Cable lengths for Silvio build

[MarkAH]

All,

I am new to the forum and have on order a Silvio 2.0. Beginning to assemble the parts I need, and I have a question on the cable lengths. I will be using 10 speed Shimano 7800 components. Will the standard cable lengths for Shimano Durace shift and brake work? What length of cable housing do I need for the following:
Rear Brake
Front Brake
Front Derailleur
Rear Derailleur

 

[Jeremy S]

In a week or so I will be

In a week or so I will be recabling my bike and then I could give you measurements. Before then, maybe someone else has them handy.

The rear brake cable housing is potentially very long (much longer than standard) if you run a single piece of housing all the way from the handlebars, inside the frame, to the rear brake (as I did). Or I think John has recommended running a shorter piece of housing from the handlebar to the cable stop near the front of the frame, and then another short piece from the other end of the frame to the brake, but I'm not sure how this works out for the bit of cable inside the frame since it doesn't look like a straight run between the two stops.

In my case I could just walk over to my LBS any time I realized I needed more housing and they would cut a length for me for not much money. Hopefully you are in a similar situation.

 

[MarkAH]

Cable Lengths

Thanks Jeremy, if you could measure the lengths and report back that would be great. I do want to run a single piece of housing to the rear brake. I have built up several road and Mt. bikes in the past and like to run complete housing if I can.

 

[Ivan]

One can't give you exact

One can't give you exact cable lengths as it depends on the adjustment of your boom.

Suffice it to say that the standard housing that comes with a groupset will NOT be long enough but the standard uncut cable housing from an LBS will most likely be sufficient. I bought additional housing from a regular shop. It wasn't the super long housing for tandems, but the longest uncut length they had something like 1.9m and it was enough for me. I ran complete housing cos I didn't think that bare cable was okay inside the frame since it wasn't a straight line (but John says it's okay). Of course, the longest one needed is the rear brake housing. I think it's good to run full housing cos I also store stuff in my frame, like 2-3 inner tubes where the internal rear brake cable runs.

Ivan

 

[Eric Winn]

I tried full housing all the

I tried full housing all the way through the frame on my rebuild but didn't like it and went back to using 2 pieces of housing and the cable stops in the frame ports. I pushed two small rubber cable donuts onto the bare cable and spaced inside the frame on the wire about where it was most likely to contact the inside of the frame.

With the bit of housing bow coming out of my pivot cage to allow clearance for really tight turns (I regularly hit a very tight 180 degee) without binding on the cabling I get better brake feel using the two piece housing and cable stops.

-Eric

 

[Jeremy S]

Sounds like it's working well

Sounds like it's working well for you Eric, but I just don't get it. First of all the cable donuts on the outside of my DF never stay put. Second of all, on the Silvio at least (the Vendetta looks about the same, I guess the cable stops could be located differently) there is a huge bend in the body tube under the seat, between the cable stops, and it seems like a cable inside the frame would contact along the entire length of that bend.

 

[ratz]

Also for the Silvio....

I ran housing inside for three reasons.

1. We are running tubeless so I stashed the emergency Tube, Tubless Tire Wrench and patch kit down inside the frame. If I actually need a tube removing the seat will be a mirror addition to my hassles. This leaves a lot more room in the saddle bag for other ride specific items. I've also considered add a roar rash first add kit to the inside of the frame; but that's handy in the saddle bag to loan to other riders that don't plan ahead. Using the housing frees me from worrying about the supplies getting tangled with the cable
2. I couldn't fine a cable stop that fit the opening on the Silvio. It seems much larger than any frame entry point I have seen before. I'm not really happen with the way it working on our Silvios if anyone has specific info on which part is support to work with that opening please share the info.
3. Like Jeremy said it's a might tight turn in there and I can't see the donuts stayinng in the correct position.

As far as length to buy of housing Mountain bike REAR housing and Shift kits should be long enough for the bike in almost any orientation. So just by Qty 2 Rear Housing (shift and brake) in MTB size. In my case Front Road Bike break cables where too short in the housing but not the cable. True on both Silvios....

 

[Eric Winn]

The donut had not moved on my

The donut had not moved on my Vendetta when I very carefully pulled the cabling out during my re-build. I was looking for it as I was curious.

I tried to get a photo of it when I first built my V but the bare cable run using the cable stops seems to just barely clear touching anywhere on the inner frame walls. My intent was to put the donut at the closest point just in case. I also didn't see any sign of abrasion on the rubber donut either. The run on the V vs the S looks a bit different to me in the photos so ymmv.

The cable ports on the Vendetta are positioned such that the cable kind of "straightens the curve" without actually touching. Another thing I did when first assembling was to stick my ear down over one of the frame holes where the seat goes and pulling briskly back and forth on the cable to see if I could hear it rubbing. I could not. It might actually be rubbing a bit but the indications for mine is if it is it is very, very slight.

-Eric

 

[Jeremy S]

I finally got around to

I finally got around to recabling. Here are the measurements I got. Hopefully these might be useful.

As Ivan pointed out, actual lengths will depend on your adjustments. Specifically, how far out you put the handlebars (arm reach) will change the first housing measurement for the rear derailleur, front brake, and rear brake. Front derailleur measurements should be pretty constant. Changing the leg reach or total boom length should not change the housing measurements, but will change the FD cable length (you will need to retune your FD every time you adjust this).

I used a combination of regular cable housing and a thin cable liner (ordered online). You can use housing everywhere instead of liner, and as discussed above the rear brake can be handled with a single long piece of housing from the handlebar, through the frame, all the way to the brake.

For the rear brake routing I had trouble getting regular size brake cable ferrules to say in the frame entry/exit holes (they pulled through), however my frame came with needle-nose ferrules which seem to be larger and stay put in the entry/exit holes.

Front derailleur:
67 cm housing (from handlebar to stop on boom)
25 cm liner (loop around the bottom bracket)

Rear derailleur:
87 cm housing (from handlebar to first stop on fork)
37 cm housing (from second stop on fork to derailleur)

Front brake:
71 cm housing (from handlebar to brake)

Rear brake:
71 cm housing (from handlebar to frame entry point)
37 cm liner (inside the frame)
15 cm housing (from frame exit point to brake)

EDIT: Just discovered that even the needle-nose ferrules will pull through the frame ports with some braking force applied, so full housing all the way through it is...

 

[brokemyback]

Thanks for posting this (2 years ago!). I'm stopping by the LBS on the way home for housings and cables for my new Silvio. If my math is correct, it looks like 7 feet of shifter and 7 feet of derailleur cable will get me very close. Fedex says they just delivered it. Yay!

 

[Jeremy S]

Thanks for posting this (2 years ago!). I'm stopping by the LBS on the way home for housings and cables for my new Silvio. If my math is correct, it looks like 7 feet of shifter and 7 feet of derailleur cable will get me very close. Fedex says they just delivered it. Yay!

I hope you got extra (just in case), and good luck!

 

[brokemyback]

To keep the thread going, here's what I measured when I finished my cable runs.
(Inner cable lengths shown, outer cables are just slightly shorter)

Front Brake - 32 inches
Rear Brake - 60 inches
Front Derailleur - 53 inches
Rear Derailleur - 59 inches