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…and then I’ll go home and replace my headset bearings, again. Probably the bb at some point as well, water flows down hill after all…
I may be bad, but I'm not wrong.
If through-the-headset routing is going to be standardized--and I am praying that it won't be, frankly, because I think it introduces numerous disadvantages for the average consumer and few real benefits--then (IMO) what we really need is a new way of connecting brake lines to levers that doesn't require a single-use compression olive. As much as I dislike the concept of headset cable routing, a lot of the annoyances that it creates could at least be mitigated if major brake manufacturers would introduce a brake line connection that could be repeatedly and reliably disconnected and reconnected in a simple way. (Yes, I know some people re-use the olive & barb on their brakes, but officially it's discouraged, and following manufacturer directions is important for CYA purposes if you're in a professional capacity.) I know there are a couple of quick-disconnect mechanisms out there but the current ones all seem too bulky to work with integrated routing.
I still prefer external routing or sensible internal routing (e.g. guided tubes or large exit ports), but *if* the bike industry is going to push this dumb nonsense then let's see some concomitant innovation in other parts of the system to make it less cumbersome.
I think what you (and I) don't want is for it to be commonplace or, worse, to be the norm on MTBs. That means it will be hard to find conventional internal routing, and that will suck.
I held out on internal routing for as long as possible, and will still only pick fully sleeved options (I've done the foam tube bullshit, so stupid), and ideally 1-entry/1-exit style like Specialized did for a bit wear they don't even exit to go from front triangle to rear triangle.
I won't buy through-headset routing unless it's literally the only option. And since I'm not looking to add batteries to my bike anytime soon (except for lights because that's the only way to ride at night which is great), so I'll always have 3 cables to route which makes through-headset even less ideal.
GT's old force was Great, the cables ran the down the middle, ontop of downtube, kinda tucked in.
Wish brand would work on External routing more, Hide it with plastic covers or something.
im so over the whole internal routing BS im slowly converting my bikes to AXS, recently got 3 x GX AXS kits on special.
Acros: hey Catalog Frame Company, use this stupid-ass headset to make your next frame look cool, plus then you can save money on manufacturing since you won't need to do all the tube-in-tube layups
Catalog Frame Company: ka-ching! consider it done!
Bike Company Exec: I've never actually worked on a bike, but that looks cool! I'll take a million of them!
Cutting only a slit lengthwise into a tube COMPLETELY changes the stiffness characteristics of said tube. Let alone putting a fairly large hole into it (case in point, in frame storage).
It also fits that generally cable routing still seems a struggle for some brands, where you can clearly see they thought about it at the very end of the developing process and somehow slapped a half-baked solution on the (nearly finished) frame...
>MTB
pick one.
Or maybe it'll be a non-issue for them because they are used to tearing down and rebuilding their bikes at least once a weekend...
I stopped working in a shop before I ever touched this for roadbikes, so I'm deferring to other mechanics' opinions and they seem a tad negative
Transition's latest (e)bike does not have through-the-headset routing. I feel like it is somewhat telling to the desired market of each bike.
Bikes I see with T-T-H cable routing seem to usually be oriented towards "more money than experience" kind of riders... Though not all of them because some really do seem to think it's the right idea (I think they're wrong)
Totally worth it.
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