Bicycle Mechanics - BMX Brake cable help

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cs1
06-24-07, 03:28 AM
Yesterday the kid down the street left his BMX bike in the driveway. Naturally, I had to look it over. The front brake had the cable entering from the bottom of the brake. The hardware was actually set up that way. Did he do it or was that the way the factory sets these bike up? I can't see any reason why it would be that way.

Tim

Stacey
06-24-07, 03:35 AM
Was there a gyro on the bike?
cs1
06-24-07, 06:51 AM
Was there a gyro on the bike?

No, it went straight from the lever to the brake. The more I think about it, the more of a hack job it looked like.

Tim

Stacey
06-24-07, 06:57 AM
It sounds a lot like a rear brake from a step-thru frame. A lot of... most... some calipers you can swap the adjuster and the pinch bolt to make the cable come in from the top.
cs1
06-24-07, 08:16 AM
It sounds a lot like a rear brake from a step-thru frame. A lot of... most... some calipers you can swap the adjuster and the pinch bolt to make the cable come in from the top.

The adjuster and pinch bolt were definitley reversed on this setup.

Tim
dooley
06-24-07, 02:36 PM
this is a legit way to set up a front brake if you run the cable through the fork steerer. it's so you can spin the bars without it getting tangled
Sheldon Brown
06-24-07, 03:00 PM
this is a legit way to set up a front brake if you run the cable through the fork steerer. it's so you can spin the bars without it getting tangled
Right. It's called the "Potts Modification."

Sheldon "http://sheldonbrown.com/glossary" Brown
cs1
06-26-07, 03:03 AM
this is a legit way to set up a front brake if you run the cable through the fork steerer. it's so you can spin the bars without it getting tangled

Thanks dooley and Sheldon for the heads up on the Potts mod. Problem is the cable just goes right from the brake lever to the brake. Maybe it's my roadbike upbringing, I'm not used to seeing a cable just hanging there.

Tim