Best ways of shortening and tidying up cables & wiring plus which connectors to use?

[niggle]

I would very much appreciate suggestions to shorten and tidy up the wiring on my build, which currently has a 'nest' of coiled cables under the bars. This Cyclotricity kit came with the waterproof connectors which seem to be called either julet or Higo (the white lighting cables will be replaced with tidier black wiring and shrink wrapped connectors):

I was thinking of cutting the plugs off at the controller end, shortening the cables at that end and reconnecting inside the controller box, whilst keeping the waterproof connections at the front of the bike (apart from lopping off the unused ones). I was also considering replacing the KT controller at the same time with one that is rated for higher amps, and going to block connectors. To pull this off I will need to work out the pin-out of the cable plugs and of the new controller. I found some info on pin-outs but not sure how standardised this all is:
A KT controller pin-out:

LED890 display pin-out:

Motor cable pin-out:

 

[peter.c]

I use a small waterproof saddle bag under the handle bars , find its a quicker way than a full cut and solder
job and allows for easy test and replacement

 

[niggle]

I use a small waterproof saddle bag under the handle bars , find its a quicker way than a full cut and solder
job and allows for easy test and replacement

Kinda see how this works for you, but I have a front hub motor, so have both motor and display cables coming to the headtube, which would need a bigger bag. On the other hand my connector wires for brake sensors and throttle are redundant so can be cut off at their exit from the main cable- suppose I could protect the cut ends with RTV/shrink wrap to stop any risk of shorting.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

Rather than cutting wires to shorten cables why not fold them back on themselves, if you see what I mean...

 

[Woosh]

Rather than cutting wires to shorten cables why not fold them back on themselves, if you see what I mean...

it's not good for cables to be folded because the radius is too small at the bends.
Cut and solder is good but difficult to make perfect solder joints on 24 AWG wires and you still have to heat shrink sleeve each solder join.
I would recommend coiling the excess cables and tuck the coils in a bag.
The best is to have cables made to as near to the correct lengths as possible in the first place.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

it's not good for cables to be folded because the radius is too small at the bends.

Depends on the number of wires, wire thickness and insulation thichness of course but I've had success with this method on low current multi-strand signal wires. An inner diameter of say 5mm should be OK.

 

[Woosh]

Depends on the number of wires, wire thickness and insulation thichness of course but I've had success with this method on low current multi-strand signal wires. An inner diameter of say 5mm should be OK.

you have two large cables: 9-pin motor cable and 10-pin 4 in 1 bus cable that are most exposed. The 9-pin has a mixture of high power phase wires and 5V signal wires, I replaced a few over the years. The 10-pin cable has such high density with little insulation in between is most at risk.

 

[Deleted member 25121]

you have two large cables: 9-pin motor cable and 10-pin 4 in 1 bus cable that are most exposed. The 9-pin has a mixture of high power phase wires and 5V signal wires, I replaced a few over the years. The 10-pin cable has such high density with little insulation in between is most at risk.

OK, I wouldn't loop back the 9 wire loom containing high current wires, and the 10 wire cable could be damaged if the wires or insulation are fragile.
You're familiar with the wiring on this bike and I'm not so I fully accept your recommendations.
My suggestion of looping back wires onto themselves was a general one which I've used successfully myself.

 

[Nosweat]

Can't help on the cabling but can you tell us more about the bike? Looks fascinating and I'm in the process of working out how I can convert my own which looks very similar including drop bars, rear hub gears and probably ending up with a front hub motor. How do you find your conversion?

 

[niggle]

Can't help on the cabling but can you tell us more about the bike? Looks fascinating and I'm in the process of working out how I can convert my own which looks very similar including drop bars, rear hub gears and probably ending up with a front hub motor. How do you find your conversion?

It works really well for me, the hub is a SRAM Spectro P5, AKA Pentasport, a design that dates back to before Fichtell & Sachs (generally known as Sachs) were bought up by SRAM. The 5 gears are enough with hub assistance, 4th is set about right for the 25kph top hub assistance speed, 1st is almost never needed. The Drop bars are my preference but there are issues with fitting some things intended for straight bars on them as they are thicker than the standard straight bar 22.2mm thickness where things like brakes and shiters fit, and not much room if you want to use the 'tops' of the bars at times. The accessory bar is 22.2mm thick and designed to clamp onto the 31.8mm stem clamp area of modern bars (common to straight and drop bars) so it has helped a lot with accomadating stuff. The rear brake is drum brake integral with the hub, the front brake is a TRP Spyre cable disc brake which is fairly unique among cable disc brakes as both pads move in towards the disc when the brakes are applied, and it is designed for use with 'standard' pull levers for canti or caliper brakes, i.e. not v-brake type, so is compatible with drop bar levers. The frame is a Carrera Subway Zero alloy frame which originally was a single speed hybrid hence horizontal dropouts., It was originally spaced at 120mm at the rear but I spread that to the spacing of the hub which is 126mm, so not a massive spread. Tyres are Vittoria Voyager Hyper 35mm which are very supple and have a very low rolling resistance , Planet X were selling these brown ones for £15 each so I bought a bunch of them at the time. The lights are a Spanninga Elips xe rear, Spanninga Axendo xe front, both of which are ebike compatible up to 36V and wired directly to the battery, so are on al the time the battery is switched on and a Magicshine Cree XML which I use as a 'main beam' and have also wired into the battery via an adjustable voltage regulator which I have set to produce the same 8V that a fully charged battery puts out.

 

[Nosweat]

Thanks that's a lovely build. I'd considered an accessory bar but thought it would be too bulky and introduce clutter to the simplicity of drop bars - your photos demonstrate that needn't be the case. Well done!