Gear cabling - top tips?

[CCS]

OK.... I knew there was a good reason to only re-cable the broken side of my bike... should have left the rest well alone... but hindsight is a marvellous thing...

Anyway, does any of the massive have any top tips for re-cabling the front mech?
My bike seems to have a little frame thing under the bottom bracket that the cable sits in, and then it goes into a hole in the frame... and should come out of a hole the other side... but as far as I can see, there seems to be some sort of black hole installed within my bike frame... I can feed a hell of a lot of cable in, but no sign if it ever wanting to emerge.
Any suggestions (other than stop being an idiot and get a proper bike mechanic involved)?

It's a Cervelo RS if that sparks any thoughts...

Thanks!!!

[TRIumphant]

Please say you didn't pull the old cable out, without attaching the end to the new cable to pull that through.

If you did, you might just have built yourself an expensive single speed.

[Sir Jibbenstein]

Cut old cable to give clean end
Tie mousing line (strong thread) to old cable
Pull cable out, and mousing line in, and out other end of frame
Untie mousing line and take old cable out of shifter
Feed new cable through shifter and housing up to frame
tie end to mousing line
Pull mousing line through until cable comes out
Connect up as usual.

(I don't have a bike with internal cable routing, but that is how I would re rig the halyards that run inside a 50ft tall yacht mast)

[jonathon.e]

Try feeding it in the reverse way.

You have been playing with your Christmas present haven't you.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/w ... les-23927/

[CCS]

Please say you didn't pull the old cable out, without attaching the end to the new cable to pull that through.

If you did, you might just have built yourself an expensive single speed.

...might have...


Writes a thousand lines:
I am an idiot
I am an idiot
I am an idiot
...

[CCS]

... but potential to recover the situation: old bit of cable outer fed in backwards has found its way through the parallel universe within the frame, so now have a bit of cable in place that can hopefully pull the new one through... goes to find something that can act as Jibby's mousing line....
Damn: these bike things are complicated!

[jonathon.e]

Not to worry, I am assuming that the cable routines have grommets on the holes, you should be able to gently prize these off, creating a larger hole to allow you to fish the cable out using a stiff pieces of wire, if no grommets then patience is a virtue.

[CCS]

Thanks gents - crisis averted.

New additions to the bike maintenance kit include: bright pink embroidery thread; masking tape (I am sure than Jibby could recommend some robust knot for the thread... but masking tape proved useful backup to avoid stuffing interior of bike frame with dropped bits of thread; old cable outer...

Now, just need to actually secure the cable and get the gears working (which, based on previous experience of trying this on a triple, may take some months)... may be forced to christen the TT tomorrow?

[TRIumphant]

. . . and relax

[jonathon.e]

. . . and relax

With some wine to marvel at your new found skills