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installing foam sleeve to silence cables bouncing inside frame. But how?

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ShortTravelMag

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Discussion starter · #1 ·
Santa Cruz Blur, 2024 model...I swapped brakes, and now rear brake hose is bouncing around.

It did not when I got the bike a few months ago, with oem Sram Level brakes. So if they had a foam thing to stop the noise, I pulled the old hose out leaving it inside.

I bought a new pack of rubber hose stuff, but how on earth will I install it, or get the old sleeve out, when the holes on the Blur are just barely big enough for the cable?

Many online videos show frames with big old openings where you can just pop the hose off the lever, slide down the hose, shove it in the hole, and that's it. But no way I can fit the rubber thing over the hose AND squeeze it through that hole.

And the hose enters the BB area way forward of the bb hole, so that won't really work.

Is there something I'm missing here? Through the head tube after I take off the whole fork? Somehow do it through there?

Image

Image
 
#2 ·
ShortTravelMag said:
Through the head tube after I take off the whole fork? Somehow do it through there?
Click to expand...
You answered your own question.

1. Cut your brake hose.
2. Take your fork off.
3. Pull your hose back through the front hole (by pulling from the exposed section by BB).
4. Push your hose through the top of the head tube.
5. Install foam tubing (cut it to the length of the distance between the holes)
6. Route your hose back through the front hole.
7. New barb, olive, etc. Re-install hose to lever.
8. Bleed brake
 
Discussion starter · #3 ·
NoahColorado said:
You answered your own question.

1. Cut your brake hose.
2. Take your fork off.
3. Pull your hose back through the front hole (by pulling from the exposed section by BB).
4. Push your hose through the top of the head tube.
5. Install foam tubing (cut it to the length of the distance between the holes)
6. Route your hose back through the front hole.
7. New barb, olive, etc. Re-install hose to lever.
8. Bleed brake
Click to expand...
Never had to do that before, actually my only other internal routed frame, a Trek, has a zip tie builtin the downtube to cinch them all down.

Thanks for the confirmation though. Here we go...
 
#6 ·
remove the fork.. youll see the opening to the downtube.. Get a memory foam topper (link -$17) and cut a piece that is a bit bigger then your downtube.. Roll the memory foam so its a compressed "worm".. Push it down your downtube.. When it expands it should fill the tube and keep the brake hoses from flopping around.. If for some reason you need to redo it-- just pull the foam out and cut another piece off of the topper and try it again..
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Interesting option. I wasn’t sure if I had a hole in the headtube for sure. I wasn’t in the mood to drop the fork out only to find out I should have removed the crank.
I’m betting the old foam sleeve is inside the tube still.
 
#9 ·
ShortTravelMag said:
Santa Cruz Blur, 2024 model...I swapped brakes, and now rear brake hose is bouncing around.

It did not when I got the bike a few months ago, with oem Sram Level brakes. So if they had a foam thing to stop the noise, I pulled the old hose out leaving it inside.

I bought a new pack of rubber hose stuff, but how on earth will I install it, or get the old sleeve out, when the holes on the Blur are just barely big enough for the cable?

Many online videos show frames with big old openings where you can just pop the hose off the lever, slide down the hose, shove it in the hole, and that's it. But no way I can fit the rubber thing over the hose AND squeeze it through that hole.

And the hose enters the BB area way forward of the bb hole, so that won't really work.

Is there something I'm missing here? Through the head tube after I take off the whole fork? Somehow do it through there?

View attachment 2154259
View attachment 2154258
Click to expand...
Fork removal required, like the others have written. Replying because I have shared their pain. Some bikes have a bolt on cap that provides more clearance. Not this time.
I went through this last year with a NOS carbon Marin Attack Pro. Even worse because the cable ports were on the head tube where the headset was in the way. Hours of pushing, pulling, pliers, cables as guides, scraped knuckles, inch worming foam jackets. It was awful.

A month later and the seat tube cracked straight through. Ha!

The next bike was not Marin and has external cable routing.
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
I have a bottle of that goo you put on household wires when feeding through conduit. It’s slippery as heck, and then dries completely. I was thinking of using that if I can’t easily slide the foam sleeve all the way down the hose inside. I’ll find out tomorrow.
 
#11 ·
ShortTravelMag said:
I have a bottle of that goo you put on household wires when feeding through conduit. It’s slippery as heck, and then dries completely. I was thinking of using that if I can’t easily slide the foam sleeve all the way down the hose inside. I’ll find out tomorrow.
Click to expand...
Pinch inboard side of foam, push from outboard side to wrinkle it up and pinch. Release inboard side and foam inch worms forward.
 
#12 ·
The foam that SC installed at the factory is still in the frame, it's easy to remove with any number of tools when you remove the fork as has been suggested you can see into the downtube. Cheap hemostats, needle nosed plier etc are first choices. You do not need to remove it, but if you do, you don't need to buy new stuff.

Come on people, the few bike tools that are actually needed are not expensive. Get a internal cable routing kit and laugh out loud when you use the right tool the first time. Yes, you can spend more, but bougie tools don't do much more than cost more. Amazon.com : COONIUM Bike Internal Cable Routing Tool Kit Compatible with 4-5.5mm Cable Housing, Hydraulic Hose and DI2 E-Tube : Sports & Outdoors

Not using an internal cable routing kit is akin to using Vice Grips to install your BB cups in a threaded frame. Yes, you can, but it's not the right tool for that job.

You will need to pull new cable housing through the frame when you replace dropper line sooner than later... so get something like this, Bicycle Threading Cable Tool&Bicycles Internal Cable Routing Tool Traction Rope | eBay and attach one end to the old housing and the other end to the new housing and just pull the new right through the foam tube and out the other hole in the frame. To make it easier you can get some of that electricians wire lube, or cheap silicone spray at the hardware store. In the end, its just a fucking bicycle, over 90% of the thing can be taken apart with a tri wrench. Loosen the stem bolts and drop the fork. Get a $4 tube of grease at WalMart, clean and re- grease everything metal that touches anything else, including the carbon frame. mmm, quiet.



DT
 
#14 ·
You may be able to get access from the bottom by removing the lower pivot. I had to do that on an older Yeti. I have a Jagwire magnetic cable fishing kit but it only works about 1/3 the time. My success rate is much higher just using a very strong magnet on the outside to lead a bare metal cable through the frame.
 
#15 ·
SB Trails said:
View attachment 2154363

as you can see-- the tubes are open.. Remove fork. Go in though bottom with your rolled up memory foam. Push the memory foam snake down the down tube. Let it expand and you should be all good..
Click to expand...
Instructions unclear, cut frame in half to add foam to brake lines, now my frame doesn't go back together 😆
 
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Discussion starter · #17 ·
Well, I gave it a go tonight. Dropped the fork, and the headtube area is WIDE open in there. I bought a lighted endoscope and put it down the tube to see what I could find...even recorded it for fun:


Then made a pointy ended hook thing and pulled them out, reused the one, and I learned a little something tonight. Been working on bikes for 30+ years, yet I never seem to have all the tools and doodads I "need". So now I'm ready to go.

Thanks for guiding me, literally, through the head tube area.
 
#18 ·
ShortTravelMag said:
Well, I gave it a go tonight. Dropped the fork, and the headtube area is WIDE open in there. I bought a lighted endoscope and put it down the tube to see what I could find...even recorded it for fun:


Then made a pointy ended hook thing and pulled them out, reused the one, and I learned a little something tonight. Been working on bikes for 30+ years, yet I never seem to have all the tools and doodads I "need". So now I'm ready to go.

Thanks for guiding me, literally, through the head tube area.
Click to expand...
Cool video (y) What endoscope did you get?
The frame is surprisingly 'wrinkly' for that price point.
 
Discussion starter · #19 ·
Discussion starter · #20 ·
Next time I work on my old top fuel I’ll scope inside the frame too. Just to compare. I’ve already found many uses for the scope around the house. Really pretty amazing technology for very little money.
 
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ShortTravelMag
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