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Snapped Front Brake Cable - Help!

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Snapped Front Brake Cable - Help!

Postby ARider on Sat Apr 14, 2007 6:39 am

My front brake cable has snapped inside the tube! Has anyone replaced this cable before? Can you replace it with Standard Brake Cable or is it a special part, given that the cable folds up inside the tube. Before I start work on it thought it would be good to get some good advice from you guys. I would appreciate your input.
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Re: Snapped Front Brake Cable - Help!

Postby newcross on Sat Apr 14, 2007 9:42 am

Good morning ARider. Yes, you can replace them with normal brake cable (Barrel Nipple), but you need two of them for the front.

one on the brake lever side is about 87.5cm without the nipple part.
one on the wheel side is about 56cm without the nipple part.

hang on! I can post some pics for replacing the brake cable before I go out.
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Postby newcross on Sat Apr 14, 2007 10:45 am

To replace front brake cable,

1. detach brake cable from front wheel's brake band.
2. remove the front bottom tube cover and the front wheel.
Image

3.remove the top cap from front top tube. (*there are 2 caps, so just the 1st one for now.)
Image
4.gently pull the cable (togather with the outer tube) from the front of the handle bar till bare inner cable appear.
Image

5.remove the second cap from the front top tube. pulling the cap upwards, then the cable joint part comes out with it.
Image
Image

6.this is the core of the front brake.
Image
7.the stopper on the end of upper cable might be hard to remove. I had to use two pliers to avoid damaging the screw head.
Image

the rest should be easy, but remember the spring for the tube locking button works as a cable guide, so make sure the cable go through the centre of the spring when you put them back.
Image

sorry, i have to rush off now, i hope this is enough to help you. :D
Last edited by newcross on Wed May 02, 2007 2:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby ARider on Sat Apr 14, 2007 11:16 am

Thankyou heaps Newcross, I'll give it a try
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Postby Binch Shin on Sat Apr 14, 2007 3:37 pm

Wow.. Good technician you are !! newcross !!

Anyway, the procedure of newcross is clear on this page but I think this work is hard for most of us. This is professional !!

The cable has no part which could have a failure. It is just a cable. I hope Arider doesn't try to exchange the cable because the problem is another one.

Arider, if you feel some difficult to disassemble your A-bike then please explain your problems exactly.

P.S. newcross's orange fingers were so cuit :wink:
Bicycles are Human Amplifiers - Mark Sanders -
Bintz's google profile(Buzz)
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Postby newcross on Mon Apr 16, 2007 12:56 am

What Binch Shin said about the brake cable is quite true. Come to think of it, the structure is not easy to snap at all... :?

Unless, Give a good shake A-bike to tangle up inner cables when folded , then extend the front tube with brutal force.... this might be able to snap the front brake cable at its jointed part. Well, you have to be quite lucky to manage to do all this properly, really.

Let's wait ARider's update.

P.S. A-bike is the first bike I take it apart and I didn't know anything about bicycle and its maintenance. I think once you get the hang of it, A-bike would be quite self-maintenance friendly, but I'm used to handling some DIY tools though. .
the orange thingy is my favorite. :wink:
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Postby editor at large on Mon Apr 16, 2007 8:59 pm

You fellas are pure A-List!

I'm so impressed. I almost wish I had a fault on my beautiful A-Bike.
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Postby ARider on Sat Apr 21, 2007 10:49 am

Have just finished replacing the cables. Thankyou Newcross for your advice and pics, they made the job easy!

Also while I was at it, drilled a second set of holes lower in the front tube as highlighted in one of your previous posts in order to lower the head stem height. Only went 3.5cm down the tube, not the full 7cm as the Japanese owner had done. I like the result with the bike less inclined to rear up at the front, even though it adds one more click in the folding/unfolding process.
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Postby newcross on Sat Apr 21, 2007 5:46 pm

My pleasure, ARider. I'm glad your A-bike is fixed.

Hey ARider, you are cool 8) You actually tried the drilling mod! ( http://www.abikecentral.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=229 )
I was playing with my A-bike's front tube length. I also would go for around 3.5cm to 4cm like you. (personal preference :) )

but where was the snapped(?) point exactly? Please let us know for our future reference. :D
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Postby ARider on Mon Apr 23, 2007 12:37 am

I have two A-Bikes one new and the other second hand. The cable problem occurred with the one I bought second hand. When I disassembled the front tube I found that the screw securing the end of the upper cable against the cable slide had come loose so the cable hadn't snapped as I first thought, although it felt like that when the brake lever hit the handlebar when I was riding. Interestingly, I think the previous owner had disassembled the tube before me for some reason and adjusted the upper cable as there were tool marks on the cable screw and cable barrel. Mystery of the snapping cable solved hopefully.

A small aside does anyone know what the maximum speed record is for an A-bike. Had mine to 38kph going down a hill accompanied by a friend on his mountain bike with a speedo. I found this frightening as the A-Bike and myself were right out of our comfort zones!
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Re: Snapped Front Brake Cable - Help!

Postby Tania on Sat Feb 06, 2010 3:09 pm

Hi I am in need of some brake help!

Have been riding my a-bike for quite some time now - and love it. So i realised that due to standard wear and tear the brake cables were splitting.

Not a problem, me thinks..... took the bike apart got to both the front and rear "link / connector" in the brake cable - took out the old brake cable - replace these with nice shiny new ones....

PROBLEM! - how do I get the brake cable to go back through the small copper "tubes"???
Have tried everything and cant seem to either push them through or force them through.....

Any help here would be most appreciated as right now I cant get to ride my favorite bike!
Also on that topic - do you know of anywhere where I can buy the little screws that attach the brake cable to the brake?

Thanks in advance
Tania
 


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