A love letter to external cables
In a world of aero advances and tidy designs, I like to keep my cables outside the frame
This article is part of a series called ‘A love letter to…’, where Cycling Weekly writers pour praise on their favourite cycling items and share the personal connection they have with them.
The below content is unfiltered, authentic and has not been paid for.
To be clear from the start, this isn’t a lamentation specifically against routing gear cables through headsets - or the various complexities of a fully-integrated cockpit. On the contrary, I can see the utility of full internal cable routing in particular situations - and if you are going down that path, the least you can do is complete the job!
Plus, credit where it’s due, full internal cable routing is getting ever easier to live with. Electronic/hydraulic groupsets are cascading ever further down Shimano and SRAM’s hierarchies, obviating the need for any cable replacement as part of routine maintenance.
Even better, ever more brands are improving their fully-integrated designs to allow for spacer shuffling and stack height adjustment, as well as even stem swaps without having to disconnect the brake cables and re-bleed the system.
Heady times. Although it is quite incredible how much time it has taken for these systems to reach that basic level of user friendly design - but that’s besides the point and is a topic for another day.
Instead, the focus here is on cables being routed outside the tubing of the frame for the entire length. No hopping into the downtube behind the headset, no sneakily slipping into a chainstay. Full external routing from shifter to derailleur, with concessions only for bar tape.
Get The Leadout Newsletter
The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!
Why? Well, this stems from my huge soft spot for all things mechanical. I think it’s probably the ubiquity of chipboards across everyday appliances which means - in cases where it won’t cause an undue amount of hassle! - that gives such a joy to opting for analogue.
It also very much helps when the mechanical option is actually cheaper than the electronic, which isn’t so often the case, but still is with groupsets. Shimano’s 105 Di2 vs its mechanical 105 is exhibit A - but mechanical vs electronic SRAM Apex is still another example.
And so, with my favoured groupsets being staunchly cable operated, then comes the considerations on what the build will be like to live with - and this is where my penchant for external cable routing really stems.
With the cables proudly outside of the frame, access couldn’t be easier and servicing is straightforward as a result. A small nota bene here - my precise preference is for fully-housed cable routing, rather than the exposed sort.
I fully appreciate all of the benefits of exposing the cables: crisper shifting due to less compression, frugality from requiring less housing, weight saving, and simple delicate aesthetics. But I’ll take the consistent shifting performance of full cable housing in muddy and gritty conditions every time. Also, by reducing the potential points of entry for water ingress, I find the service interval for fully housed cables tends to be a little longer, too.
However, these days there aren’t any mainstream brands which offer models with external cable routing. In fact, there’s barely any boutique brands that are doing it, either. Fortunately for me, I already have a frameset which I’m very pleased with, and which does have external cable routing - I’ll be holding onto it for a long time yet!
As it is, my next frameset will have to be custom. With the current market, I can choose between either getting the geometry I want or the features I want - I can’t get both from a stock build.
That is a situation which works well for my current frameset. I have no roving eye that might culminate in an impulse purchase. Going custom is a much more considered choice - and one which I have no reason to make just yet. And so my Sonder Camino, resplendent in its external cable routing, will be seeing many more miles yet.
Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Join now for unlimited access
Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
After winning the 2019 National Single-Speed Cross-Country Mountain Biking Championships and claiming the plushie unicorn (true story), Stefan swapped the flat-bars for drop-bars and has never looked back.
Since then, he’s earnt his 2ⁿᵈ cat racing licence in his first season racing as a third, completed the South Downs Double in under 20 hours and Everested in under 12.
But his favourite rides are multiday bikepacking trips, with all the huge amount of cycling tech and long days spent exploring new roads and trails - as well as histories and cultures. Most recently, he’s spent two weeks riding from Budapest into the mountains of Slovakia.
Height: 177cm
Weight: 67–69kg
-
Why are more UK cyclists killed on rural lanes than on busy city streets?
More UK cyclists are killed on rural lanes than on busy city streets. Rob Kemp investigates why and what can be done to keep us safe while riding in the countryside
By Rob Kemp Published
-
400km a day for a month: Lachlan Morton sets 'mind blowing' round-Australia record
EF Education rider completes astounding feat to reduce the record by nearly 25%
By James Shrubsall Published
-
Tour de France 2024 tech: New superbikes, unreleased wheels and aero bottles
There's fresh tech everywhere in the team paddocks of the biggest bike race in the world
By Tom Davidson Published
-
37psi in 32mm tyres: Why tyre pressures are getting lower at Paris-Roubaix
As wider tyres become commonplace, riders are running lower pressures at the Hell of the North
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Why are teams wearing TT helmets in road races?
Time trial helmets aren't just for time trialling, as Uno-X will testify
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Uncovered: Team GB’s secret Olympic track bike that costs £55,000
British Cycling created the new frame in-house through 3D printing
By Tom Davidson Published
-
The best bike tech of the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift 2023
From special edition wheels to raised stems, here's what's being used at the race
By Tom Davidson Published
-
Gallery: The best tech spotted at the 2023 Tour de France
There were custom components and prototype bikes at the Grand Départ in Bilbao
By Tom Davidson Published
-