Short & sweet
Handlebar-integrated cables are a trend that is here to stay. However, the innovation is also causing discontent: too complicated, too inflexible, too expensive, according to the criticism of many dealers, mechanics and customers. Nevertheless, many manufacturers are responding and want to simplify the systems. If you decide to buy one of these bikes, you should inform yourself well before you do so to avoid hidden costs and trouble with manufacturers and dealers.
System integration for modern racing bikes
When Lisa Weichert ordered her new bike online, she was least expecting that her skills as a mechanic might not be enough. The former bike courier knows a lot about road bike technology, otherwise her large circle of friends usually know what to do. Her crosser with mechanical gears was also not suspected of causing any problems: "I was deliberately looking for something uncomplicated. I didn't have much choice in the first year of corona, I was happy to find something suitable at all," recalls the 32-year-old from Leipzig. The passionate long-distance cyclist didn't think it was particularly important that the bike had hidden cables in the handlebars and stem, but it was nice and practical: "I have a lot with me on my tours: handlebars, computer, handlebar bags. At first, I thought it was really great that there were no cables to get in the way."
It was only when the 1.60 metre tall marketing manager wanted a shorter stem after a while that things got complicated. "At first I didn't even know where I could get a suitable stem," she says. The salesman stopped answering questions, and her courier mates also shrugged their shoulders. When even the professional mechanics in a specialist workshop peered under the stem cap in search of help, Weichert began to doubt her decision to buy: "I thought: Damn, I've really made a mess of it."
System integration causes problems
The helpful dealer - a cargo bike specialist who prefers not to be named - remembers the desperate customer well and his formative experience with the racer. "I thought it would work somehow, I've already laid cables on time trial bikes. But I almost despaired," he says.
The bike manufacturer was unable to supply such a short stem, and two other specially ordered versions, designed for internally routed cables, did not fit. Only the third attempt worked - halfway: "I spent six hours after work re-routing the shift and brake cables," he reports. When the bill came due, he and customer Weichert agreed on a reasonable amount for both of them.
Aesthetics as a purchase criterion
Cases like this could become increasingly common in the future. The cables integrated into the handlebars and stem are a trend that is sweeping all types of road bikes at full speed, not just high-powered racing bikes. "There has been a huge demand for tidy bikes for some time now," reports Daniel Heyder, Product Manager at Canyon. "The customer focus is quite clearly on aesthetics. The service criterion is taking a back seat," he analyses. In the case of designated competition bikes, there are also speed advantages in favour of tidying up the cockpit: the sleek handlebars are demonstrably faster because they produce less turbulence and therefore less air resistance.
The trend towards system integration is nothing new. The racing bike world has long since become accustomed to seat posts that are specially moulded for more comfort or better aerodynamics. But experience also shows that finding replacements is time-consuming and, in the case of rare and ageing bikes, perhaps impossible. The problem is even more complex when it comes to handlebars.
Much more effort
They are more vulnerable to falls and are an important element for the right riding position. In addition, the smart wings are replacing a successful standard in the bicycle industry: the Ahead system for headsets, which has been common since the 1990s, can be dismantled into all its individual parts with little wrenching experience and a single hexagon socket. Handlebars and stems are interchangeable across all manufacturers, the important dimensions are almost the same everywhere, spare parts are available worldwide and in all price categories - paradisiacal conditions for mechanics and bike fitters.
For bikes with hidden cables, the stem, frame set and handlebars must be matched to each other, and all covers and small parts often only fit one bike model. This technology also imposes further restrictions: Because the cables of disc brakes are permanently connected to the brake lever, the stem often cannot be removed or adjusted in height. This means that at least the front line has to be cut and the brake emptied, and often a new line is needed because the old one is no longer long enough. On many bikes, the steerer tube also has to be shortened to fit, which means that the handlebars can only be positioned lower, but not higher. To cut a long story short, the time and effort required for the simplest service work has exploded in one fell swoop.
The sore point of system integration
Stefan Lindemaier is one of the people who is often fed up with this. He is the owner of Bikeline, one of the top addresses for exclusive racing bikes in Munich, and is "confronted with madness almost every day", as he describes it. The 52-year-old has been in the business for more than 30 years; he understands when new technical developments backfire. But in the case of the integrated cables, Lindemaier's judgement is pretty harsh: "I would love nothing more than to have round, clamped handlebars and stems back," he says.
As a mechanic, he is patient, but he finds it just as difficult to understand the workload of up to three hours per bike - when things are going well - as he does the manufacturers' price expectations. "It's so incredibly expensive. The handlebars on the hottest bikes cost 1000 euros or more, and I'd have to take another 300 euros for the labour. And that's with the bike prices! How am I supposed to sell them?" he calculates. "I don't open my shop until twelve o'clock because I have to lay cables in the morning," he says, only half-jokingly.
Christoph Allwang, head of the TOUR test lab, also knows all the ins and outs of system integration. Together with his colleagues, he has already dismantled hundreds of integrated racers, weighed the individual parts and reassembled them. Under optimal conditions, i.e. with a helping person, he reckons it takes at least two hours more per bike. "But there have also been cases that have taken eight hours," he says. "The variety of different designs is enormous." The problem is that you can hardly recognise the structure from the outside. His tip: "Ask the dealer to show you the system in detail and clarify in advance what costs you will incur if the worst comes to the worst. At least then you'll be spared any nasty surprises."
System integration - loss of flexibility
Lloyd Thomas, among others, is racking his brains for solutions to the problem of system integration - for his own personal reasons. The 50-year-old native Canadian is a bike fitter and fits professional and amateur cyclists alike with millimetre precision in his studio in Bensheim. With the new racing bikes, he feels his room for manoeuvre is limited: "You lose a huge amount of potential positioning. The flexibility of the previous system is useful because the handlebars determine the position of the entire upper body. Now we are unnecessarily limited," he criticises.
How he solves the system integration problems depends on the individual case. Basically, he is tempted to shift his job before buying the bike. His Fitbike - a frame on which all contact points are freely adjustable - is becoming more important again. If a customer comes to him with a bike, things get more complicated. Thomas is then happy if he can at least find a round steerer tube onto which he can fit standard components - that way he can at least give the customer a feel for a changed position on the partially dismantled bike. "It becomes difficult when the customer can't feel for themselves how a changed position will feel. In some cases, I have no choice but to describe the effects before we buy new handlebars. Then the customer really has to trust me," he reports.
The manufacturers have a duty
In order to improve the situation, Lloyd and Lindemaier believe that the manufacturers in particular have a duty. "The whole system doesn't seem to have been thought through to the end. There are solutions, I'm thinking of simply height-adjustable systems or the Hover Bar from Specialized, a cranked handlebar with a higher stack. Things like this need to catch on," says Thomas. Dealer Lindemaier also confirms that there are practical approaches: "If the handlebars are bolted on and the cables run under covers on the outside of the handlebars and stem, it looks just as good, but it makes the mechanics' work easier," he says.
However, there is a lot of room for improvement when it comes to logistics, communication and components. "It's absurd that I stock expensive handlebars in different sizes," says Lindemaier. Only one of his bike brands currently exchanges unused handlebars for other sizes free of charge, which is a good service, but unfortunately the exception. "The manufacturers should establish a simple, free system for exchanging components and organise the stock themselves," Lloyd Thomas also demands. New, above all standardised measurements would be useful, because the values of the frame are of little use if the dimensions of the handlebars are not known. "It's only small things, but they make a big difference. That would also improve the acceptance of innovations," he believes.
Forms of system integration
However, this will not happen overnight, according to Canyon Product Manager Daniel Heyder: "Replacing handlebars at the time of purchase does not currently fit into our process chain. Like most larger manufacturers, we are organised in just-in-time production, which means that changes and large warehouse logistics lead to high friction losses. We primarily want to build bikes that fit the vast majority of customers and prefer to offer one or two sizes more," he says. But the company is also working on solutions for special requests: "In the longer term, we are aiming for a configuration option, at least for the premium products, so that the bike is only assembled with the handlebars ordered," says Heyder. However, this requires longer delivery times and knowing exactly how you want to sit on the bike beforehand.
As a manufacturer whose bikes are sold exclusively online, the Canyon engineers are also concerned with other aspects. The bikes must fit into a narrow box and be able to be made ready to ride by a layman without special tools. The handlebars of the latest Aeroad and Ultimate models can therefore be dismantled and, within limits, adjusted in width and height without touching a cable.
Competitor Cervelo also developed a height-adjustable system for the S3 aero racer. But this only solves part of the problem. The adjustment mechanisms are complicated and difficult; seat length and handlebar width are limited by the available frame sizes and the standard set-up mounted on them. As far as the post-purchase procedure is concerned, Canyon is still in the trial phase: "A bike would still have to be sent in for a bearing or cable change, for example. We have therefore introduced very durable, sealed stainless steel bearings. At the same time, we are currently working on a service network so that it will be possible to visit partner workshops in the future," says Heyder.
Old standards, new standards
In such cases, specialist brands can refer to a dealer network, but also endeavour to reduce the effort involved. This ranges from cable guides with enough reserve to be able to adjust the height of the stem again without additional work steps (e.g. Giant) to laminated cable ducts that make it easier to thread the cables (e.g. Cube).
Partially integrated solutions (see pictures above "Forms of system integration") keep the costs for cheaper bikes within limits. In the long term, bike manufacturers are probably counting on electric shifting becoming standard: Like hydraulic brake lines, they are no longer a wearing part and can remain in the bike permanently - once the position has been found. Many new models are limited to electric shifting. Daniel Heyder is calling for an initiative from the component manufacturers for the brake lines: "Quick-release fasteners could be the solution here, which would save a lot of time during assembly," he says.
Lisa Weichert can smile about her little odyssey today. Next time, however, she would rather buy another bike with visible cables. "I only realised later that there was almost nothing I could do about the position myself. I would actually like to have narrower handlebars, but I think I'd rather have them a little further in," she says jokingly. Perhaps she should get used to it, because it is quite possible that the next time she buys a bike, there will be no more bikes without integrated cables.
System integration - 5 tips before you buy
Tip 1: Classic Bowden cables for gears or brakes should not be fully integrated. Their friction is usually too high for them to function properly.
Tip 2: With renowned and established manufacturers, it is more likely that spare parts and support will still be available in a few years' time.
Tip 3: Document your exact riding position, especially the position of the handlebars and hands. Inexperienced riders should seek help from a dealer or bike fitter. Check in advance whether you can transfer your position to the desired bike or what changes would be necessary.
Tip 4: Have the system explained to you on the bike and study the instructions. Clarify what you can do yourself and what you need the dealer's help with; what effort and costs would be involved for common work, e.g. after a crash.
Tip 5: Evaluate the spare parts situation: If the frame can be fitted with components from third-party suppliers (e.g. 3T, Deda Elementi, FSA, Ritchey), this improves the supply situation enormously. Also: Are the steering bearings standardised or custom-made? How stable are the spacers and covers? Can computers or lights be fitted?
How long, how high?
For bikes with integrated handlebars, the typical frame dimensions - including stack and reach - are of little help because they do not include the handlebars and stem, although their dimensions cannot be changed or can only be changed with a great deal of effort. The stack plus and reach plus measurements better reflect the real dimensions by moving the reference point from the upper edge of the head tube (stack and reach as vertical or horizontal distance from the bottom bracket) to the handlebars. The problem is that there is no standardised measuring method. Some manufacturers base their measurements on the imaginary centre of the handlebar, others on the front end of the handlebar curve. Still others - especially bike fitters - take the position of the hands on the brake levers. This is probably the most sensible, but not a very accurate measurement.
Jens Klötzer
Editor
