Hello everyone, I hope this is not the wrong place to ask. I’ve just changed my bike’s brakes (caliper type mechanism) because one of the two cable jackets did this (the black part correctly stops at the brake lever but the central part is smaller and is able to enter the brake lever). After changing to a new one at the front, I tensioned the back one and it broke the same way after a few tests. Am I doing everything wrong? (The bike is really old and rusty but seems to me I can only upload 1 pic per post)
Edit: link to some more photos
The steel inner hose should stay inside the hose, when breaking it should rest against the barrel adjuster (top-left)
If the inner cable hose is able to push through the barrel, it means the hole in it is too large (or the cable and hose too thin!) but also that the hose is really shitty quality for breaking like this
I’d recommend starting with buying the cable hose somewhere else, and maybe check the barrel adjuster as well, it should only allow the cable through
You’re not doing it wrong, cables corrode/wear out. If the bike is that old and rusty, replacing the cables is normal, as is the tires/tubes, the brake pads, spokes (they might snap if you’re truing up the wheels), chain links (if any are corroded), basically all of the wearable non-frame stuff. If there is rust on the frame, it might be structurally compromised and unsafe to ride.
thanks, will look at the chain and frame too! (Doesn’t seem to be that much rusty)
That’s crazy. I’ve only ever seen this happen after an emergency stop with compressionless housing while not using a ferrule at a|l cable stops. 😄
The sibling comment has the solutions.
It might happen if the force applied to break is too high, right? So is it possible that I tensioned the cable too much when setting the breaks?
No, this is basically the point that anchors your brake force. It’s what you “push against” when you pull the brake. No (pre) tension can make that happen. It means something failed quite hard, I’ve also never seen this. Even if you put all your might into the brake lever, that shouldn’t even be possible.
Maybe the slot this is seated in was worn quite badly, but that’s still a spectacular result even for that.
You’ll need a correctly sized stopper cap like the metal end cap on the black housing in your pic. Though clearly that one has been blown through. The opening in it should be just large enough to let the break cable through. You can add an external one onto this housing if you find one
A stronger metal ferrule (the metal part) from Jagwire or equivalent might be able to workaround the improper hole of the break lever.
If all else fails, new brake levers would do the trick.
what do you mean by “improper hole of the break lever”? Should it be small enough to pass just the metal cable and stop the thing between the metal cable and the plastic jacket?
Yea, the cable casing should stop at the lever body and it should only feed cable to the lever itself.
Thanks for the clear explanation, yes definitely broken then
Is this a damn Paul Components lever?
Yea, I couldn’t afford anything Paul BITD so now all my stuff is from brands I thought were cool in the 90’s. That KM is all Paul and White Industries.
Respect. 🙌
Yes, exactly. And if it’s larger than that, you have to rely on the metal of the ferrule to hold the pressure which it’s typically not made to do. If the ferrule can’t hold it, no amount lf tension adjustment would fix it because tension just regulates the position at which the lever is when the brake pads have fully engaged the rim. The force you apply once engaged is roughly the same (unless the brake bottoms out but that’s not an effective braking adjustment). If I were you and spending the money on new brake levers wasn’t a problem I’d do that instead of trying to workaround it with a strong ferrule. You could replace just the front. The rear brake doesn’t do much anyway.
Thanks, very clear, that explains everything! I will buy new levers and I’ll bring the piece with me to check the hole size
