“A solution to a problem that didn’t exist”: Bike mechanics united in hatred for “infuriating” internal cable routing ask “should we all start charging more to repair it?”; Toughest Giro climb so far; Drunken 70s cycling gold + more on the live blog
SUMMARY
Some heartwarming 'yakpacking' content from Mongolia
VecchioJo is hoping the term yakpacking will catch on after spotting this video from two cycling adventurers known as ‘The Garbage Bag Boys’, who came across a little lost yak in the mountains of Mongolia on their journey from Vietnam to Spain.
“With wolves in the hills, he was going to need some help getting home”, said Sam (or Luke? We’re not sure which one was carrying the yak). “So I turned him into a burrito, and tucked him into my pannier for the ride back to mum.”
Burrito appeared to enjoy the ride, though there was probably hell to pay from his mam after losing the herd for such a long time…
The San Pellegrino has nothing on Big Jim's boozy Braemar bike ride
As the riders of the WorldTour peloton competing in stage 11 of the Giro d’Italia today are currently sipping through their electrolytes while riding towards the fearsome Passo San Pellegrino in the Italian Dolomites, 49 years before them, Big Jim Collie was starting his day with a ‘wee dram’ (or a massive glass, looking at the footage) of scotch before taking a 22-mile ‘shortcut’ from his Cairngorms bothy to the village of Braemar.
Big Jim’s diet may well have contributed to his decision to take the shortcut instead of sticking to the 60-mile road route, because it just so happens to be some of the most treacherous terrain in the whole of Scotland, and his bike – christened the ‘Lairig Flyer’ – does anything other than fly.
Sit back and enjoy the most 70s and most Scottish video on the entire internet. They just don’t make ’em like Big Jim anymore, which is probably good for our life expectancies, but less good for the entertainment value of archived videos in another 49 years from now…
Giro d'Italia stage 11: will we see any GC action, or is it a day for the breakaways as riders face toughest climb yet?
The San Pellegrino hasn’t featured in the Giro d’Italia for 25 years, and despite today’s 186km stage only being rated 3 stars for difficulty, the climb itself is arguably one of – if not the – toughest ascents in the whole Giro this year.
Spanning 12km in total according to the segment on Veloviewer, the San Pellegrino has an average gradient of 9.1%, with some incredibly steep and highly irregular inclines thrown in along the way. The final kilometre is all uphill, which could lead to fireworks however it plays out at the front of the race.
The likes of Primoz Roglic, currently in 5th place, will be looking for opportunities to cut into the lead of Isaac del Toro (UAE Team Emirates-XRG), the 21-year-old Mexican currently 25 seconds up on his nearest GC ‘rival’, who happens to be his teammate Juan Ayuso. The closest non-UAE rider is Antonio Tiberi (Bahrain Victorious), who is 1:01 back. Like Roglic and Simon Yates in 4th, Tiberi will be looking to claw back some time on the slopes of the San Pellegrino (see here if you’re not following that reference).
Long-term TfL study of 20mph speed limits shows 34% reduction in people killed or seriously injured following implementation
Transport for London has published the results of a long-term study analysing the effects of 20mph speed limits on roads in the capital, finding that the number of people killed or seriously injured fell by an average of 34% on roads where 10mph limits were introduced.
You could be forgiven for thinking 20mph limit roads were a new thing following much uproar from some corners of British society about Wales implementing a default 20mph limit on restricted roads in 2023, but TfL’s data analyses more than 150 20mph schemes that were brought in as far back as 1989.
Examining three-year periods for each one from the date of implementation, TfL says its report shows a 40% reduction in the number of people killed, a 34% reduction in people killed or seriously injured, and a 75% reduction in the number of children killed. There was also a 35% reduction in collisions and 36% reduction in casualties on borough roads, against a background number of 12% fewer collisions and casualties across all borough roads.
Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, commented: “This compelling new analysis shows clearly that lowering speeds is saving lives. Every death or serious injury on our roads is one too many. Slower speeds not only protect the most vulnerable, they also help create safer, more welcoming streets, and are a vital part of building a safer London for everyone.
“The Mayor and I are proud that London is leading the way with bold, evidence-led action to reduce danger on our roads, and we will continue working to eliminate death and serious injury on the transport network as part of our Vision Zero goal.”
Planning a bikepacking trip in or around Devon? A Dartmoor stop-off is back on
Campaigners who went to the Supreme Court to fight for their right to wild camp on Dartmoor are celebrating today, after the court ruled in their favour.
While the victory means wild camping on Dartmoor is officially backed by the Supreme Court, the campaigners warn that their victory “is not the end” and that the right to roam in England “still doesn’t exist in law”.
“The fact that one landowner came so close to extinguishing a centuries-old tradition, enjoyed by millions, shows just how fragile our current access rights truly are”, said Right to Roam via its Instagram page.
> Your complete guide to bikepacking
The group are returning to Dartmoor on 26th May to demand that rights to roam are “better protected and extended”. Find out more on the event page here if you’re interested.
Plenty of action on San Pellegrino... including flying Fortunato and a funny football banner
No prizes for working out what this message to Juventus football club means…
The riders have crested San Pellegrino, KOM-hunting extraordinaire Lorenzo Fortunato leading the charge. A strong breakaway including Wout Poels and Nairo Quintana has now joined the Italian, maybe Chris Froome and Alberto Contador will pop up any minute? Luke Plapp and Pello Bilbao are up there too.
Behind there was a brief skirmish in the GC group, Egan Bernal testing Juan Ayuso and Isaac del Toro, but all that fizzled out quickly enough. The stage looks to be settling down a bit now the main challenge of the day is out the way, so we’ll check back in a bit.
Tour de France finale shaken up with Montmartre climb just 6km before Champs-Élysées finish line
You retired at just the right time, Sir Cav…
We knew ASO was getting Montmartre back involved after its successful inclusion at the Olympics, but this close to the finish? It’s going to be fireworks…
Three ascents of the climb to Sacre Coeur and just 6.1km between the top of the final climb and the finish on the Champs-Élysées. Calling all puncheurs, demon descenders and classics specialists… or just Tadej Pogačar with a cigar in and champagne in his bottles, blowing kisses to the crowd…
Your thoughts on internal cable routing...
We’ve opened a can of worms with this one, or maybe that should be a headtube full of cables?
It turns out loads of people have thoughts on internal cable routing…
Andrew Sdl: “I maintain my own bike. Top tube/down tube internal routing is quite hard enough. I don’t blame mechanics for hating the headtube stuff.”
Danny Levy: “You definitely do not need but can understand why people like it. Personally I would never buy a bike with cables running through a headset. It’s too much faff to do simple maintenance and if you’re not mechanically minded it can be costly to maintain. A bicycle is a simple design and should be kept that way.”
anke2: “Doing all my repairs at home, I refrain from buying a bike with internal cables… For a mechanic, the internal cabling may bring business, yes, but there are fun tasks and there are annoying ones. Working on internal cabling seems very frustrating and tedious – and if something goes wrong, the entire thing will need disassembly once again. Not fun.”
thrawed: “Professional bike mechanics should love internally routed headsets because consumers are more likely to come to a bike shop with it instead of doing it themselves.”
Bigfoz: “Aren’t badly routed cables self policing? You pay more for the bike, you pay more for the maintenance as it takes longer, ergo > labour spend. If you want to spend more on a bike and make it difficult to maintain it yourself, and then pay more for services, crack on. Bike shops should charge what it costs. Though in reality, routing an external cable is 5-10mins start to finish, but for the internal cables on my TTbike it took four hours for me to fail, followed by a half day (and £100 labour) for a shop to squeeze them through. Eventually we solved it by drilling the openings wide and routing external cables all the way through. Which makes the bike 12ft of cable outer heavier. There will be no more internally routed bikes in my future. Even if it means going custom.”
Smoggysteve: “I recently received a warranty replacement frame from Trek for my Emonda SLR. I was charged by the shop for the removal of the components from the old frame – something that was not too costly as I pretty much stripped it down before I took it into the shop who sent it away.
“When they received the replacement frame, I was quoted £120 to rebuild the bike. Something they wouldn’t actually be able to do anyway since I had most of the components still. So I decided to decline and rebuild the bike myself. I knew the most difficult part would be the brake cable routing but, as with most things, if you plan ahead how you intend doing it, it’s actually very easy.
“Trying to thread two brake hoses and di2 cables is made to sound so much more time consuming, it really isn’t. The Emonda headset isn’t the most difficult but it’s not the easiest either. For a long time I was reluctant to try and do the work myself on a disc brake bike as it was sold as being this ultra complex task. It isn’t.”
fwhite181: “I like being able to service my bike at home, as much as possible. I’ll usually go to a shop to set up new hydro brakes, but everything else is a home job. I recently bought a new bike and fully integrated cabling was a flat no, it made the choice much easier. Frame-internal is alright, if a bit faffy, but through the headset is just mad. I hope it doesn’t become ubiquitous!”
nniff: “I bought my last bike at a huge discount (big enough for me to ask if that was the frame or whole bike price) because it had round carbon tubes, external cables, Campag rim brakes and cable-operated gears. Everyone paying that sort of money wanted aero, electronic shifting, hydraulics and internal routing. Lucky me, out looking for a bike-shaped bike instead of something that looked like the love child of a plastic coathanger and a meat slicer.”
Richard Carapaz wins stage 11 of the Giro with late attack, Del Toro keeps pink and even takes some bonus seconds
Another day, another popular stage win at the Giro d’Italia. Richard Carapaz was brave enough to try his luck in the final kilometres, launching out of the bunch in pursuit of a stage win. Thankfully for him he was strong enough to pull it off, and it wasn’t just wasted effort, the Ecuadorian climber bagging a fourth Giro stage win of his career.
Behind, Isaac del Toro sprinted to second and six bonus seconds, while Giulio Ciccone pipped Tom Pidcock to third. No change in the GC, except Carapaz jumping up a couple of places and Del Toro extending his lead with those handful of seconds.
After a full-on weekend, TT day and now this, I’m sure plenty will be glad to see a sprint stage on the cards tomorrow.
I read the Telegraph (and fact-checked their reporting) so you don't have to...
"A solution to a problem that didn’t exist": Bike mechanics united in hatred for "infuriating" internal cable routing ask "should we all start charging more to repair it?"
Over on the ‘BikeMechanics’ Reddit forum there’s a lengthy discussion about internal cable routing that’s been burning for days. I say ‘discussion’, in all honesty it’s more a void for infuriated people who’ve been working on bikes all day to come home and scream their frustrations into.
It all started with the user ‘Open-Statistician595’ sharing photos of internal cable routing on a Trek bike he was working on.
“Internal bullshit,” they said, setting the tone for the comments that followed. “Tr*k got me crashing out […] and they put the plugs in the head tube so it unplugs itself if it catches the cables right. All for the super sick aesthetic gains for the zone 2 crit riders on the fx+1.” I think it’s fair to say someone wasn’t having the best day at work…
But it turns out sharing a photo of your internal cable routing nightmare is like the Bat-Signal to overworked, fed-up bike shop employees, because what followed was nearly one hundred comments of mechanics sharing their own cable grievances in one big Oceania Two Minutes Hate for bike brands.
“Internal routing was a solution to a problem that didn’t exist. I hate it,” the most liked comment says.
“I still think we should all start charging more to repair it,” another mechanic suggested. “If enough shops do it, then we might incentivise buyers to want more external routing.” Someone pointed out that surely charging customers by the hour meant extra faff and inconvenience was already accounted for, but maybe certain brands’ internal routing is anger-inducing enough to deserve a surcharge?
“Internal routing from about ten years ago was fine,” another popular comment suggested. “In at the top/down tube. It was when they started routing cables through the head tube/head set that things went to shit.”
Having just replaced four cables (the rear three of which were internally routed) on my bike, I’ve got to agree that in at the top/down tube wasn’t bad at all. The rear brake one was a bit of a pain through the top tube, but that was my fault for pulling it through before I got the chance to use some sheathing to guide it. The derailleur cables were as easy as external routing. One of the big annoyances of this thread was the style of internal routing through the headtube and headset. For example…
“[Customer says:] ‘My headset bearing needs maintenance’. 20-minute job, three tools and two new parts vs. three-hour job, 20 tools and parts.”
Another mechanic added: “Probably need a separate thread for this but can anyone explain why? Much like cars, innovation in the bicycle world is driven by racing. Is there any legitimate reasons to run a bike cable inside a frame other than vanity?
“The only one I see is protection, however your cables will still usually be exposed somewhere, and if routed internally it’s a pain in the ass to fix on race day.”
A few people suggested they like the aesthetic of internal cables enough to put up with the inconvenience, and others said they’d be happy to pay their bike shop mechanics a bit extra for work on it too. What do you think? Internal cable routing? Worth it for ‘the aesthetic’ or one big pain in the arse that was never needed? More nuanced answers are also allowed…
21 May 2025, 08:05
Some of these recommendations might seem ambitious given what we've seen from this government so far, but The Bikeability Trust and Living Streets seem confident some of them will be implemented when the Road Safety Strategy is published
20mph in all urban areas, a ban on pavement parking and cycling in the national curriculum: cycling and walking groups call for "most radical reforms to road safety since mandatory seat belts" ahead of Government’s Road Safety Strategy
A new report commissioned by The Bikeability Trust and Living Streets also says lack of awareness over Highway Code changes are leading to "conflict" on Britain's roads, but are confident the Government will act on some of their recommendations
21 May 2025, 08:05
Help us to bring you the best cycling content
If you’ve enjoyed this article, then please consider subscribing to road.cc from as little as £1.99. Our mission is to bring you all the news that’s relevant to you as a cyclist, independent reviews, impartial buying advice and more. Your subscription will help us to do more.
37 Comments
Read more...
-300x225.jpg "“Was one of them bad driving?” Newspaper criticised for publishing “8 dangerous cycling mistakes that put people in hospital”; Punchy finale without fans at wildfire-affected Tour de France + more on the live blog")
Read more...
Read more...
Latest Comments
@sheridan Does "road diet" work better?
The constant misconception with closs passing relates to the view that 1.51m is legal and 1.49m is illegal. It isn't. The government considered a minimum distance offence (and Tim, quoted in the article, pushed heavy for it in the consultation) but the conclusion of the consultation was that a minimum distance offence would result in no prosecution as the forensic evidence of distance would not exist. Instead s3 was the sensible fall back. Tim and a few other cyclists push the narrative that 1.5 is a legal requirement and police forces receive criticism if they apply the law of careless driving rather than the imaginary law of close passing. As time passes police forces understand that 1.5 is a fallicy, as more separated cycle lanes demonstrate this as they are themselves less than. 1.5 m from passing traffic despite having a physical separation. This distinction makes closs pass prosecution very "dodgy" without clear carelessness. But that message is lost in the fog of twitter.
According to the commentators today the french police can and have. They were chatting about temporary powers so that it's an offence to disobey an order from the police, concerning preventing spectators because of the wildfires. There were however far more fans than I was expecting. Yesterday's flare was over the border of course.
Nothing wrong with large chainrings - in fact, big to big is way more efficient so, use a big chainring and bigger cassette sprockets - it'll freak out your mates and allow you to pedal more smoothly and replace your chain less often!
Having recently purchased a month of TNT, and waiting for the start of the TTT, I caught some of the men's downhill, might have been the winner, but this lad did particularly well and decided to fall off after crossing the line. His airbag went off. I still think a bit of aramid in the weave on hip and shoulders wouldn't go amiss,
I liked it. I will watch it. It's essentially the TNT coverage, highlighted. So the same coverage that would have been on Quest or DMAX, but with the singular presenter, maybe less chat and maybe more racing. Hopefully less chance of the weird no coverage and no explanation days. Unfortunately no rest day recap, one of those lovely itv things. And no Chris.
Being knocked-off by a driver who makes a beeline to exit a roundabout without signal lighting
What is this AI vomit meant to have to do with either the story, or your question about why so many crashes occur?
That sounds like a great commercial gimmick that doesn't solve the core issue - why is there so many crashes in the pro peloton? Hereunder info was put together by Leo, Brave's AI agent: Top 5 Most Frequent Injuries in Pro Cyclists (Post-Crash) Based on the most comprehensive data available from professional road cycling studies (including the 2024 "Beyond the Finish Line" study and meta-analyses of IOC consensus data), the top injuries sustained after a crash are: 1. Abrasions and Lacerations (Soft Tissue Injuries) Abrasions are consistently cited as the most common injury type in professional cycling crashes. While often less severe than fractures, they occur with the highest frequency due to the nature of sliding on asphalt. Context: These frequently affect the limbs (arms and legs) and torso. In high-speed crashes, these can become severe degloving injuries requiring surgery, but minor road rash is ubiquitous. 2. Fractures (Upper Extremity) Fractures are the most burdensome injury (leading to the most time lost) and the second most frequent major trauma. Specifics: The clavicle (collarbone) is the single most frequently fractured bone in pro cycling, followed by fractures of the wrist/scaphoid, forearm (radius/ulna), and shoulder blade (scapula). Gender Note: Data indicates females are significantly more likely to sustain wrist fractures in crashes compared to males. One study noted females are 3x more likely to sustain a wrist fracture. 3. Contusions and Bruising Deep tissue contusions are highly frequent, often accompanying fractures or occurring independently from impact with the ground, bike, or other riders. Location: Common on the hips, thighs, and shoulders. These are often underreported in general databases but are a primary complaint in team medical logs. 4. Head and Neck Trauma (Concussions) While less frequent than abrasions, cranial trauma (including concussions) is a critical category. Trend: Despite helmet use, concussions remain a top 5 injury in high-impact crashes. General data shows 65% of fatal cycling injuries involve head trauma, but in pro racing, non-fatal concussions are the primary concern here. 5. Multiple Injuries (Polytrauma) A significant portion of serious crashes result in multiple simultaneous injuries (e.g., a fractured collarbone combined with rib fractures and lung contusions). Severity: Studies of elite withdrawals show that "multiple injuries" is a distinct and frequent category for race-ending incidents, often more so than isolated muscle strains in crash scenarios. Gender Disparities in Crash Injuries Recent data highlights distinct differences in how male and female pros are affected: Incidence Rate: Some data suggests male road cyclists have a higher rate of reported injuries per athlete-day in racing (14.91 vs 0.68 in one specific dataset, though this may reflect reporting differences or sample size), while other studies show females have a significantly higher risk ratio for injury during racing compared to their training baseline (RR 11.10 for females vs 10.24 for males). Injury Type: Females are disproportionately prone to upper extremity fractures (specifically wrists) and are more likely to require EMS transport following an incident compared to males, who more frequently receive on-site medical attention and continue or self-transport.
37 thoughts on ““A solution to a problem that didn’t exist”: Bike mechanics united in hatred for “infuriating” internal cable routing ask “should we all start charging more to repair it?”; Toughest Giro climb so far; Drunken 70s cycling gold + more on the live blog”
Reform UK fulfils pledge to
Reform UK fulfils pledge to scrap LTNs in its council areas as none exist
All 10 council areas controlled by rightwing party tell the Guardian they have no low-traffic neighbourhoods
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/may/21/reform-uk-ltn-council-areas-none-exist
A few people in cul-de-sacs
A few people in cul-de-sacs or down leafy village lanes must be breathing a sigh of relief!
“Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s chair
“Zia Yusuf, Reform UK’s chair, said last week there would be a “large-scale reversal” of existing LTNs in the 10 areas across England where the party won control of the councils in local elections on 1 May.”
“A Liberal Democrat source said: “Reform are utterly clueless about how to run a council. From councillors who won’t take up their seats to schemes that don’t exist, it’s clear that they don’t understand the needs of their communities.”
So Reform UK is either incompetent or simply “misinforming” the public in the hope of encouraging their support…
Or both.
Either of them should be a bar on holding office.
mitsky wrote:
I agree, but unfortunately we’ve set precedent by putting up with Prime Ministers who have been either incompetent or simply “misinforming” the public…
I’m not sure it’s an ‘either
I’m not sure it’s an ‘either / or’…
mitsky wrote:
tbf If Incompetence or being Misinformed was a bar on holding office there’d be no-one left to run local councils regardless of political persuasion.
I think Labour are secretly
I think Labour are secretly happy Reform won a few councils. This way they can go about showing their total incompetence without it effecting the whole nation.
You only have to look at the US to see what happens when you vote in Idealists who have zero understanding of how governments actually function. At least we have a system that allows local governments to show just how spectacularly stupid some people can be when given power.
Smoggysteve wrote:
Unfortunately, it seems that a large percentage of the U.S. population are only fed propaganda from the likes of Fox News and so won’t actually hear about the ineptness of people, but instead will keep hearing that it was the fault of Biden etc.
Which is exactly what the
Which is exactly what the Tories did for well over a decade…so I think your hopes of ineptitude losing cridibility and votes is perhaps wishful thinking. The average reform voter isn’t the sharpest tool and will fall for the simplest of arguments. It will be someone elses fault when they make a monumental fuck up of it and their supporters will lap it up.
Perhaps if they weren’t
Perhaps if they weren’t called LTNs or 15-minute cities, all would be well?
I had an LTN on my street 49 years ago. It wasn’t called an LTN; it was called managing traffic and stopping rat-runners. Everyone in the area loved it. I wonder what would happen if a similar scheme were introduced now.
It shows the level of
It shows the level of intelligence in people. Low Traffic Neighbourhood = Anti car enforcement. They feel that its something designed to restrict their rights to drive their car how they want and where they want. If it was called stopping people driving like wankers and keeping pedestrians safer, I think more people would buy into them
I’d just service the bearing,
I’d just service the bearing,( relube or flush and relube) rather than replace if it’s internal cable routing through the bearing – or of the customer is happy for a 3hour bill that’s their choice if you have the availability to do it.
I bought my last bike at a
I bought my last bike at a huge discount (big enough for me to ask if that was the frame or whole bike price) because it had round carbon tubes, external cables and and Campag rim brakes and cable-operated gears. Everyone paying that sort of money wanted aero, electronic shifting, hydraulics and internal routing. Lucky me, out looking for a bike-shaped bike instead of something that looked like the love child of a plastic coathanger and a meat slicer.
I like being able to service
I like being able to service my bike at home, as much as possible. I’ll usually go to a shop to set up new hydro brakes, but everything else is a home job. I recently bought a new bike and fully integrated cabling was a flat no, it made the choice much easier. frame-internal is alright, if a bit faffy, but through the headset is just mad. I hope it doesn’t become ubiquitous!
Yak didn’t even say ‘thank
Yak didn’t even say ‘thank you’ – how ungulateful.
Ungulate – a word I’ve now
Ungulate – a word I’ve now seen twice today in unrelated articles and probably never seen before. I’ll save that for Pointless!
A little disappointed that
A little disappointed that the music chosen wasn’t the Benny Hill theme tune (IYKYK).
The charging extra comment
The charging extra comment makes no sense. Every Bike Mechanic I’ve used already charges by the hour for labour. Even if they do fixed fee you average out the fixed fees by the proportion of internally routed vs externally routed bikes you service and adjust annually.
It aint Rocket science.
You just charge them what its
You just charge them what its going to cost. If they bring in an internally routed bike you charge them differently if its going to take 3 hours instead of 1 to replace their brake hoses etc.
I would think that mechanics would love that bikes are less and less user friendly when it comes to repairs. If you can’t price your services accordingly then thats a problem on your side, not the customers.
I recently received a
I recently received a warranty repacement frame from Trek for my Emonda SLR. I was charged by the shop for the removal of the compnents from the old frame – something that was not too costly as I pretty muuch stripped it down before I took it into the shop who sent it away.
When they recieved the replacement frame, I was quoted £120 to rebuild the bike. Something they wouldnt actually be able to do anyway since I had most of the components still. So I decided to decline and rebuild the bike myself. I knew the most difficult part would be the brake cable routing but, as with most things, if you plan ahead how you indend doing it its actually very easy.
Trying the thread 2 brake hoses and di2 cables is made to sound so much more time consuming, it really isnt. The Emonda headset isnt the most difficult but its not the easiest either. For a long time I was reluctant to try and do the work myself on a disc brake bike as it was sold as being this ultra complex task. It isnt.
Aren’t badly routed cables
Aren’t badly routed cables self policing? You pay more for the bike, you pay more for the maintenance as it takes longer, ergo > labour spend. If you want to spend more on a bike and make it difficult to maintain it yourself, and then pay more for services, crack on. Bike shops should charge what it costs. Though in reality, routing an external cable is 5-10mins start to finish, but for the internal cables on my TTbike it toook 4 hours for me to fail, followed by a half day (and £100 labour) for a shop to squeeze them through. Eventually we solved it by drilling the openings wide and routing external cables all the way through. Which makes the bike 12ft of cable outer heavier. There will be no more internally routed bikes in my future. Even if it means going custom
To be fair you’re exactly
To be fair you’re exactly right. I dont think many people go and buy a BMW or an Audi and then act surprised it cost more to service than a Ford Focus.
If your spending £5k upwards on a high end fully integrated bike, you know what your getting and you can see its not going to be a 2 minute task.
I will say, if anyone feels their bike shop is getting too expensive, buy a few decent quality tools, and learn to do it yourself. I service and have built up many bikes off all types. The only relly frusting part would be Bottom Brackets cos there are so many different ones, who can afford all the different tools? rest is alan keys, spanners and the occasional specialst tool like a brake cable tool for putting the pins in.
Internally routed cables are
Internally routed cables are fine as long as you have wireless shifters (i.e. SRAM, 12 speed Shimano). Then its only the brake hoses you need to worry about, and whilst you then need to bleed the brakes when you change the headset bearings, it doesn’t take that long, and its a job you should periodically anyway (I say this as owner of an internally routed Orro Venturi who does all the maintenance).,
If you have older electronic its a bit more of a pain, but still not too bad (you just need to unplug and plug back in, plus fight with 4 cables in the holes rather than 2). If you have mechanical gears – simply avoid internal routing. Note there are many bikes (like the Ribble Endurance) that offer the choice of external or internal, so you don’t always need to build them up that way.
routing a di2 cable isnt
routing a di2 cable isnt difficult. Many highend frames are not mechancal groupset compatible anyway
Don’t forget Campagnolo – it
Don’t forget Campagnolo – it’s not just Shimano and SRAM that have wireless groupsets now – Super Record Wireless was released 2 years ago this month and they recently released an S version – a ‘lower tier’ (but still very high end) groupset.
Shimano also isn’t fully wireless – the mechs are connected to a seat tube mounted battery. By wires! Though, admittedly, they’re not routed through the headset.
Professional bike mechanics
Professional bike mechanics should love internally routed headsets because consumers are more likely to come to a bike shop with it instead of doing it themselves.
If mechanics were sitting
If mechanics were sitting around hoping a customer might turn up, you’d have a point. There’s plenty of work already without having to put up with the tedious design fetishes of bike brands.
Doing all my repairs at home,
Doing all my repairs at home, I refrain from buying a bike with internal cables…
For a mechanic, the internal cabling may bring business, yes, but there are fun tasks and there are annyoing ones. Working on internal cabling seems very frustrating and tedious – and if something goes wrong, the entire thing will need disassembly once again. Not fun.
I built my TCR SL up from a
I built my TCR SL up from a frameset and it really wasn’t that bad. Admittedly thats on wirless Di2 but even then, its just something that takes a bit more time.
Hear me out:
Hear me out:
Wireless for shifting.
Hydraulic braking, but with hard pipes inside the frame, fork, bars, and stem, and with quick disconnects built in to standard locations. So all you need to run is 3″ of hose from the lever to the bar, and from the frame/fork to the caliper.
Needs a standard across manufacturers, so not likely to happen anytime soon.
So I’ve managed to book a
So I’ve managed to book a plumber and an electrician to look at the bike, but it’s going to be out of contract on the wireless next month and SRAM / Garmin / … say I’ve got to pay for an upgrade …
Still – at least the heat pump is working (I pump, I warm up).
Aero brake levers (mid-80s)
Aero brake levers (mid-80s) were a good step forward and when combined with internal rear brake routing (top tube) provided a neat control setup. Rim brakes meant the front brake cable was short and efficient. DT shifter cables were elegantly utilitarian and not improved on until wireless shifting removed shifter control cabling from the steering system.
Listening to bike mechanics
Listening to bike mechanics complain about bikes being too hard to fix is like Turkeys voting for Christmas. Seriously, stuff that is hard to do is why your job still exists. Bikes are cheaper online, so are parts, what the fuck is the point of you as a bike mechanic if you aren’t the person who can do the things that the riders can’t.
I’m a bike mechanic and I’m a good one, bitching about this stuff is pathetic. It’s not impossible it requires a knowledge of the function and a process. Get out of the industry if you think it’s hard, it’ll raise wages for those that are willing to work it out. Don’t ask why it’s required, celebrate the fact that because it’s tricky you are still relevant.
In all work, at least that I
In all work, at least that I’ve done, there are tasks that are easier, sometimes simple and satisfying and others that are frustrating, nasty and problematic, we get paid for our time. I get where they are coming from.
My most recent bike has fully external cable and hose runs, all cable tied. The other two all external cables, with stops that increase faff. Especially as the Good Bike is Nokoned.
I’m sure they dislike fitting mudguards too.
ktache wrote:
I read somewhere that one of the tasks set to the damned in Hell is to spend eternity fitting mudguards which are actually the wrong size…*
*Or did I dream that?
I ‘solved’ this by buying
I ‘solved’ this by buying these
https://www.trekbikes.com/gb/en_GB/equipment/bike-accessories/bike-mudguards-and-accessories/bike-mudguards/bontrager-ncs-mudguard-set/p/21832/
Not perhaps the most aesthetic, but so easy to fit.
I’m no pro, but I can
I’m no pro, but I can understand from a mechanic’s point of view that there are some “innovations” the makers come up with that don’t improve functionality and just go in the “more things to go wrong” pile. Also the crap finishing kit, the matching mudguard or tyre that you can’t get replacements for.
A great plus for cycling is being able to fix things for yourself. But as you say, every challenge, including charging to jet wash the bike that comes in with 2″ of mud on it, is also an opportunity.