painting a carbon frame with internal routing

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zendoflex
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 5:58 pm
Location: Bratislava Beach

by zendoflex

I never had internal routing on a bike but will soon get an open mold from china. On pictures I've seen that those frames arrive with some tape and cables coming out of those openings. Why is that and can I take them out for painting?

Image

Zakalwe
Posts: 786
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:15 pm

by Zakalwe

Those are guides for feeding your gear and brake cables through the frame easily, there’s usually a little flag of tape on each end to stop the guides from sliding in and out. You’ll have to remove them to do a good paint job, and plug the holes with paper. Feeding cables through internal routings isn’t impossible, but it can be frustrating sometimes

by Weenie


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zendoflex
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 5:58 pm
Location: Bratislava Beach

by zendoflex

So if I remove them it will be more complicated to put them in again but not impossible? did i get that right? I am afraid that i *f##k* it up and will be unable to ever put a cable in there...

ilikegreen
Posts: 21
Joined: Sat Nov 17, 2018 5:13 pm

by ilikegreen

The aim is to ensure they're not in the way of the paint being sprayed on to the frame. You can do this by trimming them down and taping around them if need be (you might want the first few mm of the holes to have paint). That way they're still there to pull through your cables.

Zakalwe
Posts: 786
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:15 pm

by Zakalwe

You’ll be able to get a cable in there, just not quite as easily. Depends how lucky you are. I’ve had cable that took an hour of frustration before it finally went, others that dropped through first time. Someone at the factory had to feed those plastic guides in for you, so it can definitely be done. Keep the plastic after you build the bike, because if you ever change a cable you can slide those back over the cable before pulling the cable out - and you’ve got a handy guide in situ

Zakalwe
Posts: 786
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 3:15 pm

by Zakalwe

You can also try using a strong magnet to attract the cable to the exit hole, , or put a length of string in one hole and a vacuum cleaner on the other to give you a guide, all sorts of tricks

by Weenie


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Orlok
Posts: 225
Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 12:36 pm
Location: Almere - Nederland

by Orlok

Why painting such a beautiful carbon frame.??
Once comes a time that you'll have a tailwind :D
Pinarello F10 - Ultegra 8050 Di2 - Carbonspeed C38 Tubeless

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