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I used to change hydraulic brakes and hoses all the time but my last two bikes never needed anything doing to them so I've not changed/shortened a brake hose for over 5 years and I'm a bit out of practice.
And the new bike (Orbea Occam) has internal routing (a first for me). I want to change the existing brake (MT201) for an SLX M7120.
Ideally I'd like to disconnect the existing hose from the lever, pull it through the frame from the caliper then feed the new hose into the stay, push it through to see it magically pop out of the hole in the front triangle but:
1) I don't know if it has internal guides to make the magic happen
2) I have zero confidence in being able to route it through if there are no guides
Alternatively I could leave the hose in place and reconnect it to the new lever and caliper but I'm 99% sure (sat here in the office with the bike and new bits in the garage) that the caliper fitting and lever barb are different betweem MT201 and SLX M7120.
Any advice, specifically on the Occam or general, appreciated.
Yes I'm probably over-thinking this and yes, I could probably whip it down to my LBS and get them to do it but the bike came 'mail order' on C2W scheme and I used to be able (and should be able) to do this sort of stuff myself.
Is it the new Occam? It has guides inside the frame.
If not it’s a horrible job though! I’ve done it a few times and even with the right tools for internal routing it’s horrible. Best way is to see if the banjo connector for the caliper is the same / compatible, and if so just change caliper and lever, leaving the existing hose in place. That’s what I do and it’s very quick. Changing the hose is a nightmare! If you do change the hose, you need to think carefully! You need to cut off the olive and pull the old hose through with some string or wire attached in it, then pull the new hose through from back to front using that wire. The problems I’ve encountered are that the exits from the frame are quite tight and the tool I used (park tools) has a connector which is rigid for a few mm. It’s really hard to explain but basically it didn’t work and I had to trim bits off the tool. (In a bar in the mountains last time I did it!)
I actually haven’t done it yet with the new Occam so can’t say for sure how hard it is. I’ve done the older Occam and the Rallon a few times. I’ve searched the maintenance instructions and it’s internally guided but can’t get details. I think it should be easier but can’t say from experience and I definitely wouldn’t remove the hose without a wire attached just in case. Maybe someone else has done it. If not drop me a mail and I’ll check with the team mechanic, he is on holiday just now though so it would be early next week before I can get you an answer.
I can confirm that trying to get one cable through my old Occam frame (no guides, or existing cable) took longer than the rest of the build.
Does that double-ended barb work on gear cables too?
https://www.parktool.com/product/internal-cable-routing-kit-ir-1-2
I’ve got this one. The problem was the bend to get out the frame, the rigid bit on the connector was too long. Maybe that double barb would be better, or maybe too long too. I solved mine by removing some material from the park tools barb.
Thanks all.
It is the new Occam so it sounds like it had guides. It wasn't clear from the 'blue book', at least not to me.
I do have one of those SRAM barb connectors on back order from Amazon - they've been promising me 'next day' delivery for the last couple of weeks but it's just changed to out of stock/on order.
Do I still need the barb connector now I know it has internal guides?
(I think Mrs higgo has some suitable garden string i can use)
edit: I'm as sure as I can be without actually going into the garage that the connectors on the caliper are different or I'd leave the hose in place.
Update...
Quick version: brakes swapped, happy higgo
Long version: I lashed length of gear outer to the end of hose with some electrical tape, made sure there were no stickyouty bits, enough layers to give a strong join but not to be bulky, started pulling the hose through from the caliper end and it starts pulling the gear outer into the frame. All going well until it isn't. It's stuck and won't go one way or another. More and more force applied to pulling it out and the gear outer comes out without the hose and without a good amount of the electrical tape. The hose cannot be persuaded to go back whence it came so I pull it out and go off for a coffee and a ponder on internal routings.
There's a tube section that carries the outer between front and rear triangles so I pop that off and feed the hose in from the caliper and it slides straight in and out the other end. Then I slip the tube section on and slide the hose into the bottom entry on the front triangle and it goes in easy enough but won't pop out of the hole at the top. I can see it but I can't snag it to get it out. So I pull it back a bit and try again a few times and then magically it pops out.
Caliper's on, hose is cut to length, connected to lever. System bled and back wheel stops nicely.
(and I've cancelled my Amazon order for the SRAM barb connector saving myself a massive £3!)
At least you didn't have to take the bottom bracket out. That was my recent run in with internal routing
Thanks for reporting back. I’ll almost certainly have to do it soon so it’s good to know it’s not too bad!
I am looking to swap the same brakes out on a 2021 Occam too. I have never done any brake related work on a bike before. I feel that I have seen enough youtube videos to feel comfortable with fitting and bleeding the brakes - but am a bit nervous about the routing.
Would you say it's a doable job for the layman? Just a case of pushing the cable through?