Re: [CR]bar-end shifter cable routing

(Example: Production Builders:LeJeune)

From: "ternst" <ternst1@cox.net>
To: "Wayne Bingham" <blkmktbks@gmail.com>, <classicrendezvous@bikelist.org>
References: <004601c820f5$1a1e7860$6602a8c0@peter5ca78cb10> <000001c8211f$464eeee0$0758a8c0@Twinhead> <73706f460711070658t73e6d409oa29e3f975ff5988f@mail.gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]bar-end shifter cable routing
Date: Wed, 7 Nov 2007 19:26:30 -0800
reply-type=original

A little fill in on bar-end shifters and bar drilled cable routing. One no compromise rule in my shop was never drill a bar or stem. Once done, the driller is libel. Before we sold factory drilled ones we made sure our supplier and/or manufacturer had proper insurance. When a customer brought a bike in and someone had put possible life and limb threatening holes in the bar/stem set-up we noted it on the customer's repair tag so it was recorded accordingly. Take it for what it's worth, but I've seen too many accidents over the last 60 years to put my riders or my shop in jeopardy. Bike riding is risky enough in and of itself. Safety first, please. The tips about increasing cable compression and smoothness are all on the money. Riders have been placing the bar end shift cables in many egress positions from under the tape or grab-ons. If you come straight out at the end of the drop flat then the cable tended to flop too much and get in the way if you put your hand in the curve. Many liked the cable to come out at the brake lever because they rode mostly on the top, and didn't like the feel of the housing under the tape. Many racers liked it out of the top close to the stem, but as noted, care had to be taken to make the cable housing long enuf so as not to bind when the bar was turned, for obvious reasons. The bar ends were passe by the time the grooved bars came along and the shift controls were in the brake lever assembly, which is out of time line anyway. People always found ways to keep the housing from scraping against the head and down tube and protect paint. On a beautiful and costly resto, this would be important , on an old bike, not so much, maybe. But, when people got their new steed then the observant and caring riders picked up on that and took evasive action. At the shop we would always put some protective covering on to help alleviate the problem when setting up a new bike or installing them as an after market set-up. Many guys who raced a lot of criteriums or time trials set up their bikes with one bar end shifter, one chainwheel, and a 4 or 5 speed cluster for
weight and efficiency.
Ted Ernst
Palos Verdes Esates
CA USA


----- Original Message -----
From: Wayne Bingham
To: Classicrendezvous@bikelist.org
Sent: Wednesday, November 07, 2007 6:58 AM
Subject: Re: [CR]bar-end shifter cable routing



> Peter -
>
> I thought you and other list-members might find one of the bar-end
> shifter arrangements I discovered interesting. I had a De Rosa that
> was built specifically for bar-ends (with housing stops instead of
> shifter bosses on the down tube). The Cinelli bars that came on that
> bike -were drilled and filed for internal routing, with the housing
> exiting the bars at the stem. Looks like a fair amount of work went
> into the arrangement, which can be seen here:
>
> http://www.wooljersey.com/gallery/Wayne-Bingham/Drillium/?g2_page=4
>
> I still have the bar. Unfortunately it is 38cm, which is a bit narrow
> for me, so I've haven't yet set-up a bike using it, so can't comment
> on how it works.
>
> Wayne Bingham
> Lovettsville VA USA
>
>> It wasn't my idea and I hate the things, but my '67 Holdsworth Super
>> Mistral has to have bar-end shifters due to braze ons. Looking at pix of
>>
>> the era, the racing custom seemed to have been to carry the cabling up
>> the bars to the end of the bar tape rather than just up to the brake
>> levers which seems to be the prevailing practice.
>>
>> Several postings in the archives suggested that the "racing" arrangement
>>
>> is not as satisfactory given the extra friction caused by the extra
>> cable length, bends etc. Have any of you out there recently used this
>> arrangement with better results? I ride "on the drops" all the time and
>> this routing seems preferable as it gets the cabling out of the way.
>>
>> Peter Kohler
>> Washington DC USA