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Step 7Front Suspension (Forks)
For starters, we are going to attach the blue EL Wire to the front forks. It's simpler, there are no gears, pedals, or cables around them, and they are easy to work around to start with.
Install First, Cut Later
With EL Wire, only cut once you're sure you have enough. This doesn't mean measure twice, cut once, this means make absolutely sure you have the amount of EL wire you need before cutting by attaching the entire length to take into account twists, spiraling, knots, and other unexpected lengths. EL wire is very difficult to splice together, and this not only gets you the results you want, but also minimizes wasted wire. Also try to minimize the use of zip-ties if possible, as they must be very tight to hold the wire (crushing it), block the wire's light, and tend to look messy. Sometimes however, they are necessary for a weird wrap or termination.
Wrap Smart
Since this bicycle is going to be taking mountain trails, jumps, hills, and other unknown obstacles, the wire needs to be attached very tightly and not have any opportunities to get rubbed against a tire or severed by a spoke or brake disc. Though you shouldn't tie full-on knots with EL Wire, you can use same-direction overlaps that allow you to use EL Wire to hold itself down. You'll need to be creative in applying your wire tightly, and take into account how wire will shift with movement, rather than what path you would "like" it to take. Figure out what works, and try to keep everything tight and compact.
A note for when you jump from one fork to the other, I have a cross-bar that connects my two forks together, and is fairly common on newer mountain bikes. If you don't have a cross bar, and each fork stands by itself, you can simply create a high-arching upside down "U" shape. If that doesn't work, you can wrap it once around your actual shock with some slack, and hop directly over to the opposite shock (since shocks move in parallel).
My wire begins on the bottom of the left shock, and ends at the bottom of the right shock, this keeps everything clean and simple.
I've attached a picture showing some common tying methods I use.
Install First, Cut Later
With EL Wire, only cut once you're sure you have enough. This doesn't mean measure twice, cut once, this means make absolutely sure you have the amount of EL wire you need before cutting by attaching the entire length to take into account twists, spiraling, knots, and other unexpected lengths. EL wire is very difficult to splice together, and this not only gets you the results you want, but also minimizes wasted wire. Also try to minimize the use of zip-ties if possible, as they must be very tight to hold the wire (crushing it), block the wire's light, and tend to look messy. Sometimes however, they are necessary for a weird wrap or termination.
Wrap Smart
Since this bicycle is going to be taking mountain trails, jumps, hills, and other unknown obstacles, the wire needs to be attached very tightly and not have any opportunities to get rubbed against a tire or severed by a spoke or brake disc. Though you shouldn't tie full-on knots with EL Wire, you can use same-direction overlaps that allow you to use EL Wire to hold itself down. You'll need to be creative in applying your wire tightly, and take into account how wire will shift with movement, rather than what path you would "like" it to take. Figure out what works, and try to keep everything tight and compact.
A note for when you jump from one fork to the other, I have a cross-bar that connects my two forks together, and is fairly common on newer mountain bikes. If you don't have a cross bar, and each fork stands by itself, you can simply create a high-arching upside down "U" shape. If that doesn't work, you can wrap it once around your actual shock with some slack, and hop directly over to the opposite shock (since shocks move in parallel).
My wire begins on the bottom of the left shock, and ends at the bottom of the right shock, this keeps everything clean and simple.
I've attached a picture showing some common tying methods I use.
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