A customer complaint pushed me to change how I route cables

I had a guy come in last month with a custom build I did for him. He said the shifting felt sluggish and the housing was rubbing against his frame. I took a look and sure enough, I had routed the rear derailleur cable under the bottom bracket without enough slack. He was right - it was too tight and creating friction. I've always done cables that way because it looks clean, but after that I started routing them along the top tube where they have more room to move. Now I'm split between the two methods. The under-bracket route looks better but the top tube route works better. Has anyone else had a customer call them out on something they thought was standard practice?

2 comments

2 Comments

faith_perez4h ago

My last customer called me out for using zip ties like I was decorating a Christmas tree.

eric_johnson2h ago

Hang on though, are you using the cheap ones or the heavy duty zip ties? The thin ones definitely look messy, especially if you've got tails sticking out everywhere.