I’ve just got a Valk RT5 and it has tourney levers with side exit cables, they are routed under the bar tape. Should I change it?
by slapnut_magoos
I’ve just got a Valk RT5 and it has tourney levers with side exit cables, they are routed under the bar tape. Should I change it?
by slapnut_magoos
12 Comments
I would…literally never seen that. Prob gonna shift like crap already, this will make it worse. I never knew they had drop bar Tourney levers.
Ive seen this at a bike Coop recently in another variation of the used bike that had the bars taped by someone unclear on the concept. It actually takes skill and knowledge to tape the bars correctly. Spend $30 or so my advice and get it done right. Not easy to do when people dont know how and their first time doing it also spells trouble 😵💫
I had Shimano 6600 and it actually shifted really lightly. Brakes have improved since but the shifting hardly, until Di2.
I wouldn’t route the cable like this. Shifting might be alright initially but cable and cable housing degradation will be accelerated which just means shitty shifting far sooner.
If it shifts ok then I would leave it.
That is not ideal. The cables will drag excessively.
If that’s yours pictured, that bend doesn’t look bad at all. As long as it’s got a decent housing and cable in it will be fine.
Used to be common to see this as a hack on old 7800 and 6600 era shimano shifters. Done for mainly aero reasons. The side exit shifters are still the smoothest of all time and still see them used at cx races because of that. Made using puppy paws a lot easier as well as you could grab the cables for more stability.
Never see that routing on these shifters
The only thing to keep an eye out for with shift cable routing is that the cable stops and ferrule junctions are inline with each other. Harsh angles at the exit/entry points create negative friction and will split the ferrules and hasten the wear of the housing.
Sure, longer housing and multiple curves in the housing can create minute friction, barely perceptible by the average rider. If you want buttery smooth shifting, then lube the cables (with something like Tri-flow or Cable Magic )
i would free them, yes.
I use my shift cables to hold on to to get AERO
The best way to insure lack of friction is a natural loop. Any time you force or restrain the housing, you increase the friction and decrease the life of the cables and housing.