Sixpack Announces New Internal Cable Routing System
The new Millenium ICR Stem in Champagne Silver & Black is now available on the after market.
PRESS RELEASE: Sixpack Racing
We won't try to talk you into loving headset cable routing. Mainly because we know it won't work, but also because we don’t want to put in the effort. Some riders hate it, some like it, and some couldn’t care less. If you have a bike with headset cable routing, this article might be of interest to you…
If you have already made up your mind that you don’t like internal routing, skip the article. You can jump straight to the comment section and type a strongly worded comment, if it makes you feel any better.
THE BIG 'WHY'
Another company that's going on board with internal cable tourism, ähh routing... WHY? We see a trend of bike manufacturers switching to this new cable routing method. For us as a component brand, it’s important to stay within the trends and standards of modern bikes.
So we checked what's available on the HS cable routing side of components. The quick answer is: not much! The few options of HS cable routing components available on the aftermarket are either complete, proprietary fully integrated systems or systems with known issues on the market.
Internal cable routing is a divisive subject, and we understand the concerns of riders. But if you decide to go for HS cable routing, you might as well do it right. So that's what we did.
Split spacers enable easy height adjustment of the cockpit after the ICR system is mounted
DOING IT RIGHT
The Sixpack Internal Cable Routing system is the perfect solution if you are aiming for a clean cockpit, a quiet bike and want to minimize the typical risks involved with HS cable routing. It can be mounted on any bike with Acros ZS56 ICR Headsets or Acros Angle-Headsets with an additional aftermarket compression ring (11.52.106R2-AM).
Sealed-off cable ports protect the headset from water and dust.
This ICR system differs from currently available headset cable routing solutions in a few points. The major difference is in where the cables enter the headset. Cables are routed underneath (not through!) the stem. This area is sealed off with rubber cable ports to protect the headset from dust and, most importantly, water. With regular HS routing top covers, water can enter the headset, which is a major known problem of the concept.
Cables are routed close to the cockpit, and can be even shorter than with regular HS cable routing solutions, which further reduces the danger of them tearing off and creates little to no rattling noises.
Cables are routed close to the cockpit, and can be even shorter than with regular HS cable routing solutions, which further reduces the danger of them tearing off and creates little to no rattling noises.
JUST A STEM (+ some stuff)
The Millenium ICR Stem is a classic stem, like any other combined with HS cable routing, nothing proprietary or fully integrated here. It is available in 35 mm and 50 mm lengths, both having a 35 mm clamp diameter. It comes in 2 colors: Black and Champagne Silver (Raw Eloxal) and has a clamp width of 55 mm.
We designed split-spacers for easy height adjustment of your cockpit, even after the ICR system is mounted. Just loosen the stem, pull it up, and add or remove the split spacers easily. No need to worry about that.
The Millenium ICR Stem is a classic stem, like any other combined with HS cable routing, nothing proprietary or fully integrated here. It is available in 35 mm and 50 mm lengths, both having a 35 mm clamp diameter. It comes in 2 colors: Black and Champagne Silver (Raw Eloxal) and has a clamp width of 55 mm.
We designed split-spacers for easy height adjustment of your cockpit, even after the ICR system is mounted. Just loosen the stem, pull it up, and add or remove the split spacers easily. No need to worry about that.
Changing or adjusting your handlebar is as easy as ever, too. Want to ride your favorite handlebar? No problem. Want to rotate your bar a little? Easy. You like the looks of our ICR Stem and want to run it on your regular bike? No problem either. The stem can also be combined with regular headsets with the included adapter.
The Sixpack ICR System consists of:
• 1x CNC-milled stem
• 1x top cover
• 1x horizontal rubber cable router seal with 4 cable ports
• 2x split spacers for easy height adjustment of the stem (each 5 mm height)
• 1x head tube cover with seal, compatible with Acros ZS56 ICR Headsets or Acros Angle-Headsets with additional aftermarket compression ring (11.52.106R2-AM)
• 1x stem adapter for use with regular headsets
• 1x CNC-milled stem
• 1x top cover
• 1x horizontal rubber cable router seal with 4 cable ports
• 2x split spacers for easy height adjustment of the stem (each 5 mm height)
• 1x head tube cover with seal, compatible with Acros ZS56 ICR Headsets or Acros Angle-Headsets with additional aftermarket compression ring (11.52.106R2-AM)
• 1x stem adapter for use with regular headsets
ENGINEERED & MADE IN GERMANY
The Millenium iCR stem is CNC-milled from AL 7075 in Germany. All other parts of the cable routing system are made of glass-fiber reinforced PA (Polyamide) in cooperation with Acros. We know what you are thinking: "Plastic? This will break for sure!". But that's a common misconception. Polyamide is an extremely functional material with many benefits. It is lightweight, and - when reinforced with glass fiber - extremely robust and durable. Of course, the entire system was tested to the bone and it easily passed all industry-required tests. The Sixpack ICR system is approved for ASTM category 5, the highest category of riding.
Learn more about the new ICR stem.
Sixpack Millenium ICR Stem on the new Propain Tyee.
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If I were going to make something to fill a "gap in the market", I'd make a headset kit that converted internal headset routing back to normal routing.
I find water always gets inside frames via cable ports or drainage holes etc so even well sealed headsets just rot from the inside during a cold wet winter, high quality stainless sealed bearings mitigate the issue but even they end up all gritty and rough.
and yes, I get super wet environments, as I was raised and rode most of my life in the PNW, where good chunks of it are even wetter than Scotland(ftr, I took a 10 day scottish road trip and MTBd all around. never saw a drop of rain! lol). There is no defense from it, and this wouldn't make an appreciable difference one way or another in your environment, except for the pain of swapping. When you live in the bog, you play by the bog's rules mate!
you are also overexaggerating the amount of work. lol. if you are pulling all your cables out of your bike in the instance of headset routing, just to change bearings, I would kindly suggest cracking a beer and thinking about it first. A bit of forethought can save you loads of time and faff.
“Mainly because we know it won't work, but also because we don’t want to put in the effort”.
Hence the "If you have already made up your mind that you don’t like internal routing, skip the article. You can jump straight to the comment section and type a strongly worded comment, if it makes you feel any better." part of the press release.
www.pinkbike.com/news/first-ride-propain-tyee-2023.html
It's like mike levy's downcountry. Started as a joke, now a standard term
The main thing that headset routing has taught me is that by and large, PB commentators are a bunch of whiny snowflakes that should never be allowed to work on a bike.
shops should actually welcome this stuff. more complexity=more money.
i.e. www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-tDisaY8NI
@ 1:50
Yet through headset routing is neither a trend or standard, but you do you.
If you are as good and kind for the industry and to us riders, what’s the use of supporting this tend, considering you also admit it doesn’t make a difference? In the end your product will only strengthen this trend, meaning less non-HS will be made, sold bought, and serviced.
If you wanted to be completely honest about it, just could have said that you’re in it for the money. Your press release would become only more authentic for PB audience then.
www.pinkbike.com/photo/24972157
This is on a Commencal where cable entered like this : img.ricardostatic.ch/images/148b0935-7095-44cc-883b-b090dc64ed08/t_1000x750/commencal-meta-sl-2-26-grosse-m
Doesn't this issue occur with that headset routing?? I can tell you that cables are strong, and nobody likes a damaged steerer...
Asking for a friend
Another company that's going on board with internal cable tourism, ähh routing... WHY? We see a trend of bike manufacturers switching to this new cable routing method. For us as a component brand, it’s important to stay within the trends and standards of modern bikes."
Or, maybe you could have just ignored the hole in the market everyone else left :you know, since it "won't work"), and not acted as an enabler of the bike industry's worst design trend for at least the last 10 years.
The first 6 paragraphs are basically "Don't hit me with that rolled-up newspaper"... I get it, you like money, and I don't blame you...
Under "Doing it right" I was waiting for "running a cable inside your headset bearing is stupid on all accounts and we've found a way around that.... but no....
Yes, it won’t break, but it will add lateral flex felt through the handlebars. Especially for folks who have already tried products like intend stiffmaster for their singlecrowns.
But yeah, I could be wrong as indeed I've never ridden with plastic spacers (nor split spacers).
what you're positing is that a metal spacers, effectively make the steerer a larger diameter, and this in a deflection situation, would offer a more ridgid connection?
Let me take that apart real quick. what you have to take into consideration is that the spacers are not one piece, and that the spacers have a rather healthy clearance from their inner diameter and the outer diameter of the steerer. So there is lots of play to be taken up by the flex of the steerer, before they would offer buttress to further flex of the steerer. to cut this somewhat shorter, the steerer does not flex that much over a 40mm(this is an insane amount of spacers btw) distance. If it did, it would likely snap, or the force would be so great you would not be able to hold onto the bars!
regardless of spacer material, there is about an order of magnitude more flex in your handle bars, then there could ever be in a steerer(without it snapping, which always happens at the CSU, and is a product of the far greater forces induced by the longer lever of the fork, than the 40mm lever of the steerer between the stem and upper headset bearing).
ultimately, you have invented a problem where one does not exist.
and no, not EVERYTHING is a spring. I will give you a couple min to think about why that is, and perhaps what materials/compounds and their properties/states are not.
water. liquid water cannot be compressed, and without compression, you have no spring.
good talk, Rus!
With that out of the way, I'll leave the rest of the discussion to you for now.
If we're on the actual discussion topic, the spacers would add stiffness if the entire thing was either in compression or totally flush, but I don't think that's usually the case. Either way I can't imagine it makes much difference, but I also haven't really given it much thought. It's just such a minor thing relative to everything else
“The bulk modulus of water is about 2.2 x 109 Pa, which means that a change of 1 N/m2 of external pressure on the liquid is able to change a given volume of it by a factor of 4.5 x 10-10”
So it doesn’t compress much, but it does compress. And more to the point, you knew I wasn’t talking liquids, so nice try.
It’s even still looking nice, after XX years on the market.
I will literally never buy a bike with cable tourism aka headset routing. Glad that there's still brands like RAAW and Santa Cruz who haven't lost their freaking marbles.
But otherwise, no I do not like it either.
Obviously those numbers are case by case, but 5 and 2 was what someone actually in marketing for a bike company told me is about usual. Too many people got too excited about dangerholm bikes and the industry wanted to copy.