Best stem / integrated stem handlebar to hide cables without going through steerer tube

Equipment
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Does anyone know if there are systems which run cables though the stem or integrated stem/handlebar and then come out of the stem just before the steerer tube? I do not have a fork that can allow cables to be run fully internally.

Or just other clean ways of hidding cables if you don’t have a fork that allows internal routing

Thanks

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What bike is this for? What groupset are you using? Hydro disc or rim brakes? What handlebars?

The reason I ask is that most of these setups rely on electronic shifters and hydraulic brakes, second it matters where you want the cables pointed to. To run mechanical, you’ll see that the stem/bar intersection is super wide on them.

Short answer… if you’re just running a hydro brake lines, try the following:

  1. FSA ACR / Deda Vinci - exits out the front
  2. Trek Aeolus integrated - has clips on the bottom, might do mechanical shifting.
  3. Pro Vibe- you might be able to run cables on the underside.
  4. Various OEM - BMC, specialzied, cervelo, etc.
    Note: you sometimes need to buy special spacers for these, maybe even a top cap. You’re going to waste a lot of $$ figuring this out.

If you just want to organize that stuff… try Trek Domane’s cable wrangler or some heat shrink wrap . https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/equipment/cycling-components/bike-stems-seatposts/bike-stems-accessories/bike-stem-parts-accessories/trek-domane-cable-wranglers/p/32459/

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I have a bmc roadmachine 02one. So Di2, though box is in the downtube. And hydo disc.deda superhero ally handlebars. The trek is pretty much what I’m looking for. Are there stems that do the same thing?

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Ok… So you don’t have the right top cap provisions to run BMC fancy stem or even try to make it work. Most of those solutions above need you to eject the cables out of the rear of the stem, so they won’t do anything for you.

You really have two options.

  1. At great expense, Treks new handlebar - Your new super fast WordPress site. – Just another WordPress site

  2. Make the best of it. The trek cable wrangler or similar. If your DI2 line doesn’t so inside the stem, maybe Heat Shrink Wrap the cables. You’ll basically need to rerun the lines, so I’d only do this over the winter.
    Here are my 1x lines - https://imgur.com/iZFUNZP https://imgur.com/a/rvN6hKF

For the front, you can only run a brake line that matches the bike color and run it down the back of the fork leg.

1 Like
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Ok thanks you. That trek bar is definitely what im looking to do. I’m surprised no one had made a stem that has that cable routing plate. Maybe something I’ll get down the road.

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Farsports has an integrated bar with exits at the bottom of the stem. Routing cables though looks like a challenge.

I would just get internally routed bars and then just have the cables come out of the bars. You are only achieving 2-3 inches of extra hidden cable by going through the stem.

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Yeah 2-3inches doesn’t seem like much but it also turn the cables 90d degrees and would hold them close to the steerer tube which would reduce the need to cable length when turning and hold the cables close to the bike.

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PRO Vibe bar and stem should do you.

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Not sure how that is any different than a regular stem. You can’t route hydro tubes through and out of it from what I can tell

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I just saw your second post indicating you have hydro brakes. Yeah that probably wouldn’t work for you.

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It comes down to the following:

  1. Mechanical cables has limitations on how tight they can bend. Hydro lines can bend a little more.
  2. You’d need a decently long stem for this to make any difference.
  3. Not a lot of forks/frame allow for stem cable routing right now.
    The use case is limited to hydro disc bikes, which are fairly recent. There are a whole bunch of location for frame internal routing ports. There are a lot of solutions for cables running to the top tube, above the cap (Giant, Domane, etc).

You also need to consider that we still don’t have a standardized bolt hold location for a stem garmin/light mount, so I wouldn’t expect to see a cable guide any time soon.

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