I have a travel bike that uses the ritchey break-away system, and the shift cable quick connectors rattle against the downtube on rough roads. Anyone have a solution for this that they like?
I was thinking of putting a piece of foam or small bubble wrap pouch around it, but thought I’d ask in case there was a more elegant solution out there -
I’ve got an Outback Breakaway that I use as my year-round gravel bike, and found the little rubber o-rings around the connectors help a little bit, but they degrade over time (maybe that’s what you’ve experienced? They’re replaceable, if so).
Breakaways are normally supplied with a sticker sheet thing (like those ones that go on chainstays to stop damage from chain slap) and that would also help deaden it slightly. Final suggestion would be something like a neoprene chainstay guard, cut to length so that it just covers the range of movement of the connectors up and down (on an aesthetic level that probably depends a bit on where the cable connectors sit; if they’re down toward the bottom bracket it would look more discreet than if you’re strapping something around a logo, for instance).
I position the brake cable connector close to the rear cable stop to minimise lateral movement. Similarly, I position the shift cable connector close to the BB shell but clear of the S&S coupler on the down tube. You don’t want the cable connector butting up against something as the cable moves through its full range of movement.
I’d use a small patch of this self-bonding tape from ESI, or this chain stay armour from Ride Wrap.
I had this issue as well. The original rubber O-rings that are on the cable couplers are a little too small to provide sufficient “bumperness” (LOL) against the frame, or they degrade like Iain noted. I ended up going to the hardware store (look in the plumbing section) and finding a thicker O-ring that provided better protection and it essentially eliminated the frame/coupler slapping. I do have the clear plastic frame protector stickers on the frame as well, but that does little to dampen any noise.
The O-ring size that worked for me (sorry, freedom units here in the USA):
New O-ring installed (rear brake cable, under top tube):
New O-ring installed (derailleur cable, downtube):
The new, larger O-rings are in the grooves designed for the original ones, but I suppose you could also roll one onto the other half of the coupler to provide additional protection from that larger metal part hitting the frame.
I hope these work for you. Let us know!
Helicopter tape.
That’s exactly what I’ve been doing for years. Be sure to get extra o-rings: they last a long time in storage but eventually dry out and split on the bike.
@Iain_Treloar @Dave_Minter @RichGearing @Jeff_Askins @Michael_S @David_Watson thank you for the many tips! All great options - and all better than my hacky thinking around bubble wrap or foam. I’m start with the o-rings (my bike didn’t come with any) and then will progressively add in other options until the rattling is tolerable or eliminated without impacting assembly/disassembly too much.
I have a strong preference for The DaVinci cable splitters over the Ritchey brand.
They use double bolts for both the shift and brake cables, whereas Ritchey only uses them for the brake cable. Plus, they come with double o-rings by default, instead of the single o-ring of Ritchey.
I have a slightly similar issue but with the hydraulic brake hose. I am running hydraulic vs cable for ……reasons. Ritchey didn’t put the brake-on mounts to secure with zip ties. Any ideas?
Maybe these would help?
I thought so and have two installed. But the distance between the housing stops is the entire length of the downtube. So it still slaps under rough riding.
Problem Solvers makes two versions. The other one is for tubes with no stops - maybe try one or more of those too?
The non-Ritchey connectors on my S&S bike have an o-ring at each end, they are definitely more rattling if one of the rings is missing. Over they years as the o-rings have failed, I have tried different thicknesses, 1.5 mm thick ones were better than the supplied ~1 mm, 2 mm was somehow too much.
