Weight Weenies

Westbank wrote:

Bruiser wrote:I use sticky tape, which on a CR1 clear finish is very hard to see.

I have a CF frame and the I think the transparent tape would be good. When you say Sticky tape are you talking about the stuff used to cover books ?

No just the standard tape you use on paper and buy for almost nothing.

Hi,

No just the standard tape you use on paper and buy for almost nothing.

Sounds like what we commonly refer to as "cellotape" overhere.
The translucent plastic foil to cover bookcovers with is more of the same but comes in roughly 40 cm width and 1 to 5 m lengths and is a trifle thicker, isn't it?

Main thing is, both are cheap but depending on how long it has been stocked, the "cellotape" tends to show some glue sticking when you pull it away from the underlaying layer IME.

Ciao,

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I slip a piece of aquarium tubing over the brake/shift cable in question. The surface is hard enough and slick that dirt and grit doesn't stick to it, but it will not scratch the paint because the surface hardness of the paint is much stronger. I have only been doing this for 3 years with good results and no dulling, but possibly over decades it might dull the paint, but I don't think so.

It works with the shimano and the Campy housing. You have to really bend it more than you want because it springs back. After you do it a couple of times you get the hang of it.

doozer wrote:the best solution ever are these foam cyclinders that slip over your outer cables. THey're about 50mm long and are soft so prevent damage to the frame. I got mine from Decathlon. much better than stickers that eventually wear through and often the stickers are large enough as the cables move across the frame as you steer.

Doozer

These rubber or foam type cylinders sometimes catch some grit, and can still produce wear on the paint or frame finish.

I use 3M Scotchgard clear protective film. It available in several thicknesses. Car shops also use it to shield off areas against stone damage.

I have seen a number of tiny rubber o-rings used over the cable outer that seemed like quite a good solution.

XTC-Max wrote:you can tie a zipt-tie around the head tube, and another one on each side of the headtube to tie the housings to the one zip-tie around the head tube. no more rubbing!

This works brilliantly, or you can cross the cables (run the rear into the LH cable stop).

You could also be a real WW and go fixed - no need for heavy gears

I use rubber O rings. They are very neat and cheap. Get them from your local hardware store.

Staggerlee

Some of the time you can bend the housing so it gives more clearance. i do this with all my housings...You need to do it when there is no cable in it.

This is a bad idea. When you bend the cable house without a cable in it, all you are doing is crimping the metal internals of the housing, causing a crimp that effectively lessens the inner diameter of the housing and causing increased friction for the cable. While this may not matter much with a campy drivetrain with it's stronger derailluer springs, it will matter on a shimano drivetrain where you'll get slow shifts (especially from big to smaller rings and whichever way the sping has to pull on the rear der) and dragging brakes.