Whether you have internal or external routed cables on your bike, untidy cabling can not only ruin the look of your ride but also rattle or rub, which can be annoying.
So here are a few quick fix tips for tidying up the cables on your bike and ensuring that everything still works as it should.
1. Sort out your routing
If your gear cables and brake hoses are fouling one another, rattling or looking a mess, the first thing to do is to work out the ideal cable routing for your bike.
Make sure the cables/hoses take the most sensible route to the handlebar and don’t cross over one another unnecessarily.
2. Trim cables
It’s worth cutting any unnecessarily long cables/hoses down to size.
If you choose to do this, check it’s still long enough to allow your bar to turn through 180 degrees without it pulling taut.
You’ll need to re-bleed your brake or retune your gears afterwards.
3. Secure cables
Make sure that any externally routed cables/hoses are secured to the frame’s cable bosses tightly.
Cable fasteners or zipties will do the job. If you’re using the latter, be sure not to do them up too tight around gear cables, or the shifting will suffer.
4. Reduce cable noise
If the cables/hoses are able to move around in the frame’s cable guides or internal routing, you can stop the noise with a couple of small zipties.
Tie one around the cable outer/hose at each end of the routing. This will stop it moving so much, keeping everything quieter.
5. Tie cables together
Cables/hoses often bash against each other and rattle around in front of the bar. To stop this, use a ziptie to hold them together.
Leave a little slack so the cables/hoses can move when you turn the bar. If that doesn’t allow enough movement, use two interlocking zipties.
6. Two become one
If you have two cables/hoses that run parallel to each other in front of the bar, the neatest solution is to use electrical tape to lash them together.
Wrap the tape around the cables/hoses neatly and tightly, but make sure this doesn’t affect the range of movement at the bar.
7. Reduce cable rub
Finally, apply electrical tape or cable-rub patches to any areas where cables/hoses may rub your frame.
Turn the bar from side to side and cycle the suspension up and down to see where the cables/hoses are likely to rub the frame and fork as you ride.
