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I'm putting together my first drop bar bike. The carbon handlebars have a front and rear channel to take the hoses and cables, both ending at the brifters. Since the GRX 400 brifters have their connectors inboard (right) it seems most sensible simply to run the cables straight around the front channel (which starts right behind the connectors).
However, there hoses/cables are fairly stiff and want to do their own thing; taped with electrical tape into the front channel they eventually stretch the tape and work back under the bars. Unsecured they run under the bar and then sit quite close to the rear channel.
I appreciate that the bar tape will hold them in place in the front channel and it's a tidier solution, but they have to be forced into place, so is there any advantage to running them at the rear where they seem to want to be? They run under the bar and up to the rear channel over unchanneled bar.
Sorry, it's probably a stupid ask but I'm completely new to this.
Can you post a photo of where the hose and cable want to naturally sit, showing the channels as well?
I've no lights in the shed, so it'll have to be tomorrow I'm afraid.
I go front channel with my GRX bike. Electrical tape is naturally quite stretchy, maybe go for thin strips of gaffer tape or even rim tape if you have a roll end of something fairly sticky.
I always put one wrap of electrical tape by the first bend and another just before the bar tape will end. Cables under the bar (shortened to minimum for turning to stop the spaghetti factory explosion/lasso look) if the outer cables are particularly stiff and hard to tape together try doing them individually.
Cabling and tape wrap are my favourite parts of bike building
I always use PVC electrical tape first to hold the cables in position, check lever positions/angles and if needed a ride around the block. Makes adjusting/re-wrapping the bar tape a lot easier plus when you come to replace it, it doesn’t leave any sticky residue.
I'm using electrical tape but over time it's stretching and the cables are working their way round behind (it's been a slow build and I've been riding it a bit to settle on position). I do have some narrow Gorilla tape but was warned off using this as it leaves a gunky residue. I suspect that I need to electrical tape it then wrap the bars to hold it in place.
The front channel does seem the best route and I wouldn't have doubted it if the cables didn't seem to have have decided otherwise.
I have some reinforced strapping tape that came in the box with some redshift squidgy grips.
Is a smidge stronger than electrical tape and keeps everything in place.
I do have some narrow Gorilla tape but was warned off using this as it leaves a gunky residue.
Is this a problem? It's under bar tape so not sure why it would be an issue (and surely IPA would remove any residue anyway...)
PVC Electrical tape has always worked for me. Helps if done inside so plastic part of hose is at room temperature so a bit more flexible. Some cable ties to hold the cables in place at the tighter bends might help whilst apply 3-4 wraps of electrical tape at each point. Also start each wrap with a loop round the cable outer to pull it away from the direction it wants to go. It just takes a bit of practice really.
Decent electrical tape, wrapped a decent number of times, shouldn't be stretching like that. You certainly shouldn't need cable ties for gear cables or brake hoses on drop bars.
The Park Tool bar taping video with Calvin is usually my go to.
Sorry, dreadful photos & please ignore the state of the shed/lawn etc.
The most obvious way to run the cables is straight around the front channel:
However the cables are quite tight in this position and want to work their way around the bar to the back where they seem to sit more naturally. I think that I'm more inclined to stick with the front channel though as the bar tape should hold them in place.
A quick check and cables are out front on my bike which was taped and finished to a high standard by LBS.
You should be fine as long as front cable length isn’t too long or short. Given how cold it is at the moment you may want to tape indoors as hoses and tape will have a bit more flex.
I suspect that I need to electrical tape it then wrap the bars to hold it in place.
That's normal, all cables try and move around until you get them properly secured, it's not a PJay problem.
I've been doing two loops of electrical tape per side and then wrap since concealed cables were invented, and never had an issue with the cables moving after the wrapping was completed.
Ah, flared bars are making the exit a funny angle. That won’t help.
+1 for getting it inside the house to warm up. Maybe even stand it next to a radiator.
I've used Gorilla tape in the past to hold some particularly recalcitrant Yokzuma brake cable in place on my road bike in the past. It works fine and will save you hours of searching out 'premium' electrical tape, which will still stretch anyway. It's under your bar-tape, even proper roadie fascists will never know that you've breached one of road cycling's tedious points of etiquette 😉
+1 for strips of duct/cloth/gaffer/gorilla tape. Doesn't matter if it makes a mess as it's hidden.
It's been a while since I did any tape other than my own bars, but the rear channel is used for some levers, and some even have multiple holes in the hoods so you can run them out either way.
I have those bars too, I took more leccy tape than usual to hold down before wrapping, I enlisted a second pair of hands to put the tape round while I held the cables just where I wanted them.
Edit: if extra hands aren’t available, nothing wrong with zip tieing into shape then taping alongside the tie before cutting it off.
3M leccy tape and warmth will help no end.
Cheaper tape is a bit slidey.
smiffy's right. There's electrical tape... and there's 3M Scotch Super 88 (33 is the same but slightly narrower).
You won't regret spending a bit more on insulation tape ever again 🙂