{"id":42,"date":"2021-10-12T17:30:08","date_gmt":"2021-10-12T15:30:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bikeradar.com\/?p=649447"},"modified":"2021-10-13T13:42:14","modified_gmt":"2021-10-13T11:42:14","slug":"opinion-internal-cable-routing-has-gone-too-far","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/cyclingplus\/rss_feed\/opinion-internal-cable-routing-has-gone-too-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion | Internal cable routing has gone too far"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Simon Bromley\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 12 October 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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Internal cable routing has gone too far.<\/p>\n

What started out as a smart, watt-saving, front-end tidying feature for racing bikes, appears to have turned into a must-have for almost every road and gravel bike, at every price point, and I think that\u2019s a problem.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve talked about the positives and negatives of internal cable routing before<\/a>, but this isn\u2019t about that.<\/p>\n

This is less about whether internal cable routing is a good idea full stop and more about where it should feature and what kind of bikes are \u2013 or, more specifically, aren\u2019t \u2013 improved by it.<\/p>\n

\""Rose\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Semi-external cables are a rare sight on new bikes in 2021.<\/span><\/figcaption> Simon Bromley \/ Immediate Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

How did we get here?<\/h2>\n

It all began so innocently, around the summer of 2015, when stock was plentiful and bike prices weren\u2019t rising faster than London property values<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mainstream brands such as Trek and Specialized released groundbreaking aero road bikes<\/a> like the 2016 Madone<\/a> and Venge Vias<\/a>, both of which featured fully integrated cable routing at the front end (no doubt these weren\u2019t the first bikes to do it, but the summer of 2015 was when mainstream brands started to jump on this particular trend).<\/p>\n

\""Trek\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Trek\u2019s 2016 Madone was one of the first mainstream road bikes to adopt fully internal cable routing.<\/span><\/figcaption> James Huang \/ Immediate Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Being cylindrical in shape, gear and brake cables<\/a>, and hydraulic hoses, are not aerodynamically optimised. The wind doesn\u2019t like round things, after all.<\/p>\n

A simple way to make a bike more slippery, then, is to tuck the cables away into the aero-optimised handlebar and frameset. Who could complain? Other than mechanics, of course, but when did that ever stop anyone.<\/p>\n

The market approved and other brands followed suit.<\/p>\n

At some point, though, this feature started migrating from aero bikes to climbing bikes<\/a>, then to endurance bikes, gravel bikes<\/a>\u2026 Now it seems like almost every new drop handlebar bike has fully internal cable routing.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the problem with fully internal cable routing?<\/h2>\n

The problem, as far as I see it, is that this internal cable routing is becoming pervasive on drop handlebar bikes of all levels, regardless of whether it really adds anything to the bike.<\/p>\n

On an aero road bike or a time trial bike<\/a>, fully hidden cables make more sense. With bikes like those, it\u2019s reasonable to want all the marginal gains you can get, though as I found when recently testing four of the latest aero bikes, some brands still do a better job than others<\/a> at hiding cables while still keeping the cockpit user-friendly.<\/p>\n

\""Cannondale\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Hidden cables make sense on aero road and time trial bikes, where every watt counts.<\/span><\/figcaption> Felix Smith \/ Immediate Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Indeed, if you\u2019re not racing, is it worth saving a few watts (we\u2019ll come on to exactly how many a little later) for all the added complexity and reduced serviceability that often comes with fully hidden cables?<\/p>\n

And I say this as someone who, as many of you will know, is often chasing small gains.<\/p>\n

As ever, it\u2019s a case of balancing that gain against potential downsides.<\/p>\n

This column was written before Specialized\u2019s recall of the Tarmac SL7<\/a>, due to an issue relating to the bike\u2019s proprietary headset and internal cable routing, but this complexity can create additional headaches for all parties.<\/p>\n

<\/p><\/div> <\/section>

Look beyond aero bikes, which at least have the excuse of focusing on lower aerodynamic drag, and we\u2019re starting to see potentially complex internal cable routing right down to entry-level bikes.<\/p>\n

Take the recently announced 2022 Scott Speedster 50. It\u2019s the cheapest model in the new Speedster range and uses 2\u00d77-speed non-series Shimano gearing, with mechanical disc brakes\u2026 and has fully internal cable routing through the frameset.<\/p>\n

Fully internal cable routing isn\u2019t appropriate for this kind of bike.<\/p>\n

\""2021\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Bikes like the Specialized Crux and Aethos show there\u2019s still a large appetite for simplicity and user-friendliness among bike riders.<\/span><\/figcaption> Jack Luke \/ Immediate Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

As with any internal cable routing, especially with mechanical gear and brake cables, the cable bends are tighter and there\u2019s less tolerance for poor setup (in terms of cable length and routing)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In turn, this means a higher likelihood of headaches, such as spongy shifting and braking.<\/p>\n

Servicing parts like the headset<\/a> or gear and brake cables also becomes substantially more complex because, in many cases, the whole front end usually needs to be disassembled just to service the headset bearings.<\/p>\n

On more expensive bikes, which now often feature electronic groupsets and hydraulic road disc brakes<\/a>, it\u2019s less of an issue.<\/p>\n

\""Merida\"<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
Shimano\u2019s latest Dura-Ace Di2 R9200 groupset features wireless STI levers to help ease installation.<\/span><\/figcaption> Russell Burton \/ Immediate Media<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Wireless electronic groupsets, be that SRAM\u2019s fully wireless eTap or the wireless shifters on Shimano\u2019s new Dura-Ace R9200<\/a> and Ultegra R8100<\/a> groupsets, suffer no ill effects from integrated front ends.<\/p>\n

And while threading electronic shifting wires through a complicated cockpit and frameset might be difficult to set up initially, it\u2019s a job that generally needs to be done just once (as shifting performance doesn\u2019t degrade due to cable stretch or contamination).<\/p>\n