STI cable thingies

vincent chiao said:

So I was wandering around my LBS the other day and looking at this
Giant road bike they've got in the window outfitted with Ultegra
components. I noticed that on the shifter cables they've got these
little thingies that look like nothing so much as those line
interference filters you put on the cables of your stereo. Maybe an
inch or two long, about 1/4" or so in diameter, clamped around the
cables a couple inches from the shifters. I forgot to ask at that time
what those things were, but now I'm wondering. What are they?

They're gear indicators. Escapement-type shifters such as STI don't
give any visual or tactile indication of what gear you're in.

These little doodads let you see what gear has been selected without
needing to look down at the chain.

See: http://harriscyclery.net/site/page.cfm?PageID=49&SKU=LD7706

The little red thing fits on the moving cable and moves back and forth
in the window.

Sheldon "Visual Aids" Brown
+----------------------------------------------------+
| I admit that reason is a small and feeble flame, |
| a flickering torch by stumblers carried in the |
| star-less night, -- blown and flared by passion's |
| storm, -- and yet, it is the only light. |
| Extinguish that, and nought remains. |
| -- Robert Green Ingersoll |
+----------------------------------------------------+
Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts
Phone 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041
http://harriscyclery.com
Hard-to-find parts shipped Worldwide
http://captainbike.com http://sheldonbrown.com

On 2 Aug 2004 14:37:52 -0700, [email hidden] (vincent

chiao) said:

So I was wandering around my LBS the other day and looking at this
Giant road bike they've got in the window outfitted with Ultegra
components. I noticed that on the shifter cables they've got these
little thingies that look like nothing so much as those line
interference filters you put on the cables of your stereo. Maybe an
inch or two long, about 1/4" or so in diameter, clamped around the
cables a couple inches from the shifters. I forgot to ask at that time
what those things were, but now I'm wondering. What are they?

--Vincent.

Dear Vincent,

Could they be connectors for quick disconnecting like these?

http://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi?c=Cable/Casing&sc=Connectors&id=978361912764

Carl Fogel

[email hidden said:

"]On 2 Aug 2004 14:37:52 -0700, [email hidden] (vincent

chiao) said:

So I was wandering around my LBS the other day and looking at this
Giant road bike they've got in the window outfitted with Ultegra
components. I noticed that on the shifter cables they've got these
little thingies that look like nothing so much as those line
interference filters you put on the cables of your stereo. Maybe an
inch or two long, about 1/4" or so in diameter, clamped around the
cables a couple inches from the shifters. I forgot to ask at that time
what those things were, but now I'm wondering. What are they?

--Vincent.

Dear Vincent,

Could they be connectors for quick disconnecting like these?

http://www.loosescrews.com/index.cgi?c=Cable/Casing&sc=Connectors&id=978361912764

Carl Fogel

STRIKE TWO!

They are cable adjusters. Notice the bike didn't have downtube shifter bosses? No place to put the STI barrel adjusters on that frame.

HOMERUN!

Weisse Luft said:

Quoted message said:

On 2 Aug 2004 14:37:52 -0700, [email hidden] (vincent

chiao) said:

So I was wandering around my LBS the other day and looking at this
Giant road bike they've got in the window outfitted with Ultegra
components. I noticed that on the shifter cables they've got these
little thingies that look like nothing so much as those line
interference filters you put on the cables of your stereo. Maybe an
inch or two long, about 1/4" or so in diameter, clamped around the
cables a couple inches from the shifters. I forgot to ask at that

time

Quoted message said:

what those things were, but now I'm wondering. What are they?

--Vincent.

Dear Vincent,

Could they be connectors for quick disconnecting like these?

http://tinyurl.com/6bfqm

Carl Fogel

STRIKE TWO!

They are cable adjusters. Notice the bike didn't have downtube shifter
bosses? No place to put the STI barrel adjusters on that frame.

HOMERUN!

Dear Weisse,

I whiff regularly, but Sheldon has a good eye and those
indicator thingies captivate me.

Still, your idea seems reasonable and adjusters would
probably be more useful.

I think that we need Vincent to go back to his local bike
shop, find out whether they're Sheldon's gear indicators or
your cable adjusters, and demand to know why both aren't
installed.

Minnie Mendoza

vincent chiao said:

So I was wandering around my LBS the other day and looking
at this Giant road bike they've got in the window outfitted with
Ultegra components. I noticed that on the shifter cables they've
got these little thingies that look like nothing so much as those
line interference filters you put on the cables of your stereo.
Maybe an inch or two long, about 1/4" or so in diameter, clamped
around the cables a couple inches from the shifters. I forgot to
ask at that time what those things were, but now I'm wondering.
What are they?

Something like these?

http://www.bikeparts.com/ProductInfo/Inline-cable-adjuster-kit270.html

They're inline cable adjusters. Giants don't have cable adjusters mounted
on the frame, so they use these neat little barrel adjusters in the cable
housing. They're not clamped around the cables; the cable housing is cut,
and one of these adjusters is inserted.

James Thomson

Capt-<< I noticed that on the shifter cables they've got these

Quoted message said:

little thingies that look like nothing so much as those line
interference filters you put on the cables of your stereo. >><BR><BR>

<< They're gear indicators. >><BR><BR>

Nope, in line cable adjusters. Any decent LBS should have them.

Peter Chisholm
Vecchio's Bicicletteria
1833 Pearl St.
Boulder, CO, 80302
(303)440-3535
http://www.vecchios.com
"Ruote convenzionali costruite eccezionalmente bene"

I think James got it right--they look more like the cable adjustors
than the gear indicators or the quick disconnect thingies. And here I
was thinking these were super-duper electro-shifter cables for the new
Dura-Ace brifters with iPod hookup capabilities.
Thanks--
Vincent.