bottom bracket cable guide issue

[The Gnome]

I am building an older Serotta frame up and it has the old style cable guides...i.e the little braze on tabs to slide the cables thru...there is no room to fit one of those plastic guides you can attach to most bikes now...so it is just cable on the steel and you can see an indentation from previous use...I am using STI so besides messing up paint I would think it would also roughen up the shifting...anyone have any ideas? I was thinking of just using some brake cable housing down there...not sure if that would work...thanks...

 

[Bustedknuckle]

I am building an older Serotta frame up and it has the old style cable guides...i.e the little braze on tabs to slide the cables thru...there is no room to fit one of those plastic guides you can attach to most bikes now...so it is just cable on the steel and you can see an indentation from previous use...I am using STI so besides messing up paint I would think it would also roughen up the shifting...anyone have any ideas? I was thinking of just using some brake cable housing down there...not sure if that would work...thanks...

BEST solution would be to grind those down, drill and tap a hole for a proper guide, touch up the paint after grinding those off.

 

[The Gnome]

eeek...I am sure you are right, but don't think I can go that way...the previous owner had already drilled a water hole but it would be in the wrong spot so wouldnt want to add any more stress to that area...any alternatives?

 

[avanti]

eeek...I am sure you are right, but don't think I can go that way...the previous owner had already drilled a water hole but it would be in the wrong spot so wouldnt want to add any more stress to that area...any alternatives?

You could epoxy a guide in place - sand down to bare metal first.

 

[Fiemme]

Instead of using brake cable housing try using the teflon inner of gear cable housing. This will allow the cable to glide easy and not rub on the metal frame.
I'm sure you can purchase the teflon tube as an independent item.

 

[ElChingon]

Instead of using brake cable housing try using the teflon inner of gear cable housing. This will allow the cable to glide easy and not rub on the metal frame.
I'm sure you can purchase the teflon tube as an independent item.

You can also use a plastic tube cover on the brake/shifter cable, like they do on the Nokon setups and no need to weld anything and save your paint (aka prevent rust). I'll try to find some.

Here it is: Nokon Cable Liner

If you cover the whole cable length you should cut a longitudinal hole or slice near the bottom to allow moisture to get out, or the cable will eventually rust. You can hot glue gun the liner to the bottom bracket guide or some other glue method if you are only using it at the bottom bracket. The liner allows the cable to move freely and shift/brake, just don't heat shrink it to the cable.

 

[DirtyWorks]

eeek...I am sure you are right, but don't think I can go that way...the previous owner had already drilled a water hole but it would be in the wrong spot so wouldnt want to add any more stress to that area...any alternatives?

Don't worry about another hole. Some older bottom bracket shells were pretty open when steel was the common form of frame building. I'd bolt a nylon/plastic guide in that's been modified a bit to work around the bulges from the cast guides and not give it another thought.

The quickest way is to squeeze the plastic cable sheathing through the shell guide. I'll be very interested to hear if the shifting is good with a large number of cogs on the rear and using the shell's guide.

 

[The Gnome]

"I'd bolt a nylon/plastic guide in that's been modified a bit to work around the bulges from the cast guides and not give it another thought."

well, looking at it now, I see the plastic guide would work in between the cast guides...shaved a little off with a knife so the guide will fit between the cast guides...they would be off abit in the sense of moved inward and a little forward...would that make any difference on shifting? I could either bolt it with another hole or the easiest would be to use some epoxy...I am thinking a silicone glue maybe?

 

[Fiemme]

...I am thinking a silicone glue maybe?

Don't use Silicone Glue. There is absolutely nothing in the world that will get silicone off if you need to re-paint the frame.

 

[The Gnome]

Don't use Silicone Glue. There is absolutely nothing in the world that will get silicone off if you need to re-paint the frame.

okie dokey...thanks! wondering if the cable tension itself would just hold it on? Perhaps double sided tape? Or if anyone could recommend some sort of epoxy if needed...

 

[The Gnome]

went with 3m double sided perma tape...thanks for all the input guys...

 

[The Gnome]

finished the Serotta build and here it is if anyone is interested...scroll down below the MXLeader pics ect...anyhow, thanks for the advice guys...good stuff and this bike is a nice replacement for that Lemond steel I broke...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/90455157@N02/