# Tarmac rear brake cable routing



## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

Have they moved the forward rear brake cable stay on the top tube back to the left side on the SL2? While watching the ToC, I noticed with both Gerolsteiner and Quickstep SL2's the cable does not come from the right side, but along the left side (i.e., passes around the head tube):


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## glaucman (Feb 8, 2004)

*no*

The rear brake mount is still on the right of the top tube. Currently building my 2008 SL2 and will opt to route the brake cable on the right side of the headtube.


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

I just received my 08 SL frame today and I was thrown a bit by this. I basically have to run the rear brake to the left shifter don't I? And another strange thing on my medium sized frame is that the rear bottle cage interferes with the clamp for the front derailleur. I think the pump mount will space the cage out far enough to work but I may have to dremel the pump mount somewhat.


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## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

> I basically have to run the rear brake to the left shifter don't I?


You don't have to. If you look at photos or visit a shop with the bikes, you'll notice that the right is still the rear brake. But personally I hate the routing. I guess I don't see the great innovation of this. Also, partly due to the routing, even though cable protectors were applied to my frame, they were positioned poorly, and I just noticed that the rear brake cable has worn away my paint. I should have checked earlier, so this is a heads up to protect your beautiful frame.



> And another strange thing on my medium sized frame is that the rear bottle cage interferes with the clamp for the front derailleur.


This is a common situation. Most just use the nuts from inner tubes as spacers to provide the needed clearance over the cage. The other option is to use cages that are not connect between two mount points (e.g., Tacx Tao, which I use).


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

Dr_John said:


> You don't have to. If you look at photos or visit a shop with the bikes, you'll notice that the right is still the rear brake. But personally I hate the routing. I guess I don't see the great innovation of this. Also, partly due to the routing, even though cable protectors were applied to my frame, they were positioned poorly, and I just noticed that the rear brake cable has worn away my paint. I should have checked earlier, so this is a heads up to protect your beautiful frame.


This happened with the rear brake cable routed from the right or left shifter? Thanks for the info!


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## rbart4506 (Aug 4, 2004)

I have an 07 Roubaix Expert and an 08 Tarmac Expert, both rear brakes are routed to the right shifter. The front mount for the rear brake cable is on the right side of the top tube. Routing on these frames does cause rubbing and I have placed the protective tape as best I can.

I realize these are different frames, but it sounds like this routing is standard practice for Specialized.


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## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

> This happened with the rear brake cable routed from the right or left shifter?


Rear brake on the right STI, with the cable stay on the right of the top tube. Although I built this bike, this is how they come from Specialized too. While I was putting my bike together, I even went and check to confirm at a dealer.

Here's a photo of my cabling, and where the rub occurred for me. In the second photo I'm pulling the cable up so you can see the mark. And I've placed shipping tape where the cable naturally rides. Checking in the photos from the Specialized website, it looks like the cables naturally run lower than where the cable protectors are being placed (at least on my bike). Again, not a big deal to me, but very easy to prevent.


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## Dr_John (Oct 11, 2005)

> And another strange thing on my medium sized frame is that the rear bottle cage interferes with the clamp for the front derailleur


And here's a photo of my back cage. Even though with a Tacx cage the FD bracket isn't an issue, I still use the inner nuts as washers since the mount points from the cages dig into the frame and squeak.


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## rbart4506 (Aug 4, 2004)

Yup, that's how mine is routed on both bikes...

Cage is the same too...


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## DrSmile (Jul 22, 2006)

I'll have to see how the cabling looks both ways I guess. Right now I'm still waiting for parts!


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