Hello dear Weight Weenies

So, just got the sweetest deal on barely used Bianchi D2 aluminum TT-bike. Though hating the blue/green colour, i've already planned to re-paint it - in black.

While i'm at it, i thought i might aswell make the cablerouting internal, right? And because it is a alu-frame it'll be no problem, right?

But anyways, what are the does and don't when drilling? When the hole is drilled am i just running the outer cable right through? Or should i use some sort of "mount"?

Also considering where to drill...

Front:


BB:


Rear brake:


Any thought, comments, ideas or anything? All welcome.

Regards.

A lot of older Bianchi alu frames were susceptible to stress fractures - especially around the HT and bottle mounts.

I'd be very hesitant to drill holes in one - you'll go a lot slower on a broken frame.

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Not everything that counts can be counted. Not everything that can be counted counts.

Ha, i should just have done ahead and done it. Now i'm worring my pants off.

But how old frames are we talking? And which models? This is a 2010 model, so not exactly old.

Thanks anyways, but i'd love to hear other thoughts, and possibly from someone who've tried drilling in thier own frame.

Your cables would run straight into your steerer tube of your fork if you drill into the head tube like that. You could drill into the down tube but even if you figure out a way to make it so you don't have to run full length housing, the inner cables would most likely rattle around in your frame. I'd just leave it alone.

I thought i had a good idea, but now i see why no bike has ever been made with drillings in the HT. Good god i'm stupid

I'm saying nothing.......

Remember, Celeste has history........

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All this from an old bloke who wishes he was faster and could climb better...... enjoy the ride!

Behind stem. Top tube. If you wanted to put them anywhere. But honestly, i question what the advantage really would be. It would be a hell of a lot harder to install cables, that's for sure.

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Stress fractures were more of an issue with older Bianchi frames (EV2, EV3, EV4) so I wouldn't worry about that too much.

Drilling a hole in the top tube seems a bit silly as you would have to route the cables around the fork steerer before they can enter into the top and down tubes. If I were to drill holes for cable entry, then I would drill them in the sides of the down tube. That said, you should be fine with the holes you already drilled in the head tube. Just make sure to use full length cable housing (Gore for example), to prevent the cables from grinding into the fork steerer.

Good luck!

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Well thanks

As the first poster (i think) mentioned, i can't drill in the head tube because of the steerer... i don't see how full housing could help that.

But yes, my plan aswell was to run full housing to secure smooth shifting and minimal rattling.

So concluding the best place to drill would probably be the downtube?

Thanks everybody.

And btw just to clear up everything, i'm planning on running full housing all the way through the frame. But a question appears: How in the world should i guide the cable from the hole in probably the downtube, to the hole in the BB?

Thanks again.

That parts sucks, whether you do custom drilling or buy one that has been done in the factory. I had to route the cables without guides ones on a Kestrel Airfoil frame. I ended up fishing the cable through with some iron wire bent on the tip to mimic a hook. Make sure to 'fish' through something like a thin shoelace or a textile wire first, as these are more flexible than your shift cables. After you have done that, you can tie the shoelace to your shift cable and pull it through.

Another option is to have the cables exit on the down side of the down tube, just before the weld off the bottom bracket and route the cables externally from that point on. Cervelo uses this method for example.



Or go the Specialized? way:

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My Renovo R1 wooden bike project

Check it out: the most amazing vintage Colnago, Merckx and Pinarello collection

Actually a rather brilliant idea. I'll do that.

seeing those BB cable guides has me wondering...

on my Deng Fu FM029 the LBS mechanic ran the FD cable under the BB without any guards...should i put something under there so it doesn't cut into the frame or will i be fine?

Cables cut through steel bottom brackets, so they will definitely go through carbon.

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My Renovo R1 wooden bike project

Check it out: the most amazing vintage Colnago, Merckx and Pinarello collection

any idea on what i could use for now? no extra housing ATM. maybe tape or i could just nail polish every 100 miles