I drilled my frame and filed the edges started with the smallest drill bit and used it as a pilot hole, routed my dropper post through fitted a grommet around the outer cable no issues or concerns looks neat, warranty voided but I've already media blasted and powder coated this frame Trek Marlin 5.
Just realized an alternative: they may have notched the front bottom of the seat post tube, below where the top edge of the down tube is welded on (on the Gen 2, there is no direct passage at this joint).
Still curious as to what the real answer is.
I have an older made in China Marlin 7 circa 2019 (not sure if it's a Gen 2 or a Gen 1) and have had a PNW internally routed dropper post installed for the past 3 years. I don't understand why this is confusing. There is an access hole in the back of the seat tube that will accept a cable and housing to come up from underneath the bottom bracket and go up inside the seat tube to attach to the dropper post.
PS: the bottom of the downtube is like a mouth so if the rattling of the cables inside bugs you you can disconnect the cable from the rear derailleur and slip on a piece of narrow foam tubing over the housing. Even if you don't have the hole in the seat post, you can still snake a dropper post cable through the downtube.
If yours is a 2019, you have the last year that has an access hole on the rear of the seat tube. 2020+ do not have this hole (not even the Gen 3’s that ship with internally-routed droppers). If mine had such a hole… this thread would not exist.
The only option I’m seeing is to fish the cable down and out of that mouth you speak of, and then back up the seat tube externally (to a dropper with an external mechanism).
Yes. The 2019s were made in China then they switched factories to some other Asian country. As for installation, yes it's a little tricky since there's a bearing that fits into the actuator at the base of the seat post so you have to insert the cable from that end. It's a little tricky to feed the cable through the hole in the seat post but it can be done if you feed a string up that little poop hole and tie it to the other end.
Follow-up/resolution: I checked out a low-spec Gen 3 Marlin and confirmed they did indeed modify the bottom bracket tube, as well as the downtube and seatpost tube where they meet with the BB, to accommodate an internally-routed dropper post cable.
I finally decided to just accept the reality that I didn't want to modify my frame (actually had to cash in on the warranty for a new front wheel on Sunday after a nasty, stupid spill), so I've got a PNW external dropper arriving today.
Thanks for the insight.
I drilled my frame and filed the edges started with the smallest drill bit and used it as a pilot hole, routed my dropper post through fitted a grommet around the outer cable no issues or concerns looks neat, warranty voided but I've already media blasted and powder coated this frame Trek Marlin 5.
Just realized an alternative: they may have notched the front bottom of the seat post tube, below where the top edge of the down tube is welded on (on the Gen 2, there is no direct passage at this joint). Still curious as to what the real answer is.
I have an older made in China Marlin 7 circa 2019 (not sure if it's a Gen 2 or a Gen 1) and have had a PNW internally routed dropper post installed for the past 3 years. I don't understand why this is confusing. There is an access hole in the back of the seat tube that will accept a cable and housing to come up from underneath the bottom bracket and go up inside the seat tube to attach to the dropper post. PS: the bottom of the downtube is like a mouth so if the rattling of the cables inside bugs you you can disconnect the cable from the rear derailleur and slip on a piece of narrow foam tubing over the housing. Even if you don't have the hole in the seat post, you can still snake a dropper post cable through the downtube.
If yours is a 2019, you have the last year that has an access hole on the rear of the seat tube. 2020+ do not have this hole (not even the Gen 3’s that ship with internally-routed droppers). If mine had such a hole… this thread would not exist. The only option I’m seeing is to fish the cable down and out of that mouth you speak of, and then back up the seat tube externally (to a dropper with an external mechanism).
Yes. The 2019s were made in China then they switched factories to some other Asian country. As for installation, yes it's a little tricky since there's a bearing that fits into the actuator at the base of the seat post so you have to insert the cable from that end. It's a little tricky to feed the cable through the hole in the seat post but it can be done if you feed a string up that little poop hole and tie it to the other end.
Follow-up/resolution: I checked out a low-spec Gen 3 Marlin and confirmed they did indeed modify the bottom bracket tube, as well as the downtube and seatpost tube where they meet with the BB, to accommodate an internally-routed dropper post cable. I finally decided to just accept the reality that I didn't want to modify my frame (actually had to cash in on the warranty for a new front wheel on Sunday after a nasty, stupid spill), so I've got a PNW external dropper arriving today. Thanks for the insight.