full length housing pro's vs con's

[numbnuts]

My rear der cable snapped half way thru my ride on Sunday so I have to replace. Thinking of running full housing but does it make much difference? The only reason I can think of not to do it is that I'll have to dremel out the guides for it to look neat [i'll zip tie for now]. I have an alum swingarm so normally route the cable outside. Also I know I'm a git for ignoring the warning signs that were quite obvious for at least two rides but I don't get much time for repairs! At least I got to try out single speed[ and it sucks].

[tmaybee]

I have a full run of housing on my 856.  I am using gore Ride-on cables but I think it would almost be the same if you used a normal cable with normal housing (just try to figure out a way to seal the rear end).   I have had the same cables since 1997 and although the bike did sit for about a year and a half, when I took it out this year, it shifted great.

The reason why I used the solid run was that I was getting ghost shifting.  After I went solid, no more problems.

Instead of drilling out your cable stops you might want to try those little adapters from magura.

Another option is a hydraulic shift line.  I think I am going to buy one of these next year.  I don't think it would require much maintance at all... kinda like my maguras. I have been searching for one for quite a while.  The used to be made by a US company back in '95 or '96 but that company is no more.  I finally found a place to get them.  There is a guy on the <save some weight> forum that makes them.  Here is a link to his website.

http://userportal.iha.dk/~20033774/THE-MA~1/

He quoted me a price of 850 Dkr. (danish kroners).
 which is about $210 CAD and he said he needs about a week to make one.  He said it is hard to bleed though...

Trevor

[sammydog]

I changed the cabling on my 955 but didn't run the outer cable all the way. I did however run the outer cable through the swingarm. This improved the shifting quite a bit.

To tell the truth I never really thought about running the outer cable all the way. I would think that would be really good if you ride in wet/muddy conditions.

[Matno]

I dremeled my guides and run full length housing for my rear disc brake and almost full length for my rear derailleur (I didn't run cable through the swingarm). However, I actually DEVELOPED ghost shifting when I did that. The problem is that the little bend of cable between the frame and the swingarm has a tendency to slide up through the dremeled guide, thus shortening the length there. (i.e. the cable housing develops slack between the two guides on the frame). I solved the problem by wrapping a small zip tie around the housing at each guide, then supergluing the zip ties to the housing. Works pretty well since my shifting has been buttery smooth since then. I also have Avid "sealed" ferrules on all the cable ends, which may help.

[Carbon_Angus]

if you ride in a lot of mud and wet, do it!

otherwise get a rollamajig for the rear mech.

it's a lot of work...IMHO, to do it, but it's a long term solution.

[Dennis]

trevor,
thanks for the info about the hydraulic shift cable. as i am a confirmed gadget freak, I think it looks really cool. I emailed them to find out if it works with grip shift-type shifters.
thanks again for the link.
numbnuts, sorry, I have  no opinion about full length cable.
[smiley=groucho.gif]

[tmaybee]

Dennis - No prob.  I didn't think about the gripshift thing... and that's what I use.  Please let me know what he says.   I think I will get one next season.  I will be out of university by then so I should have a bit more money  (hopefuly!!!)

Let me know if you get one.   [smiley=nod.gif]

Trevor

[kiwi]

numbnuts i cant remember wot kind of bike you have but do it.On my 756 i was having ghost shifting which a new outer would fix for a while.I went the gore tex,full length route.My bike had cable stops on both ends of the swingarm and the cable went through.I removed the stops and ran the outer straight through.The full length though is only from rear frame mount through to rear mech so no need to modify frame guides.This eliminates the ghost shifting cause it eliminates the bend and stop near the suspension pivot.As the suspension moves the outer just slides through the swingarm instead of creating a differential movement between outer and inner.My gore tex cable has a little concertina seal type thing at the rear mech.I think gore call it a grub.
The hydraulic shift sounds awesome although I think the original suffered fron the bleeding difficulty too...man hydraulic brakes and hydraulic shift ers....all we need now is to use a hydraulic motor to drive a rohloff and we would be nearly maintenance free!

[kiwi]

anyone notice the crosslink /noleen shock in the picture of the front actuator??

[Dennis]

kiwi,
yeah, now that you mention it, I do notice the crosslink. pretty funny.

trevor,
I received an email back from "The Machinist" and he said the actuators will work with twist shifters.

sounds cool, huh? and I bet you could use a goodridge hose, and what else could be better for shifting? oh, the old Mavic wireless electronic shifter, but thats only for road bikes.


have a great day.
[smiley=groucho.gif]

[numbnuts]

thanks everyone, I think I'll give it a try. I'm already running full housing for the Avid mech's so the bike is going to look a bit untidy, with zip ties all over, but that ain't a problem. Obviously the aim is to seal the end so muck can't get in, does anyone spray any thing in the housing at installation, I seem to remember one rider telling me he squirts wd40 thru there when installing. I will be using some regular cable and housing that I have, not any fancy ride-on, teflon etc. I never had any problem with the regular set up re ghost shifting, but it wore pretty quickly so I'm hoping full housing will be a bit more durable. My riding conditions vary at lot, mostly dry but when it is muddy and wet it is extreme.

[drtunit]

I wouldn't use WD40 for a lubricant, it is a penetrant and evaporates-does work for cleaning parts though.  Use a very light teflon grease and wipe off excess or use tri-flow.