Cable routing

"Across the head tube" route setup

Apart from front brake (which run down direct to v-brake or disc brake caliper), rear brake, FD and RD require routing either via top tube, bottom tube or both (brake on top tube, while FD & RD on bottom tube).

"Across the head tube" route
FD which is on the left side, the cable runs across the head tube to the right side before tied to top (or bottom) tube. RD on the opposite, runs from right side across the head tube to the left then tied to top (bottom) tube. For rear brake, since I fit on left side, runs across the head tube to the right side of the bike.

"Same side" route
All cables run on same side of the bike, i.e. no cable cross the head tube.

Which is the best?
While there is no hard rules on how one should route the cable, I prefer "across the head tube" cable routing. I have 2 reasons of doing so: -
1. to reduce cable casing rub
Cable casing doesn't rubs on the head tube thus save the head tube's paintwork.

2. smoother cable movement
Cable routing has lesser degree bend in between 2 fixed position i.e. the lever's barrel adjuster and cable clamp on the top/bottom tube)

On my Spesh, FD & RD run on bottom tube. By default, casing stopper (I will lookup the actual term use for this little thing below my bottom tube) for FD on left, RD on the right. I overcome the situation by crossing the casing underneath the bottom tube (see photo below).



To all my muslim friends, Happy New Year!

Tire tread & rotational direction

Continental Explorer. Actual model fitted on my Scott.

For simplicity, you just fit tire to your wheel according to the direction as indicated on the sidewall. It meant to make your life easier after all. For those of you that want a better explanation, continue reading.

For passenger cars, tires can be bidirectional, inside/outside or rotational direction.
Bidirectional - your can never go wrong mounting the tire to the wheel.
Inside/outside - "Outside" is meant to be on the outer part of the wheel, i.e. the part where you see the tyre most of the time.
Rotational direction - it has the arrow that shows the direction of the tire when the car move forward. If mounted on the right side of the car (front or rear), the arrow indicator pointed to the your right side, if it on top most of the tire. (see photo below)

My focus is elaborate on rotational direction since that's the only concern for MTB'r.


Tyre fitted on wheel for right side of the car

On tarmac, rotational direction wasn't a major factor if you are driving in hot & sunny day. Rotational directional comes to its purpose when it's raining or you hit patch of water. The tread on rotational directional tire will "channel" out the water in between the tire and the tarmac away as to gain contact to the road. Without this, the tire will hydroplane (or aquaplane) and car will lost contact with the road renders braking, steering, and accelerating useless and disastrous. As such, mounting rotational direction tire wrongly will increase the risk of hydroplaning since instead of "channel" out the water, it "scoop" the water in!

Back to MTB, directional tyre for MTB is always on the opposite side for front and rear. This is for the reason that rear tire is the driving wheel and it need all the traction required to maintain its contact to the terrain in order to move forward. On the other hand, front tire is always on rolling and doesn't need that much of tread until you need to apply brake. Front tire works the same way like the rear tire in term of traction but in different rotational direction. That's another reason why rear brake has less stopping power that the front.

Why do I take up cycling?

1. 1 form of exercise
I tried running but my shin hurts badly after few hundreds meters. Been into gym but monthly commitment of RM180 seems too much. Furthermore, gym buddy insisted on me going to the outlet next to his office but so out of the way of my route. After giving a serious thought of it and series of harassment by Jazlany and Big Mac, I committed myself into cycling.

2. Socializing and networking
Cycling buddies come from many walk of life. Lawyer, accountant, technocrat, chemical engineer, dispatch rider, student, teacher, photographer, tuna booty shaker.. you name it, I'll try to find one :)

3. Commuting
Being green. Trying to reduce fossil fuels consumption on monthly basis. Cycle whenever, wherever possible to run errands or just simply commute to work.

4. Personal achievement
I keep monitoring my progress. If there is anyone I am trying to better than, it is just myself. Yeah, I do mentioned about me trying to match cycling buddy whose performance is like a moving target for me, forget about that :D

I highly recommend newbie to read these articles by Sheldon Brown on basic cycling techniques: -

Standing while Cycling - standing is hazardous to your knee

Braking and Turning - why you need to use front brake

Gear Shifting - cadence vs grinding/pushing

p.s: only #1 was the original motivation factor for me taking up cycling, others are by-products of my obsession.