame with a cable guides grooved in the the BB shell and it's eating cables, give that a go. On Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 3:30:56 PM UTC-5 George Schick wrote: > Will - wow! I was unaware of that Jagwire cable housing kit. It's a bit > pricy, though. What I have been doing is buy a couple feet of Shimano > compatible index shift cable housing (usually Jagwire) from an LBS, split > the housing with a utility knife along the length of the cable, remove the > wires, and use small lengths of the plastic inner guide to run the shift > cables across the BB shell. It works great, but they eventually wear and > split and require replacement every so often. > George > > On Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 2:20:41 PM UTC-6 wboe...@gmail.com > wrote: > >> You need Jagwire's Elite housing set >> <https://www.treefortbikes.com/Jagwire-Elite-Sealed-Shift-Cable-Kit-SRAM-Shimano-Ultra-Slick?srsltid=AfmBOorlU7OVf312X9YyrnyliHLVX58UHtGMGN7j6wkiOdVkuMQzLfXB-vU>. >> >> Liner runs all the way from shifter to derailleur, no exposed cable. Never >> replace your cables again. I'm not positive it's long enough for Rivs, >> however. I've had a set on a mountain bike for 5+years with no issues. >> >> Will >> >> On Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 2:38:00 PM UTC-5 Steve wrote: >> >>> Kim, if you're concerned about water finding its way into your guide (as >>> Benz pots out) you could pick up a couple Jagwire housing caps as pictured >>> below. They should do the trick. I've been using them for several years >>> and am pleased with their performance. >>> --- If you decide to give them a try you might want to thread the >>> cable through the end caps and noodle before you actually press fit the >>> caps into place - just to make it easier. >>> >>> [image: Lined Alloy End Caps] >>> >>> https://www.ebay.com/itm/395831788718?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28&google_free_listing_action=view_item&com_cvv=8fb3d522dc163aeadb66e08cd7450cbbdddc64c6cf2e8891f6d48747c6d56d2c >>> >>> On Wednesday, December 4, 2024 at 1:53:23 PM UTC-5 Kim H. wrote: >>> >>>> @ Benz, >>>> >>>> Respectively, I appreciate your insights and opinions to my custom steel >>>> BB cable guide. >>>> >>>> However, I remain in high thought concerning my steel BB cable guide >>>> that it does elevates the cable higher off of the BB as well as above the >>>> chain stay. IMHO, I foresee that there is less friction or dray on the >>>> original plastic cable guide. >>>> >>>> I will inject grease into the cable guide to protect water entry. >>>> Otherwise, it works for me. >>>> >>>> Kim Hetzel who use to live on Bernardo Avenue in Sunnyvale, California >>>> as a child. >>>> >>>> On Tuesday, December 3, 2024 at 9:13:08 PM UTC-8 Benz Ouyang, >>>> Sunnyvale, CA wrote: >>>> >>>>> Sorry but I'm going to rain on your parade a bit by being skeptical >>>>> about the improvements you claimed. >>>>> >>>>> There is very little friction from the bend at the bottom of the BB >>>>> shell, particularly when a plastic guide is involved – the contact is >>>>> short >>>>> and (more importantly) the tension of the shift cable is light. Most of >>>>> the >>>>> friction will be from the significantly longer runs of housing from the >>>>> barend shifter to the cable stop, and from the cable stop to the >>>>> derailleur. Anyone with downtube friction shifters that are set too light >>>>> will attest to almost frictionless shifting with all the tactile feedback >>>>> coming from the derailleur return spring, particularly with the front >>>>> derailleur (that actually wraps more degrees around the plastic BB shell >>>>> guide). >>>>> >>>>> I suspect by having to thread the shifter cable through your >>>>> contraption, you've also cleaned up at least the derailleur-side of the >>>>> run >>>>> and refined the cable adjustment, leading to most of the improvement you >>>>> observed. In addition, while the newer Rivendells have longer chain stays >>>>> necessitating longer cable runs, the extra length is *unhoused*, >>>>> meaning there should be no additional friction compared to bikes with >>>>> "normal" chain stay lengths. >>>>> >>>>> Last but not least, the BB shell is at the lowest point of the cable >>>>> run. Water ingested into the custom tube guide won't be able to evaporate >>>>> away quickly. Even if you use stainless cable and tubing, there's still >>>>> pooling, which shouldn't happen with a well-maintained bike. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On Tuesday, December 3, 2024 at 1:47:27 PM UTC-8 krhe...@gmail.com >>>>> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Upon owning a Rivendell Clem Smith Jr. "L" bicycle, I have very long >>>>>> chain stays. This has given me to thought of how can I increase the >>>>>> speed >>>>>> of shifting by reducing the friction and slack times for better shifting >>>>>> through the BB cable guide for my right indexed Shimano Dura-Ace >>>>>> SL-BS77 bar end shifter. >>>>>> >>>>>> I came up with an idea. I took a curved V brake noodle. I removed >>>>>> both end pieces and the plastic sleeve from inside. I measured the >>>>>> appropriate length to cut it. I took a Dremel tool and bit. I carefully >>>>>> carved a wider channel on the plastic BB guide to accommodate the steel >>>>>> tube. I repeatedly kept bending the piece of tubing to the right angle >>>>>> for >>>>>> the best passage of the rear derailleur cable. I returned the plastic >>>>>> sleeve to the steel tube and cut it to a shorter length. >>>>>> >>>>>> Once that was done, I placed two plastic cable housing caps on either >>>>>> end. I used Gorilla Clear Maximum Strength Construction Adhesive to glue >>>>>> down the steel tube onto the BB guide. Let it set for 24 hours. >>>>>> >>>>>> Upon my return, I threaded the rear derailleur cable through the new >>>>>> tube and pulled out the slack in the Shimano RD M531 long caged rear >>>>>> derailleur and tighten the anchoring bolt. >>>>>> >>>>>> My test ride results are as follows: >>>>>> >>>>>> The report on the custom BB steel cable guide I made, there was a >>>>>> significant improvement in shifting up into the lower gears, whilst >>>>>> shifting back down into the higher gears, there was a slight delay. With >>>>>> such a long rear derailleur cable, I believe this is going to be >>>>>> expected. >>>>>> I am happy to say that there was no "ghost shifting " whatsoever. YAY! >>>>>> All >>>>>> the slack in the cable was pulled out. (I had prior issues with 'ghost >>>>>> shifting". I was unaware of the rear derailleur cable as loose and >>>>>> needed >>>>>> fixing.) >>>>>> >>>>>> No grease nor oil has been applied inside the plastic sleeve of the >>>>>> tube at this time. >>>>>> >>>>>> Overall, I feel my custom BB steel cable guide has been an >>>>>> improvement over what was before. >>>>>> >>>>>> Yes, I do have a lot of helicopter tape on my frameset. >>>>>> >>>>>> Kim Hetzel, who loves to tinker. >>>>>> >>>>>> [image: 20241123_213949.jpg] >>>>>> >>>>>> [image: 20241128_060401.jpg] >>>>>> >>>>>> -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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