Is it better to use one long housing cable?

[pakcyclist]

I have a custom road bike equipped with a Rohloff.  Since my bike shop no longer works on them, I have to deal with the nightmare of replacing the cables.  (Take me about 4 - 6 hours total, as I end up ruining about a half dozen cables -- too long!  too short!  cable totally frayed after putting it in the housing cable! -- before FINALLY getting it (semi)correct.  Almost makes me want to go back to a traditional drivetrain.  My bike has the cable braze-ons at the top and bottom of the downtube.  Therefore, mine is set up like a traditional road bike with 2 sets of housing cables -- from the shifter to the top braze on, and from the bottom one to the gear box, with only the bare cables on the downtube.  I'm wondering if part of the reason I have so much trouble is because I'm doing that, rather than one long housing the entire way.  That won't look as clean, as I'd need to use zip ties to secure it, but could that make the installation (somewhat) easier?

[Danneaux]

I think your root problem is the cable fraying during installation. I have two suggestions that have worked well for me...

1) Cut your cables using clean, sharp cable cutters with V-shaped jaws.

2) Apply a drop of super glue (preferably beta-cyanoacrylate, the kind that shows bonding rubber or leather on the package...it handles surface contamination better than the standard kind in my experience) to the end and allow to dry completely.

These two steps almost completely eliminate the possibility of the cable end fraying and make the task so much simpler and faster.

As to your quesiton about one continuous run of housing vs open runs and cable stops...

One run of housing should make insertion for the cable easier to insert and it will eliminate some of the places where dirt and moisture can enter the housing segments.

I'd still want to use the v-cutters and super glue, though. It will pay off when it comes to secure the cable end.

Best, Dan.