top mounted brake levers for 'cross

One of the Alexes said:

I just got a pair of Tektro(RX 2.0) top-mounted brake levers for the cross bike I'm building. The
instructions say that you need to run a full length of brake housing for the rear brake, that is,
between the top tube bosses on the bike.

Balderdash!

Quoted message said:

I'm having a hard time seeing why this is necessary

It isn't.

Quoted message said:

Has anyone else set these or similar levers up and what was your experience with running the rear
brake housing?

No problem.

Sheldon "Ignore That Nonsense" Brown +---------------------------------------------+
| "It's perfectly intelligible," | the captain said, in an offended tone, | "to anyone that
| understands such things." |
+---------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone
617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗ sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

Thanks much!

--A

Sheldon Brown <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

One of the Alexes said:

I just got a pair of Tektro(RX 2.0) top-mounted brake levers for the cross bike I'm building.
The instructions say that you need to run a full length of brake housing for the rear brake,
that is, between the top tube bosses on the bike.

Balderdash!

Quoted message said:

I'm having a hard time seeing why this is necessary

It isn't.

Quoted message said:

Has anyone else set these or similar levers up and what was your experience with running the
rear brake housing?

No problem.

Sheldon "Ignore That Nonsense" Brown +---------------------------------------------+
| "It's perfectly intelligible," | the captain said, in an offended tone, | "to anyone that
| understands such things." |
+---------------------------------------------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone
617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 harriscyclery.comharriscyclery.comOpen ↗ Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
captainbike.comcaptainbike.comOpen ↗ sheldonbrown.comsheldonbrown.comOpen ↗

Sheldon Brown <[email hidden]> wrote in message

Quoted message said:

Balderdash!

Quoted message said:

Sheldon "Ignore That Nonsense" Brown

I set my own up without the full housing (unsurprisingly, theyre doing fine), and even posted to ask
why the instructions said to run full housing. i dont think i ever got a response as to why tektro
reccomended this.

any ideas?

it is my understanding that the more housing there is, the squooshier the brake. as long as you dont
think the braze ons are going to pop off, i cant fathom an exlpanation.

anthony

Sheldon Brown <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

One of the Alexes said:

The instructions say that you need to run a full length of brake housing for the rear brake...
I'm having a hard time seeing why this is necessary

It isn't.

Full-length cable outers are frequently used on mountain bikes (and one would assume cross bikes),
to limit the number of points where mud and gunge can get in to the cable.

There's a trade off between initial performance (straight out of the workshop, 2-piece cable outers
don't compress as much) and longevity of performance (after a few hours in the mud, 1-piece cable
outers aren't as stiff and sticky with mud).

My personal preference is for a 3/4 rear derailer cable outer (exposed cable across the top tube,
enclosed down the seat stay), and "standard" brake outers. I zip-tie the cable outer next to the
stops that it was supposed to go through.

fs