Catskills Nomad

[Danneaux]

Thing is, getting a connector back on that wire... is going to be interesting! No real slack to work with. How much rewiring will I be stuck doing, like it or not?!

Solder-splice to length and heat-shrink tubing?

Hopefully!

All the best,

Dan.

[JimK]

Ah, I just found, on the Peter White website

http://www.peterwhitecycles.com/wiringinstructions.asp

these beautiful Supernova connectors:



The tricky part is that I don't have much slack in the wiring. When the old connector got ripped off, it wasn't very nice to the wires. Maybe I have to strip back a bit to get a good contact, but do I have enough slack in the wire? Yeah, I can splice in a bit of extra wire. Maybe I should get some kind of neoprene/velcro cover for a bit of extra protection? These fancy connectors are $16... and I would rather not find myself someplace dark and remote without a tail light!   

Anyway, these connectors look really tempting!

[jags]

totally baffled as to what there for

[JimK]

They can be used on wires wherever you might need to disconnect & reconnect with any frequency.

My rear light is wired to my front light, which is then wired to the dynamo in the front wheel. My bike has S&S couplers, so the wire from the front light to the rear light has to be broken so it can be  disconnected when I break my bike apart, and reconnected when I put my bike back together. Somehow I managed to tear off one of those connectors as I was pushing my bike through those rocks and lifting it over those fallen trees!

One trouble I always have when reconnecting those wires: it's surely my eyesight but I really can't see which wires have the white stripe, so I have a devil of a time getting the polarity right. I am thinking that if I replace these connectors, I will reverse the mail/female orientation of one side. That should make it easy to get the polarity right! 

 

[jags]

Thanks Jim i just could not figure out what they were for but yeah makes sense to have connectors that come apart east and reconnect even easier.

[julk]

Jim,
I have used and still use those gold connectors for quick and easy removal of the front lamp.
I also have a rear rack light which is bolted in place.

The photo below shows the front light with its leads
• dynohub leads have the plugs facing the same way, AC from the dynohub it doesn't matter which way round it fits.
• rear light is DC and is does matter which wires are connected, so the plugs are reversed on one wire to ensure a correct connection.
This all also makes it easy to connect the wires in the dark as you can tell by feel which should connect together.

On the current bike the plugging/unplugging is done alongside the steerer to keep the wires from the front lamp to a reasonable length.

On my previous bike, with S&S couplings, I put an extra junction in the rear wiring about the top tube/ seat tube  junction. The rear wiring mostly followed the rear brake cable until it jumped to the rear rack. That way there were no lighting wires near the chainring. The rear brake and rear light cables split about the same place when using the S&S to split the bike.

Another benefit was that when my previous bike was stolen I still had the front lamp…
Julian.

[jags]

If even i get my front dynamo wheel  i'm not certain i'll run a rear light,i want to hold out until that new BnM headlight is out sometime next year but how do you guys run the wires so as there not seen to be an eyesore on the bike,
i'm doing my best to get Dan to make a video on how to connect up and run all the cables the proper way,as he is the ultimate perfectionist

[Danneaux]

i'm doing my best to get Dan to make a video on how to connect up and run all the cables the proper way,as he is the ultimate perfectionist

My goodness, jags; thanks for the kind words!

Jim's installation is a really nice one; he just ran into a mishap with a log or debris; otherwise it would have been fine (compliments, Jim!). I also like Julian's detachable headlight scheme to deter theft of this very valuable item.

I have outlined my preferred taillight routing on the Sherpa here:
http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3896.msg17113#msg17113

At the headlight end, the wires go up one fork leg, the extra secured inside the steerer so it is available but cannot hang loose. I form the wire into a strain-relief coil between the fork crown and the downtube. The taillight wire goes down the underside of the downtube, then connects just behind the BB to the lead that runs inside the edge bead of the rear mudguard, exiting near the end of the rear rack before plugging into the taillight. I use Futaba R/C rubber grommets to keep the wires from chafing as they enter and exit the rear mudguard.

I will do the same with the Nomad, but will run the taillight wires alongside the Rohloff shifter cable path. I intend to improve the installation by bonding one half of each Dean's connector to the mudguard itself, making a "power port" I can plug a variety of head- and taillights into...the idea being to future-proof the installation, yet leave it very neat and "clean" with no stay wires. The Dean's connectors are commonly used on R/C vehicles, and are nicely gold-plated and can carry the same current as the wires without adding appreciable resistance. On the Nomad, I intend to put a Dean's connector in just behind the dynohub leads, so I can leave those leads attached to the hub and simply un/plug the front wheel when it needs removal. Much easier and faster than the SON spade connectors. Dean's connectors rule, man. Not as pretty as the Supernovas (nothing is!), but they're small enough to not be seen at all, they're very nicely shielded against water and dirt intrusion, and the case halves have a ridge that makes polarity issues no worry at all. I've long used them to run two bike computers off a single sensor lead on my tandem.

And yes, jags, I promise! I will do my very best to video the lot as I put it together. Just awaiting the arrival of the new 'bars before I go ahead with the light/charging system install.

Jim, I think the Supernovas will be an ideal solution for your present dilemma and will work well in future, as they have for Julian. They are larger than the Dean's connectors, and will be easier to grasp and pull apart with cold hands, a real consideration for winter riding.

All the best,

Dan.

[JimK]

The wiring for my bike was all done by Thorn. Maybe I added a zip-tie or two. One advantage of a black bike, for sure, is that black zip-ties are easy to come by!

Julian: I am very tempted to reroute my wires to follow the top tube. How did you run the wires along the rack? The main front-to-back horizontal pieces are what panniers hook onto, so those seem like the wrong place. I can imagine just running the wires right down the center of the rack, zip-tying onto the cross-wise horizontal pieces. Luggage will often sit on top of those but that shouldn't conflict with the zip-ties, that I can see.

For the moment I think I can replace my missing connector with something close enough from the local hardware store. That'll get my rear light back in order... important this time of year! And then I can ponder any bigger renovation more at my leisure.

Here are some photos of my current set-up, as it came from Bridgwater.

From the dynamo up the right fork:


The headlight from the front:


Behind the fork crown:


Inside the left chain stay right behind the bottom bracket:


Inside the left rear dropout:


Up the rear left rack support:


To the rear light:


I figure it might be handy to have a record of this, just in case my attempt at renovation collapses and I want to restore the status quo ante!

[triaesthete]

Hi Jim
nice to see some beausage on a bike.

I always found that grit gets under tie wraps (zip ties) and they chafe. I've used insulation tape on my entire installation for several reasons:
It's the same colour as Thorn matt black.
It's cheap.
Grit only gets under when it's coming unstuck which is rarely, so no chafing in use.
Snips not required for field repairs.
Flusher installation than ties. And some may argue, neater...

Under the top tube I tape it to one of the control cable outers  at intervals, essentially just sticking the tape to itself.

I carry a spare bit of tape stuck round the base of the seat pin/frame joint for emergencies, and until then it keeps the water out of the frame.

It works for me
Ian

[jags]

Now that makes a lot of sense to me, i really dont like zip ties on my bike i know they work great but dont look good IMHO
pity they don't make tape in the colour of my bike 

[julk]

Jim,
The wiring goes along under the top tube, wrapping around the gear/rear brake cables already there.
It then jumps across to the rear rack and goes along the middle under the cross pieces to the rear light.

Zip tied where necessary and with some spare wiring loops built in for repairs or future alterations.

The rear light is p-clipped under the rear cross piece to allow rack top luggage overhang and to permit swivelling the light down to avoid dazzling and cyclists riding in a group with me at night.

The included photo shows this and the front connections have been opened slightly to let the gold shine a bit!
More and full size photos can be viewed at and/or downloaded from http://www.juliankettle.macmate.me/public/
Julian.

[JimK]

Thanks for the photos, Julian! I think I am going to switch to a routing like what you show. I ordered some of those Supernova connectors.

Here are the instructions on installing them... doesn't look beyond my meager talents!

http://supernova-lights.com/service/Beiblatt_Goldkontaktstecker.pdf

Do you have the coaxial wire running back to the tail light? It looks quite beefy! I just have dual strand wires which I intend to reuse. Not sure how the lengths will work out. The back half will have plenty extra but the front half won't. Probably the connection will be right about at the S&S coupler on the top tube, as it currently is on the down tube.

I am fretting a bit about the fragility of the wires strung underneath the rack. My bright idea of the moment is to get a dowel, roughly pencil diameter, to run along beneath the rack. I will attach the dowel to the rack and then run the wires along the dowel. This should make it a lot harder for anything to snag the wires.

Maybe late next week, if the post office comes through. With photos, of course! Until then my Planet Bike battery powered blinky will have to stand alone!

[Danneaux]

I am fretting a bit about the fragility of the wires strung underneath the rack.

Jim, a common solution to this dilemma is to run the wires through a length of tubing zip-tied to the rack cross-members. I have seen them centered on the rack as well as offset to one side (leaving enough room for pannier hooks, of course). The tubing effectively armors the taillight wiring, making it invulnerable to damage if you choose this location. No worries about snagging it with a bungee hook, for example.

A common source for such tubing is your local hobby store...particularly if they have R/C cars and airplanes. What you are looking for is K&S brass, aluminum, or stainless tubing in oh, say 1/4" diameter or less/ If you're using the original B&M two-conductor zip-cord, then you would likely want the 3/16" tubing. Comes in lengths up to 1ft. which would be about right to make sure the wire is covered the length of your rack.

Hope this helps!

All the best,

Dan.

[JimK]

Thanks, Dan. Some sort of tubing sounds like a good idea. Even some kind of rugged hose. Maybe something automotive. Ha, or how about aquarium air hose? It's just that the dual strand wire looks so wispy!

Anyway, a nice scavenger hunt while I am waiting for the connectors to show up in the mail!