Self-service your bike to save money and tears, plus tech Q&A – internal routing made easy and protect your frame against knocks
Your questions answered
The route to success
QI’m really struggling with the internal cable routing for my dropper seatpost. Any tips? Heather Prestwich, via email
A Different frames have different internal routing options, so it all depends on your bike. However, it’ll always be easier to do in a well-lit environment, maybe even with a head torch to help you see down the seat tube.
Generally, we’d start by removing the bottom bracket, as well as any cable clamps, removable guides and grommets (but remember to thread them over the new outer cable/hose, as appropriate, before threading it through). Some bikes have smaller tubes inside the main frame tubes to guide the cable/hose. These should, in theory, be fairly easy to use. You may just have to push, with a bit of a jabbing action, to get it to go around any corners that are causing you problems.
An old/unused inner gear cable can be slightly easier to route through the frame than the outer cable for your dropper. Get this in the right place and then use it as a guide, by gently sliding your outer cable over it. Remove the cable nipples before you start, though!
If the routing enters, exits, then enters the frame again to get past the BB, tools such as Park Tool’s IR-1.2 Internal Cable Routing Kit can make life easier (unless it’s a steel frame), by using magnets and flexible lines to pull the outer/hose through the frame. With a bit of skill/luck, you can simulate this with a thin but strong thread and a vacuum cleaner. Tie one end of the thread securely to the outer/hose, thread the other end into the entry hole and place the vacuum over the exit hole.
Otherwise, it’s often a case of perseverance and patience. Picks or a spoke with a hook bent into the end will often prove handy for fishing out cables.
Cover up for the cold
Q Any tips on protecting my frame coming into winter? It’s a Commencal Meta 29er and I don’t want my paintwork getting all scratched up!
Eoin Loughrey, via email
A There are plenty of things you can try, from bike-modelspecific products to generic frame kits that work fairly well. If you want some proper protection for the down tube, RockGuardZ (www.rock guardz.com) do a clip-on carbon fibre plate for that particular bike (£36), which sits over the lower portion of the tube. To cover more of the frame, various brands supply strong, stickytape-type protection. The best known are invisiFRAME (www.invisiframe. co.uk), who cut the panels specifically to fit your frame’s tubes. You can get a kit for the Commencal for £75, and they can fit it for you (for an additional cost) to get it absolutely perfect.
If you don’t want to go down the (pricier) frame-specific route, there are plenty of generic bike protection packs out there. HKT (www.hktproducts. co.uk), All Mountain Style (www.all mountainstyle.com) and Zéfal (www. chickencyclekit.co.uk), among others, offer kits at varying prices. The other, cheaper, option is a roll of ‘heli tape’, easily found online. You’ll have to cut and apply this yourself, but it’s fairly easy to do. Just make sure you get the frame very clean (isopropyl alcohol is your friend!) and use a hair-dryer to warm ups the tape for more effective adhesion and easier manipulation.