How to - drill a hole in your bike

[Hendel Clase]

Currently exploring the idea of getting a dropper post for my 2019 Norco Charger 1. It seems that external dropper posts have gone out of fashion, and getting an external routed one is not a viable option - there simply are not and the new ones are out of my budget. 

So my question thus - I have seen a few nice second hand droppers in the Hub, but all internally routed. This means I will need to drill a hole somewhere for the cable to enter the seatpost tube - the routing from the handle bars to the BB basically will be running externally. 

Any advice will be appreciated

[MORNE]

Id only ever think of doing this on a steel bike if i wanted to Mcgyver it. The material properties means it is just a bit less temperamental than alloys and ‘plastics’. But I suspect you’ll get a lot of replies telling you are mad for even considering this😅

Id also consider making a very small pilot hole first and then to ream it by hand or similar to the required size….slowly. That way you’ll take a lot of the heat out of the picture.

[Nico van Loggerenberg]

You can do it and you can get away with it. But neither myself nor most bike shops will be held responsible. 

[kk6gan]

Depending on if your bike has 2 bottle cages, and whether you use both, I found a viable option for me was to drill out one of the rivnuts for the cage I don't use, and I route my cable through there

[MTBRIDER1234]

I have seen it done on steel, aluminium and carbon. You just have to know where to drill, and at what angle, in order to keep structural integrity. But if done well, it will last forever and cause no issues.

[devvydoesdonuts]

He did this on a cheaper frame so less stress with making a mistake but if you use the right tools should be easy to do. 
 

 

[tubed]

This is the type of issue I take to Knipe Racing - Louis will do it if it is possible, otherwise it is not possible/ recommended.

[SwissVan]

19 minutes ago, MTBRIDER1234 said:

I have seen it done on steel, aluminium and carbon. You just have to know where to drill, and at what angle, in order to keep structural integrity. But if done well, it will last forever and cause no issues.

……..until you have a frame warranty claim denied

[Barry]

I think the bottom of the BB would be fine to drill a small hole. Norco cables run outside the down tube so it will route down and pop in at the bottom of the BB. most important is cleaning  the hole/ burs sharp edges after you drill to prevent cracks. 

[droo]

Lyne do an externally routed dropper which won't break the bank.

If you want to drill your frame, the main thing is to make sure the finishing of the hole is 100% - any stress risers are cracks waiting to happen.

[Mamil]

Belting down a trail with the thought "Someone who said he knew what he was doing drilled a hole in this bike" lurking in the back of my mind.  

🤔

[dasilvarsa]

Also there is the Insurance Issue.

[Headshot]

I did the retro fitting thing to my wife's Zula - drilled a hole near the bottom of the seat tube above the weld at the BB with the cable then routing up the underside of the downtube with the others. I also had to trim/shorten the seat tube at the top to allow appropriate insertion of the post.  Several years later and all appears to be fine.

[MTBRIDER1234]

1 hour ago, SwissVan said:

……..until you have a frame warranty claim denied

You should know that pretty much every bike that doesn't have routing for a dropper is long out of warranty. Hence why they have nothing to loose

 

27 minutes ago, Mamil said:

Belting down a trail with the thought "Someone who said he knew what he was doing drilled a hole in this bike" lurking in the back of my mind.  

🤔

Then I would recommend doing it yourself if it makes you feel more comfortable, as long as you have a drill, a file and a steady hand, it is really easy. Just make sure it is in the right spot.

[Mook]

Steel, yes ........ I have personally installed many rivnuts on forks and down tubes. Loaded my bike with panniers and cargo cages over rough terrains without having any of my DIY's fail on me.

Alloy, naaaah ....... I believe that you create multiple fine hairline cracks in the metal around the hole which are not visible to the naked eye. Alluminum is prone to crack under stress especially where heat is introduced. Yes, there will be many success stories - probably since the riders are not aware of the hidden damage they have done to their frames. Simply not worth the risk for me.

Carbon, hell NOOOOOOO

[Jehosefat]

1 hour ago, Hendel Clase said:

Currently exploring the idea of getting a dropper post for my 2019 Norco Charger 1. It seems that external dropper posts have gone out of fashion, and getting an external routed one is not a viable option - there simply are not and the new ones are out of my budget. 

So my question thus - I have seen a few nice second hand droppers in the Hub, but all internally routed. This means I will need to drill a hole somewhere for the cable to enter the seatpost tube - the routing from the handle bars to the BB basically will be running externally. 

Any advice will be appreciated

https://www.on-lynecomponents.com/collections/dropper-posts

They have externally routed dropper posts for R3,400.

I think someone else mentioned them as well