With full cable runs through the frame, do you suffer any rattling? I’ve just the zip ties left long trick and it seems to work.

I know someone who says they wrapped window weather seal around the cable housing.

I’m tempted to look for some foam tubes to use next time but struggling to find the best foam. Closed cell but pretty soft I guess.

Any other bright ideas?

I’ve used sports tape before, worked a treat.

Marked which bit of the cable would be in the frame and just wrapped it.

Argh, by a few seconds 🙂

On a more serious tip. I’ve used the fluffy side of Velcro stuck to the cable outers.
You can buy it cheap from eBay per meter or b&q or maplin if you need it fast.

This is what Ibis recommend:

https://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/123/3614/=175c903

part number 4339T1 on that page.

I keep meaning to find a uk supplier as I use the zip ties currently and they’re not perfect.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Black-180cm-Length-9mm-Thickness-Air-Conditioning-Pipe-Cold-Hose/291744354076?_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D40656%26meid%3Ddac592c5739e4f889ca4584940531f14%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D121453806431

That’s the closest i can easily find…. i’ve bought some and will report back 🙂

Both of those m nos are interestingly by. I’ve been looking for epdm tubing but it seems to be overly expensive stuff in the UK.

What gibberish did I type earlier?
Anyway, I’m struggling to find a reasonably priced source of elem tubing in the UK. Any ideas?

The foam tube things that Specialized supply with the Epic frames work really well. Not sure if you can buy them separately though.
I was speaking to someone at the weekend who was saying that his LBS had used expanding foam in the tubes to stop cables rattling on his new build.

I was speaking to someone at the weekend who was saying that his LBS had used expanding foam in the tubes to stop cables rattling on his new build.

Name and Shame!

As above go to any Speshulized retailer and ask for some foamy offcuts as half of the foam they supply won’t actually fit in the frame.

My foamy stuff arrived yesterday, it seems a bit too thick at the moment, but i won’t know until i try it as it does seem fairly squidgy happily. So i’ll whip the gear cable inner out and try that tonight.

I assume that’s a closed cell foam?

I don’t know what a closed cell foam is. Do you mean whether it has a cut down its length? The answer is no to that.

I’m going to remove gear cable and slide down the length, first test is to see if i can get it in the frame hole.

Sorry, I meant closed vs open. In a closed cell foam, the air pockets are sealed. In an open cell foam, they act like a sponge and can absorb water (and weight)

Oh god knows mate.

Well it went in, kinda. But of squeezing, pushing etc and I’ve got the gear length done. Whether or not that fixes it, who knows. We’ll see

Glad to hear it’s in. Didn’t sound too dramatic.

In my own experience, check it isnt your headset rattling….ahem…

Can one of you explain how to use zip ties to reduce rattle? I get what I called ‘cable buzz’, and it drives me crazy.

You pull 3 zip ties tight around the housing pointing in different directions. The idea is, they help hold the cable centrally.

Weeksy, how are you getting on with the air conditioning hose?

It seemed to improve but not 100% resolve. I think the issue was that i couldn’t thread it down the WHOLE length from one end. What i think i really need to do to completely fix it is do half and half, from the headtube end and also from the BB end. That should then cover 100% and resolve all the issues. Certainly no reason i can’t do it, it just means throwing another gear cable in there.
I was going to wait until next month when i re-fit the front mech and shifter as that’s another cable so was going to do it all then.

If i were being brutally harsh, i’d say this particular hose isn’t perfect, it’s a bit too thick, but it’s very squidgy. I think one with a smaller external diameter would be better/easier to thread down the length.

I’ll give it 6/10 at this stage

Cheers. It seems tricky to find anything quite like that McMaster-Carr stuff from the states.

That looked to have a very low density and a thin wall.

Still doesn’t bloody work. Went to Afan… still cable rattle.

I did this for a brake hose but it might work for a cable… I pulled the hose taut where it enters the downtube, then put a small cable tie on tight to stop the hose slipping back down inside. Then put a tiny drop of superglue on the cable tie to stop that slipping on the hose. Works perfectly.

Zip tie worked for me.

slackboy – how do you get that inside the downtube?

It’s used to route the cables externally.

Long, thick zip ties. It’s not hard.

Not needed on current bike thankfully, as it has a cable ‘lasso’ point on the downtube.

Wasn’t convinced that zip ties were doing a good enough job. I’ve switched to air conditioning hose over the weekend so let’s see how that goes.

I had some pipe lagging/air con pipe on my last bike which worked well but was a fiddle and took a bit of trail and error to get right.

Latest build just has internal routing for the reverb so used electrical tape to wrap it together with the rear brake hose from the lever to where it enters the frame, hose is pulled tight at the seat post end so have no rattling at all as it is secured at both end.

Easiest solution Ive found so far by a long way and looks tidy too.