as promised, how i install powercordz (with nokon) on sram red, complete with uppercase letters which i normally eschew on the interweb
Before starting, it's essential that the bike is held in a stable position, at some points a lot of force is applied to tension cables, so having it free standing, or on a wobbly stand, makes things more difficult. I prefer putting the bike on the turbo, then it's solid.
When fitting the cables, it also helps if lighting is good, otherwise use a torch to make sure you can see that things are lined up and fitted ok.
For the derailleur cables, you'll note I set all the adjusters at minimum tension, this is because there's always a little slack or bedding in. If I set the initial tension correctly, then there's maximum adjustment range available in future, i.e. as ferrules and outers fully seat.
I don't apply any lube to the cables and the liners aren't noticeably lubed. I only run liner inside the outer, the rest of the cable runs are open. I ride in all weathers, haven't had any problems with crud getting in and causing friction. This is road only, things might be different for cross/MTB riders.
Shifters.
I find the cable for the rear shifter goes in easily, just click the shifter until it is at the small cog position, make sure the cable has no kinks and the end is cleanly cut, it should go through.
The cable for the front shifter can be a little more fiddly, again make sure the cable is straight and cleanly cut. Set the shifter to the trim position - shifter to big ring position, then one click to drop it back to trim. This puts the entry hole in the best position, the picture below shows the end of the cord seated in the holder, the shifter is in the trim position.
The cable may have a natural curve to it, in this case, insert it into the shifter so that it is curving upwards as this matches the routing inside the shifters.
In both cases, pull the cable all the way through, and at the end apply enough force to seat it fully, have a look to be sure the head isn't caught on the edge of the carrier.
The brake cables go in easily, just move the brake lever in all the way, look inside the cavity for the hole, and poke the cable through, don't release the brake lever until the cable is pulled all the way through and you've checked that the cable head is correctly seated in the recess in the lever.
I'm using the straight path through the shifter for the cable, imho the other path is not as free running.
These bars have internal routing, the Nokon flexy outer sections are being used here, they transition to the 'pearls' inside the bars, the liner runs right through to the end of the flexy sections.
The Powercordz Nokon liner is used for the brake cables (instead of the standard Nokon liner).
As the cables leave the bars, I use a piece of the Nokon clear sleeving on each derailleur cable, this stops them rattling on the bars, I haven't found it necessary on the brake cables.
Btw the SRM mount is the in-line alloy one drilled to match the holes in the bars, there's a rubber strip between mount and bars as the threaded bosses in the bars aren't quite parallel, those crazy Italians!
On the downtube adjusters, because I'm not running liner all the way, I used nosed ferrules (made from the previous Gore cabling) to prevent the cables rubbing on the edges of the adjusters. Whether you need to do something similar will depend on your adjusters. I could've run the liner through, but that would've meant drilling out the adjusters to accommodate the larger diameter, also I prefer the look of the naked cable.
At the cable guide under the bottom bracket shell, I sleeve both gear cables with about 6cm of Powercordz Nokon liner, to protect them against abrasion from dust/dirt on the exposed cable guide, after a few months some dust gets into the liner here, but I've not found it causing a problem.
Brakes.
Cable the brake clamps exactly as in the Powercordz instructions.
I set tension by screwing the adjusters all the way in, then backing out a couple of turns. Then squeeze the calipers closed, get tension on the cable, and pull the knot in the cable around the bolt tight.
Then clamp tight enough to hold the cable, but not all the way.
Let go of calipers, see if the spacing looks ok, if not, loosen bolt and cable and have another go.
Squeeze lever, if you pulled the cable tight enough at first it'll be ok, otherwise you will need to go back and loosen/adjust again.
Once the tension is correct, clamp all the way, 6-8Nm.
Derailleurs.
To set front derailleur cable tension, doing it the standard way I always found I ended up with the cable too slack, after some experimentation, I found the best way, for me at least, is like this...
Barrel adjuster is all the way in, i.e. for minimum tension.
Run the cable up over the cable clamp bolt, then back down so that the end passes inside the chain stays (i.e., where the wheel is).
Make a simple open knot in the cable end and pass something through it that you can use as a handle, I use a big hex key. Hint: do not use the hex key that is needed to tighten the cable clamp.
Shifter must be in highest tension position, i.e. for cage fully to the right.
Use one hand to move the cage to the correct outer position, so that it's against the limit screw.
With the other hand grab the 'handle' on the cable, and pull straight down until you have enough tension to hold the cage in position.
Now, keeping the tension constant, let go of the cage (if the cage moves you can increase/decrease tension but don't vary it too much or the cable may be abraded on the bolt) and use your free hand to tighten the clamp enough to hold the cable.
Release the tension, if the cage is still in the correct position that's good, otherwise retension, loosen clamp and adjust again.
Once it seems ok, turn the cranks and shift to the small ring, if the cage moves all the way that's great, otherwise youve got the tension too high and will need to go back and have another go.
Once it's correct, fully clamp the cable, 5Nm.
Finally, the rear derailleur.
Down tube adjuster all the way in, minimum tension position. Same for the barrel adjuster on the derailleur itself.
Shifter at minimum tension position, smallest cog.
I've not found it necessary to sleeve or drill out the adjuster, with SRAM's correct cable routing the cable doesn't rub on the edge. When I changed handlebars, I took the cables off, they'd had 6 months use and there was no sign of any damage to the casing at either the shifters or at the adjusters.
Route the cable through, making sure to follow exactly the right path, don't apply tension until you are sure the path is correct as if it's wrong there are some sharp edges.
Run the cable almost 360 degrees around the clamp bolt, then pull on it to tension, tighten the bolt enough to hold it without crushing the casing.
Turn the cranks, shift to the next cog - no further, too much tension and the cable will slip - then down again.
If it shifted ok, fully clamp, 4-5Nm, otherwise loosen, adjust tension, and repeat the process.
Turn the cranks and run up and down the cassette, using the rear adjuster to align for correct shifting.
I find that the rear tension eases a bit over the first day or two of use, presumably as the outer, ferrules etc. seat fully, so having all the available range in the adjusters means there's still way more than enough for tuning the shifting.
Another view of the cable path, cable straight through the adjuster without touching the edge, plenty of contact area under the clamp.