Rear cables - crossed round headset?

John Hearns said:

Yes, this is a stupid question to ask.
I'm putting my new Subway 8 together today.
The question is about the routing of the rear brake and gear
cables. Out of the box the cables routed from the lever down the 'same
side' of the headset then the down tube.
Seems more natural to me for the cables to 'cross over'
or am I barking and I will end up with them catching when I steer?

You wouldn't be the first to cross the cables on a bike so I suppose it
can work fine. I think whatever the most natural route is must depend on:
head tube length, length of cables, handlebar height, type of
brakes/shifters (ie. where & how the cable is coming from).

~PB

John Hearns said:

Yes, this is a stupid question to ask.
I'm putting my new Subway 8 together today.
The question is about the routing of the rear brake and gear
cables. Out of the box the cables routed from the lever down the 'same
side' of the headset then the down tube.
Seems more natural to me for the cables to 'cross over'
or am I barking and I will end up with them catching when I steer?

Sheldon Brown crosses his cables. I've tried it both ways and I can't
feel any real difference. It probably makes more sense for setups like
Campga Ergopower, where the cables leave the bar tape rather close to
the head tube and you need to do everything possible to keep the bending
radius nice and wide.

A wide bend radius is always going to result in less drag - that's why
lots of bikes come with crossed cables.

If you cross the cables, you may not have anough slack to turn the
handlebars to "full lock" (as far as they will go before something hits
the frame). In that case, if you ever fall off, Mr Sod will make sure
the handlebars get wrenched around and your rear brake gets knackered
(lever, cable, or caliper).

--
Peter Headland