trunk rack bad for cables?

Jim Schlemmer said:

Any thoughts or opinions on the subject?

Since you asked, I thought I'd throw in my opinion.

Get your bike off the back of your car and RIDE it.

A trunk rack for a bicycle is a bit like buying a backpack at the store and putting it in a bag for
the trip home. (I've seen people do this!)

Anyway, get out of that deadly monster of a vehicle and get on your sensible human-scale
machine. Elmo King

I haven't seen any performance problems with my Giant OCR1 spending time on my Bones3 trunk rack,
but it has caused cosmetic damage to the paint on the bike. Where the cable is pressed into the top
tube it has rubbed through the paint. I'd advise putting something like a Lizard Skin carbon fiber
patch in the place where the cable will rub.

Bill

"Jim Schlemmer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi. I've had a MTB and a trunk mounted bike rack for a few months now. I like the set up but am
disturbed by the fact that the weight of the bicycle rests on the shifter and brake cables since
they're the type that runs under the top tube. I've had no end of rear derailleur problems, the
main one being sluggish shifting, and figure the rack situation can't be helping matters any.

Any thoughts or opinions on the subject? Are there kits to move a cable to the side or top of
the tube?

Thanks,

Jim

(Jim Schlemmer) said:

Hi. I've had a MTB and a trunk mounted bike rack for a few months now. I like the set up but am
disturbed by the fact that the weight of the bicycle rests on the shifter and brake cables since
they're the type that runs under the top tube. I've had no end of rear derailleur problems, the
main one being sluggish shifting, and figure the rack situation can't be helping matters any.

What rack do you have? I had a Rhode Gear rack that had rubber holders for the bicycle, and they
included indentations for the cables to stand free in.

Quoted message said:

Any thoughts or opinions on the subject? Are there kits to move a cable to the side or top of
the tube?

I've never heard of such a kit, but it may be easy enough to do anyway. Alternatively, you could
create some sort of mount to protect the cables, or maybe just wrap the top tube in a piece of
pipe-insulation before putting it on the rack. For that matter, you could put the pipe insulation on
the rack instead.

Quoted message said:

Thanks,

Jim

--
Rick Onanian

"Jim Schlemmer" <[email hidden]> wrote in message =
"]news:[email hidden]...
| Hi. I've had a MTB and a trunk mounted bike rack for a few months now. I like the set up but am
| disturbed by the fact that the weight of the bicycle rests on the shifter and brake cables since
| they're the type that runs under the top tube. I've had no end of rear derailleur problems, the
| main one being sluggish shifting, and figure the rack situation can't be helping matters any.
|=20
| Any thoughts or opinions on the subject? Are there kits to move a cable to the side or top of
| the tube?

What kind of MTB is it? I mean, what kind of real MTB routs cables that = way? They ought to be
all on the top to keep gunk out of them and also = when you need to shoulder the bike on
impossible sections.

I can't see how the rack is gonna affect the shifting, but the first = thing I'd do is change the
cable with something coated and make certain = the housing ends don't have any burrs. Next, I'd make
sure the rear der = is clean and oiled and likewise for the shifter. =20

I have seen damage to frames as well from the cable rubbing against the = top tube on road bikes.
This is usually the rear brake cable. An easy = way to prevent this is to open the break release,
and route the now = looser cable around the other side of the retaining strap. Also, a = small rag
between the cable and the frame can help. Of course, the = suggestion to ride to the trail head is a
great one too. It's a good = way to warm up and do a checkout of everything in a smooth and less =
challenging situation. But maybe you are too far from the trails?

[email hidden] (Jim Schlemmer) wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi. I've had a MTB and a trunk mounted bike rack for a few months now. I like the set up but am
disturbed by the fact that the weight of the bicycle rests on the shifter and brake cables since
they're the type that runs under the top tube. I've had no end of rear derailleur problems, the
main one being sluggish shifting, and figure the rack situation can't be helping matters any.

Any thoughts or opinions on the subject? Are there kits to move a cable to the side or top of
the tube?

Thanks,

Jim

Dear Jim,

Perhaps the weight of your bike, dangling or clamped, can deform a wound-steel outer cable against
the inner braided cable, but such damage would probably be visible if you looked. The cable is more
likely to rub paint off your frame.

A cheap, crude solution might be more padding if your carrier lacks enough rubber for a thin cable
to sink in while the frame is supported. Some carpet scraps, or perhaps a short section or two of
old bicycle tire, easy to find, a few moments to cut with wire-cutters, and a cinch to slap on where
your carrier meets your bike. Failing that, the local bike shop can probably give you a few old
inner tubes.

Depending on your carrier style, re-routing the cables on top might be little improvment--some clamp
from above as well as below.

As for those gratuituous comments about riding instead of carrying your bike, just smile and
remember that other people who live more limited lives may be grumpy.

Carl Fogel

Elmo Spam King <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Jim Schlemmer said:

Any thoughts or opinions on the subject?

Since you asked, I thought I'd throw in my opinion.

Get your bike off the back of your car and RIDE it.

A trunk rack for a bicycle is a bit like buying a backpack at the store and putting it in a bag
for the trip home. (I've seen people do this!)

Anyway, get out of that deadly monster of a vehicle and get on your sensible human-scale machine.
Elmo King

Dear Elmo,

Perhaps Jim likes to take his bicycle with him on trips to places where you and I might enjoy
riding. I've seen people do this, though I've never done it myself. Like you, I'm a bit limited.

Let's hope that Jim's a nice enough fellow not to point out how silly it is for folks like you and
me with no apparent experience with trunk racks to be chattering at him.

Wouldn't it be a deadly riposte on your part if you could suggest some things that might help Jim's
sluggish shifting?

Frankly, I'm doubtful that the trunk carrier is causing his problem, but I use such old-fashioned
down-tube friction shifters with exposed cable runs that I haven't a clue what might be going on
with sluggish-shifting modern mountain bike.

Carl Fogel