PSA: I used to think cable housing length didn't matter that much

I was up at Ride Royal Blue in Tennessee last month helping a buddy set up his trail bike. He had this crazy long front brake housing that looped way out before the stop. I told him it was fine, just trim it later. Then a local mechanic came over and showed me how much that extra 8 inches was adding to lever mush. He had me hold the housing straight against the frame while I squeezed the lever and I felt the difference instantly. I went home and shortened my own lines and now I can't believe I ever rode with all that extra length. Anybody else ever get shown up by a stranger at a trailhead?

2 comments

2 Comments

oliviapatel17d ago

Honestly, that "just trim it later" thing is so real. I had a buddy who kept his dropper post cable like a foot too long because he was too lazy to cut it. We were out at Tsali last fall and his post kept getting stuck halfway up on climbs. We tried everything, lubed it, pulled it out by hand, nothing worked. Finally a random guy eating lunch at the trailhead saw us fiddling with it and was like, "Your housing is kinked where it loops around the motor." He was right. That extra loop was putting a sharp bend in the cable. We trimmed it right there with a multi-tool and it worked perfect after that. I felt like such an idiot.

harper_singh1816d ago

That multi-tool fix at the trailhead is legendary. I gotta ask though - what kind of multi-tool did he use? Because I've seen guys try to cut cable housing with those little pliers on a Leatherman and it ends up all frayed. The random guy at Tsali must have had something with a proper cutting slot or a blade that actually worked. I've been there with a kinked dropper cable myself, it's such a dumb problem but the fix feels like magic.