Almost sure that you need to use full length housing and route it through the frame. What frame is it btw?

 

Agree. It sounds like a full length housing scenario. If it were meant to be bare cables, it would need cable stops (actually housing stops) at each end where the housing would terminate and the entry/exit of the frame. Also, bare cables need something between them and aluminum/carbon they would rub on to prevent them from cutting in.

 

Thanks, I was worried about the cable cutting in. It just seemed like that is what most frames do. It is a Chinese fat bike frame from Aliexpress. Tideace is the store.

 

It just seemed like that is what most frames do.

I wouldn't go so far as to say most frames do one thing or another. There are several different ways of handling cable routing. Plenty of bikes put cable stops on the frame and run interrupted housing for the parts inside the frame. Quite a few don't use routing channels of any kind, whether they're full length housing or interrupted housing. I don't tolerate that crap anymore.

I'm personally not a fan of interrupted housings of any kind. And if it's going to be internal routing, I want channels.

 

Full housing only. There's too many advantages.

 

Optimally designed and set up, interrupted cables should be slightly better in that they'd have less friction, less housing compression and be lighter weight. The design is commonly not optimum and neither is the installation so they almost always wind up being worse than full length housings. Then there's the other benefit of full length housing, less opportunity for contamination to enter the housing. Of course the weight diff is pretty small and would matter only to hardcore weight weenies.

Running cables internally can be exasperating but isn't usually too tough if you're set up for it and have some experience and common sense. If there's one already run, it can almost always be used in some fashion to guide the new one through. Some frames have removable cable entry/exit covers that open pretty wide and ease fishing cable through. Basically you should have a few lengths of cable liner (thin plastic tubing that the cable fan fit through). And end-to-end housing/hose coupler can come in handy (Sram makes one) and the Park Tool internal routing kit can really come in handy.

 

Internal routing. Trebling your work for no real benefit. Gota love it! ;0)

 

My feelings as well. Internal routing is fashion over function IMO. If I owned a bike with internal routing, I expect I'd seal the frame ports and zip-tie full length housing outside the frame. But I understand I'm among the minority. So be it. We each have to make our own way.
=sParty

 

i purposely drilled out my frame grommets to be a slight interference fit with shimano sp41 housing on my 2017 topfuel 9.9 and 2016 domane 6 series. I put full length housing on everything for 2 reasons, servicability and the fact that you only have 2 "joints" rather than 4 where you need housing ends and blah blah. Shiting quality went up once replaced with full length and will do it on all my bikes. the trick...well "trick"...is to just use quality housing and cables and keep up on maintenance. 30 foot of shimano sp41 housing on amazon for 27 bucks, and the polymer cables are amazing.

 

30 foot of shimano sp41 housing on amazon for 27 bucks, and the polymer cables are amazing.

Are they like teflon ones? I've always had good results from those.

 

Shimano SP41 Shift Housing 33'/10M Roll | Jenson USA

Found it on sale at Jenson for $16.99

 

The worst internal routing is for dropper cables. If they get “stuck” around the bottom bracket it’s crank and bottom bracket pulling time just to remove your seat post! Well, that’s how a Trek I had was assembled at least. My current metal framed HT bike I squeezed a line for my Stealth dropper past a Praxis bottom bracket. That thing is CRAMMED in there, but it works fine as it’s a hydraulic line. There is no way a cable could make that routing.
But, to the OP, if I had the choice I’d run full length housing. Cleaner and easier. Plus, when you want to change the cable you got 2 full length pieces you can use to assist in routing each other through the frame.

 

I was dreading running internal cables on my wife's new Juliana Furtado (SC 5010) frame build, but I was pleasantly surprised with it having the carbon tubed cable routing. Just push it in and it comes out at the other end. WOW!

 

...I was pleasantly surprised with it having the carbon tubed cable routing. Just push it in and it comes out at the other end.

Heard of it, never seen it in the wild.

 

^^^ I think you are talking about something different. The carbon SC bikes have carbon tubes permanently molded inside the frame that you just push the housing through. Treks come with thin plastic tubes that guide the cables and which you remove after the cable is run.

 

Treks come with thin plastic tubes that guide the cables and which you remove after the cable is run.

Not mine, the bare cables just free float through the frame. I know my setup is different than the op's but I was only mentioning that not all internally routed systems are difficult.

 

Will the SP41 work well with SRAM shifters...is the diameter the same is my main concern?

 

Technically they are supposed to be slightly different but in practice you can swap them around without issue.