Any question answered...

If it's not causing trouble, ignore it. Bending it back will weaken it further.

If you want, I have a somewhat worn alfine crankset you could have to tide you over. 170mm though

If Murphys_Law doesn't want, I would love a somewhat worn Alfine crankset for my Brompton.

I actually have two...

Thanks!
But since I'm not local I'll try finding something around here.

I'm having real trouble routing the rear cable for the Hy/RD brake internally. The outer cable is just too big and the turns are too tight.

Even using compressionless cabling, the cable just sticks and won't work.

Given that it's a cable actuated hydraulic cable, how stupid would it be to use gear shift cabling w/ the compressionless housing from that to attach the rear brake? For callipers, i would definitely never try it but i'm guessing the Hy/RD calliper uses a lot less force.

The front would still use the normal gauge brake cabling...

Use some Nokon?

I'm currently using Yokozuna Reaction which are supposed to be better than Nokon and they aren't working.

It's not that friction, it's that the internal routing requires full cabling (as in a cable all the way through the frame). The brake housing is just too tight to work.

@dammit Ignore, and badly wrap the wheel with newspaper and string..... That bloody post office. .

How about the Dupont kevlar cable, with their housing? Not the segmented one but the semi-traditional one where they replaced the steel winding with kevlar, it makes a very nice lightweight, flexible but very strong cable-system.

I've run conventional teflon-impregnated cables in the kevlar housing before when messing with setup, which worked really well.

@Soul - Which turns? Some photos might help. You could try v-brake noodles or even use normal housing for the tricky bit at the front. Use a barrel adjuster to join up the two different outers.

[I use regular housing under the bars as it's happier to bend than compressionless]

Is it generally ok to put a freewheel on a hub that only has fixed threads? I guess if there's enough engagement it should be ok right?

The two turns which don't work are the route under the bb and the bend to the calliper itself...

BB shell: The issue here is that the outer housing of the brake cable won't physically fit. The housing is 5.5mm according to google and I suspect the hole it's supposed to go into is around 4.5-5mm meaning that the turn, in combination with the smaller hole, pinches the housing and restricts the cable.

Calliper: This appears to be a common issue with the Hy/RD calliper. The way the caliper is set up, the cable has to make a fairly dramatic bend right at the end:

With my frame, it's so extreme that the cable has to bend inside the rear stay and back up again. This adds too much friction and even when i've been able to force the cable in, pulling it out again (ooo er) reveals a kink at that point where forcing it through has actually bent the cable.

That bend is really horrible. You could nokon that bit though, no? Same with the BB bend? So you'd have Compressionless -> nokon at BB --> compressionless -> nokon to caliper

Wise words from @Howard

@Soul - if you want some short sections of Nokon cables, I've some you can have.

Yes

Soul- does the cable emerge from the downtube by the BB, then go back in the other side by the chainstay, or does it emerge inside the BB shell, then go into the chainstay?

If the former I'd be tempted to cable tie the cable to the underside of the chainstay, rather than using the internal routing there, which should give you a much nice angle into the HY/RD.

Cheers, looks like I know what my winter project is gonna be!

This is how the cable is routed under the bb:

1 Attachment

The cable entry at the top of the picture, to the rear stay, it a drilled hole which is too small.

Would it set you teeth on edge to run the cable underneath the chainstay?

I'd grab some hydro-hose mounts and epoxy them on if the initial zip-tie experiment was a success.

http://www.decathlon.co.uk/cable-guide-adhesive-id_8242878.html

Any outdoor spaces or late night places worth seeing between the olympic park and alexandra palace?

With my frame, it's so extreme that the cable has to bend inside the rear stay and back up again.

What size rotor? I wonder if it's possible to get a bigger rotor to allow more clearance for the cable routing.

The last, and very unattractive suggestion is to route it externally from the BB using the zip tie to hold it in place.

How about an avid rollamajig or similar to handle the turn outside a housing?