Bicycle Tutor

Hi there,
So I did some tune-up on my brakes (standard V brakes), and they were working great for some time but just recently, the levers began to be slow popping back.

This continued, and now I notice that whenever I release the rear brakes, the ferrule (little metal tip) of the cable casing pops out of the adjustment knob. It's as if when I pull the brake, it pulls out the cable from the casing, but when I release, it doesn't slide smoothly back in and the whole thing just pops out. Does this make sense?

I'm thinking I need to trickle some lube in there. I'm riding in Holland right now so weather conditions are crummy. I'd rather DIY though I guess I may need to get new casing? I already took them off the levers and the levers themselves move back and forth easily, so I don't think it's that. Also, the brake assembly has been working fine through this so I don't think it's that either.

Thanks!

HADO

If you can?
Strip the inners out of the housings and clean them.
The back is fairly easy as there is usually some bare part of cable so you can move the casings along to clean the inner.
The front though is covered most of the way so really needs the cable disconnecting and the outer removing to clean the inner properly.
While your at it look for loose wire strands which can cause a lot of friction.
I'll leave it to you on whether you re-grease after or not.
I would also check the spring-back of the V brakes in case the pivots also need cleaning.
Just unclip the "noodle" and test with your hand.

Sounds like you need new cable set for the brakes I would do both front and back and check your pads as well if they have a lot of miles on them replace them too.Then you should be set to go for a while.If you need help on this just watch the videos here they should help you out.
Good luck to you.

(Feb 25, 2010 07:01 AM)cyclerUK Wrote:  If you can?
Strip the inners out of the housings and clean them.
The back is fairly easy as there is usually some bare part of cable so you can move the casings along to clean the inner.
The front though is covered most of the way so really needs the cable disconnecting and the outer removing to clean the inner properly.
While your at it look for loose wire strands which can cause a lot of friction.
I'll leave it to you on whether you re-grease after or not.
I would also check the spring-back of the V brakes in case the pivots also need cleaning.
Just unclip the "noodle" and test with your hand.

Thanks a lot for this. So what I describe seems to be a natural symptom of needing some cleaning?
At any rate I will go ahead and do this later. If it doesn't work, I will just replace my cables completely.

Well, if things become stuck it is usually because the are gunked up and you have to remove the gunk... Another problem is missing lube.

First unclip the cable from the brake and check if it is moving smoothly and freely. If the problem sits there, remove the brake arms, clean the pivot and reinstall. Take care to note the hole in which the spring went! More likely it'll be the cable, though.