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I'm looking to put a new dropper on an Orange 2017 Alpine 6 that has internal routing holes (but no guides to poke cable housing down). Being totally inept when it comes to spannering is it worth just getting an externally routed dropper, or is it not too hard to get the cable and housing through the frame? There's various videos with magnets and cotton threads, but any real world experience would be useful!
It’s really not that hard, or expensive if you get an LBS to do it.
Not straightforward on the Alpine 6 I'm afraid, but yep, I decided to let the LBS do it!
Fairly easy with the Park tool kit, but very expensive for a one-off job. Not too difficult with the BB removed, as long as you have a long finger, and are pretty dexterous with it. As above, i'd probably take it to a bike shop that's familiar with them.
To route it, dangle a bit of cotton reel thread down the hole, suck it out the other end using a hoover, drag a more substantial piece of string through and connect your dropper hose to this with insulating tape.
If it's a cable operated dropper they are no different to fitting a gear cable, if it's a hydraulic Reverb, they're a faff.