[SubRider]

I haven't seen this issue addressed.

The rear end of the FD guide of my Chorus 11 cable guide plate doesn't fully fit to the BB shell when the FD cable is not running through it. The front end of the guide fits the BB shell, but the rear end doesn't match the BB shell curvature and is "in the air".
Is this supposed to be? Is it designed so that the FD cable when installed pins the guide against the BB shell? What if there is still some of the rear end "in the air" after the FD cable is installed and tensioned?
Should I cut back "hanging" part of the FD guide?

The RD guide is short and fully fits the BB shell. My Chorus 8 cable guide plate FD guide is also shorter than the Chorus 11 FD guide. The Chorus 8 FD guide rear end fully fits the BB shell.
If the Chorus 11 FD guide leaves some of its FD guide rear end "in the air" after cable install, should I resort to using my Chorus 8 cable guide plate?

Thanks for your help.

 

[aa.mclaren]

Use the older cable guide, if it fits your frame better. Trimming off the hanging end of the newer cable guide would also be an acceptable solution, but it would be better to save it as a spare for a frame that it fits correctly. I am guessing--though I may be wrong--that you are fitting to a steel BB shell, and the newer cable guide design is better suited to the oversize carbon BB areas in more modern frames.

 

[SubRider]

Thanks aa,

The Ti BB shell is of 1993 vintage.

 

[Kerry Irons]

The rear end of the FD guide of my Chorus 11 cable guide plate doesn't fully fit to the BB shell when the FD cable is not running through it. The front end of the guide fits the BB shell, but the rear end doesn't match the BB shell curvature and is "in the air".

Back in the day every BB shell was shaped exactly the same so a BB cable guide could be guaranteed to fit perfectly. Today there are a lot of different shapes and so you might need to customize (trim) a guide to improve fit. If it were me I would carefuly observe the cable guide while shifting the FD. If the thing was flexing then that would suggest both that it was negatively affecting shifting precision and also on its way to fatigue failure. I would trim it. But it if didn't move a bit I would leave it alone.

 

[danl1]

I just saw that on a Ti build, too. I tried to pre-bend the part to avoid tension problems, but ended up snapping it off in the process. You'll note there's a little groove on it, and that's where mine broke. I wonder if that's not intentional, because it seemed to be arranged pretty well at that point. But I then wasn't crazy about the edge there, because I thought it would wear quickly and so need repeated adjustment.

So decided to use a Shimano guide I had around.