Patent Patrol: EZ hydro routing from Shimano & Campy… causing headaches for others?

Routing hydraulic cables through internally-routed frames can be a (big) hassle. Not only do you need to get the hoses through tiny holes in the frame, but there’s a chance for brake fluid to drip on (or into) stuff. What looks great at the end can have you looking pretty rough by the end of the install.

Lucky for you, we found a couple patents that help to ease the pain – if you are a Shimano or Campagnolo customer.

Shimano’s protective hose cap patent

First up is a very lengthy patent from Shimano. Among other things, it mentions a protective hydraulic hose cap (above). Not only does this serve to plug the end of the hose to prevent fluid leakage, it also has a hole in the end through which you can insert a cable or other guiding mechanism.

Of course, there are other ways to skin a cat if you have a system other than Shimano on your bike – it just may not result in quite the same leak-proof protection.

Campagnolo’s barb-based hose puller

Campagnolo has a similar-but-different take, opting for a barb with an integrated cable holder – rather than a barb covered by a cable-holding cap.

The iteration above appears to be a two-piece construction, with a separate barb.

And a third iteration, above, uses a more minimal design, through which a cable or string could be looped.

While these solutions specifically help anyone running Shimano or Campagnolo hydraulic braking systems, chances are pretty good they would work with hydraulic brake hoses from FSA, Rotor, Magura, and others. Of course, the easiest solution may be to get a complete bike with the brake hoses already installed – but that won’t help in the case of a damaged hose that must be replaced. And until these bits hit the market, the aforementioned home grown solutions are still a solid choice.