Routing rear brake cable

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Lightweenie
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by Lightweenie

Hey all, I have a relatively small frame so I have tight bends on my brake cables, especially the rear one. I bought a set of jagwire road elite link to help a bit with the tight bends, but there is still something I would like to discuss.

The main issue is that I am running rear-brake on the right lever, and front-brake on the left lever (and this is non-negotiable), whereas the frame has a cable entry on the left side of the top tube. This means that the brake cables have to cross, which raises the question which one should be in front of the other and how much slack I should leave in order for the bars to go side-to-side? My current routing (with classical cables) does allow complete movement of the bars, but it has a very slight tendency to push one-way due to the rear-brake outer being slightly long (and if i shorten it the two cables just touch each other making moving the bars harder).

I guess it is not a huge issue, but it is bothering me a bit.

I searched a lot on the forums for pictures, but all I could find is bikes with front brake on the right hand, or bikes where the rear brake entry is on the right side of the top tube, thus not having any crossing. Any hint to some thread, or pictures, or some advice would be welcome.

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jacobeh
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by jacobeh

Hey, I've attached a picture of my setup that is exactly as you describe yours (though with Powercordz brakecables if that matters) with front brake on left lever and rear brake on right lever where the cable entry is on the left side. It was made by my LBS and I haven't had any issues with it (including transporting the bike with the handlebars off in a very awkward position)
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cockpit2.jpg

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Lightweenie
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by Lightweenie

Thanks jacobeh!

So it seems to me that the answer is make the front cable normal and put the rear cable in front of it while leaving a ton of slack... Perhaps not as elegant as what people have with the opposite front-rear-brake-configuration, but I guess thats ok...

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wheelbuilder
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by wheelbuilder

Not to confuse you more or insinuate that Jacobeh's LBS doesn't know what they are doing, but I think the consensus among mechanic's in my area is rear brake housing to the inside of everything, closest to the head tube if it crosses the front of the head tube and enters the top tube on the non-drive side. This is because the front brake housing stays in a static position relative to the front brake no matter which way you turn the bars. The rear brake housing would have to be extra long if you routed it to the outside of the front brake housing to prevent dragging and pulling across the surface of it. This is especially true if you are running mechanical shifting and have two more sections of housing up front cluttering the situation.
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Chris3g
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by Chris3g

i run the rear brake cable behind as i hate having extra slack. they do lightly touch but i don't find that it causes any problem.
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photo_2017-11-27_12-16-23.jpg
photo_2017-11-27_12-18-49.jpg

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Lightweenie
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by Lightweenie

Thanks a lot for the pictures.

The routing on the pinarello is exactly what I now have, although without a linked outer cable. It definitely looks nice. When I put my bike on the wall mount where the bars are free to move, I can see that the bars move slightly to the left. Nothing extreme, and definitely nothing that affects riding, but it is still a bit annoying that they are not really "free" to move, if you know what I mean.

I will try to experiment a bit with this setting.

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Lelandjt
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by Lelandjt

wheelbuilder wrote:Not to confuse you more or insinuate that Jacobeh's LBS doesn't know what they are doing, but I think the consensus among mechanic's in my area is rear brake housing to the inside of everything, closest to the head tube if it crosses the front of the head tube and enters the top tube on the non-drive side. This is because the front brake housing stays in a static position relative to the front brake no matter which way you turn the bars. The rear brake housing would have to be extra long if you routed it to the outside of the front brake housing to prevent dragging and pulling across the surface of it. This is especially true if you are running mechanical shifting and have two more sections of housing up front cluttering the situation.

This. And make both brake housings as short as possible.

jacobeh
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by jacobeh

This is useful info for me as well - I'm about to build a new bike myself and I would probably just have routed the cables as my LBS did it (a quite respectable one in the area I live). Considering the length of the brake housing, I'll just chip in with that you should take into account if you need to take off the handlebars when travelling, e.g. in the BikeBoxAlan I have, you will likely need some extra cable length to avoid too sharp a bend on the cables

shimmeD
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by shimmeD

Lelandjt wrote:
wheelbuilder wrote:Not to confuse you more or insinuate that Jacobeh's LBS doesn't know what they are doing, but I think the consensus among mechanic's in my area is rear brake housing to the inside of everything, closest to the head tube if it crosses the front of the head tube and enters the top tube on the non-drive side. This is because the front brake housing stays in a static position relative to the front brake no matter which way you turn the bars. The rear brake housing would have to be extra long if you routed it to the outside of the front brake housing to prevent dragging and pulling across the surface of it. This is especially true if you are running mechanical shifting and have two more sections of housing up front cluttering the situation.

This. And make both brake housings as short as possible.


It doesn't work for me. When turning left, the rear brake cable moves outwards left and will clash with the front cable. Too short a rear brake cable and you won't be able to turn right. Both pics posted (so far) show the rear to the front of the front cable, and look like they work.

I had to do a bit of trials before settling, and it makes it more difficult if you're a smaller cyclist (with short headtube).
Less is more.

2old4this
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by 2old4this

shimmeD wrote:It doesn't work for me. When turning left, the rear brake cable moves outwards left and will clash with the front cable. Too short a rear brake cable and you won't be able to turn right. Both pics posted (so far) show the rear to the front of the front cable, and look like they work.

I had to do a bit of trials before settling, and it makes it more difficult if you're a smaller cyclist (with short headtube).


I am a short guy as well, but I do route the rear cable behind the front one (I'll take a few pictures and post them tonight.) Yes, turning left, the rear cable pushes the front cable out but the rear cable has space to extend in this case. Putting the rear cable outside is much more troublesome (for me) when I make a right turn. The rear cable pushes the front more and more in as the right turn gets tighter and tighter.

At the end, those two cables are going to touch each other during turns. You'll have to decide which one you are more comfortable with...

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Calnago
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by Calnago

Agree with last two posters... it depends on the situation. Size of frame, headtube length, where the cable entry points are, how much the steertube extends above the headset, the length of your stem, the type of bars you use, where the cables exit from the bars, how your route the cables from the levers (behind the bars or in front), etc... it all comes into play and is too varied to have a consensus. I've done it both ways, but always experiment to see which works best in a given situation. One thing that should always be a given however, is that for a mechanical rear brake housing with a stop in the frame, is that it should always be long enough to allow for a complete turning of the bars all the way both ways to the point of touching either side of the top tube.
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wheelbuilder
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by wheelbuilder

Calnago wrote:Agree with last two posters... it depends on the situation. Size of frame, headtube length, where the cable entry points are, how much the steertube extends above the headset, the length of your stem, the type of bars you use, where the cables exit from the bars, how your route the cables from the levers (behind the bars or in front), etc... it all comes into play and is too varied to have a consensus. I've done it both ways, but always experiment to see which works best in a given situation. One thing that should always be a given however, is that for a mechanical rear brake housing with a stop in the frame, is that it should always be long enough to allow for a complete turning of the bars all the way both ways to the point of touching either side of the top tube.


Great post with great things to think about. The thing I am most particular about with our builds is cables. Spend a lot of time routing, and cutting to ensure shortest possible functional length, perfectly matching lengths if mechanical, and visually appealing arcs. Not sure if I have ever routed a rear brake that exits right shifter and enters frame either on the non drive side top tube or down tube in front of the front brake brake housing. Will have to give it a try someday. Not today though!
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shimmeD
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by shimmeD

Yes, I have recently noticed that most bikes have rear brake entry on the drive side. This I think is more suitable for left-rear (because the cable curve is smoother), which rightly or wrongly I think prevails in right-hand drive countries eg Australia & UK. My 2003 Look 381i (ex France, Europe) has NDS/LHS entry. So, manufacturers are getting it wrong but who am I to say that? :wink:
Less is more.

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wheelbuilder
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by wheelbuilder

shimmeD wrote:Yes, I have recently noticed that most bikes have rear brake entry on the drive side. This I think is more suitable for left-rear (because the cable curve is smoother), which rightly or wrongly I think prevails in right-hand drive countries eg Australia & UK. My 2003 Look 381i (ex France, Europe) has NDS/LHS entry. So, manufacturers are getting it wrong but who am I to say that? :wink:


I am in U.S. so of course right shifter is rear brake. I am annoyed that my Orca frame has entry point on drive side. Would look so much smoother on non drive side like Trek and others do............

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shimmeD
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by shimmeD

My other bike is custom, so naturally I specified right-rear: how I like it even though we drive on the LHS (wrong side as opposed to right side??). And of course I've got it right because I use my right hand (to signal to other road-users) and that leaves my left hand free to operate my dominant front brake. Yes, change to left-rear and your Orbea is sweet. :lol:
In other words, everyone is wrong and noone is correct :lol: :lol: :lol:
Last edited by shimmeD on Wed Nov 29, 2017 3:55 am, edited 2 times in total.
Less is more.

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