Stashing cables in handlelbars

[Lentamentalisk]

So I recently read a suggestion to keep a spare set of cables in your handlebars, where you'll hopefully never have to see them. It seems to me like this would 1) kink the cables so they wouldn't run right, because you'd have to fold them to get them to fit, and 2) make sure you'd never see them again, as they would slide into the middle where you couldn't reach them.

Thoughts on this? Should I just coil them up at the bottom of my repair kit instead?

[bakerjw]

The only time that I carry extras is when I'm on a long multi day trip. On those, they go with spare brake discs and chain.

OTOH. You can roll up a cable into a rather small coil and it will unwind and still perform quote well.

[bmike-vt]

I have them in my everyday kit, mainly because I don't want to have to think about them when I pack.

I rolled mine into a nice loop - about the same size when you get a single serving cable from the local shop - and tucked it into the space between the stiffener and the fabric on my Revelate gas tank. I have 2 shift cables (for the Rohloff) and 1 brake cable.

[Lentamentalisk]

I've got the same problem. I take the same bike, and mostly same kit on 1 hour, 12 hour, and 3 day rides. As such my kit is almost always excessive or insufficient. But so far despite the laughs, people have been incredibly happy to make use of my large pump and spare cleat bolt, so I'll just keep it growing!