Very long 'noodle pipe' under drop bar tape?

[SA_SA_SA]

It occurred to me that replacing the brake outer on drop bars with aero levers involves the hassle of un-taping and re-taping the bars:

but that once in position the hidden cable does not move, so could be a rigid shaped metal tube like a 'V noodle', with a similar low friction plastic inner liner:

if the taping is done so that levers can be loosened/removed easily, then could the liner be replaced with outer 'pipe' in situ?

[pickerd1]

Great idea assuming you always keep the same levers with the same bars.
This can be done with ordinary cable outers if you use an inline adjuster at the stem end.

[beardy]

I believe that there is a sleeve that you can put under your bar tape to run cables in, enabling you to change inners and outers without removing the tape.

I have never actually seen one but I have seen them in assembly diagrams.

[iandriver]

Might rely on the bend in the bars being a constant, which I doubt it is.

[Brucey]

you can get both infill/cover pieces (brake cable only) and housing joiners to go under the bar tape. They used to come in Dura-Ace cable kits but are still available separately.

If you think the cable housing (liner) under the bar tape isn't going to wear out between bar taping sessions, you can use the joiners under the bar tape near the stem. This also helps in maintenance, because you can access the housing or change the rest of it without untaping the bars.

in the long run whether it is an overgrown noodle or cable housing the liner wears and then it will have to be changed. If there were a rigid pipe with a liner, where the liner could be changed easily, that could make a lot of sense.

cheers

[[XAP]Bob]

Or a place for the cable to run inside the bars, maybe I shouldn't suggest that....

[reohn2]

I can't see why anyone would go to such trouble,unwrapping the bars to the hoods is a ten minute job once every year or two to replace the cable.
Also a plastic liner inside a noodle pipe would wear out much the same way as a normal cable,which would need changing anyway,so no advantage,unless the plastic inner could be stripped out of a noodle pipe.

[SA_SA_SA]

I....a plastic liner inside a noodle pipe would wear out much the same way as a normal cable,which would need changing anyway,so no advantage,unless the plastic inner could be stripped out of a noodle pipe.

Yes, my idea was that the worn noodle inner cold be replaced with the 'noodle' in-situ.

[reohn2]

I....a plastic liner inside a noodle pipe would wear out much the same way as a normal cable,which would need changing anyway,so no advantage,unless the plastic inner could be stripped out of a noodle pipe.

Yes, my idea was that the worn noodle inner cold be replaced with the 'noodle' in-situ.

But would pulling it out and trying to rethread a new piece not be more difficult to do,than unwrapping the 'bars,replacing the cable,then rewrapping ?

[CREPELLO]

If you're going to have to make such a device, you'll need to bend the pipe to the precise shape of the bars which could be tricky I would have thought. Then there's procurement of the liner...take apart a conventional outer fro the liner?

As mentioned above, the Dura Ace conduit would be the thing, if it's still available. Or as R2 suggests, a 10 minute job of re-wrapping the upper bars.

[Norman H]

As an alternative to the Dura Ace solution, 8mm OD plastic airline tubing is about the right ID to use as a conduit for gear and brake outers.

http://www.advancedfluidsolutions.co.uk/metric-or-imperial-nylon--polyurethane-tubing-180-c.asp

Taped to double grooved bars the extra bulk is hardly noticeable and it allows you to replace outers without stripping the bar tape. I've even run the outers of my bar end shifters this way to exit the bar tape just short of the stem.