Tightening a loose brake lever
01-30-07, 10:23 AM
#1
Ex-Lion Tamer
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Posts: 1,152
Bikes: 1982 Lotus Legend (steel-frame touring bike); 1982 Fuji S10S (converted to a singlespeed: 46x16); Specialized Crossroads hybrid (the child taxi).
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Tightening a loose brake lever
While climbing this morning, I wrenched one brake lever a bit. It's the bicycle equivalent of rolling your ankle; I eased up immediately before yanking the thing around the bars, and I was ginger with it the rest of the ride. But an ankle will heal by itself. I don't think a brake lever will.
Is tightening an easy fix? Or do I have to unwrap the bars to get at the nut?
Is tightening an easy fix? Or do I have to unwrap the bars to get at the nut?
01-30-07, 10:32 AM
#2
Gone, but not forgotten
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Newtonville, Massachusetts
Posts: 2,301
Bikes: See: https://sheldonbrown.org/bicycles
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 24 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 6 Times
in
5 Posts
Originally Posted by Bklyn
While climbing this morning, I wrenched one brake lever a bit. It's the bicycle equivalent of rolling your ankle; I eased up immediately before yanking the thing around the bars, and I was ginger with it the rest of the ride. But an ankle will heal by itself. I don't think a brake lever will.
Is tightening an easy fix? Or do I have to unwrap the bars to get at the nut?
Is tightening an easy fix? Or do I have to unwrap the bars to get at the nut?
Drop-bar brake levers are generally secured by an Allen bolt which is accessible from the front, through the gap that appears at the top of the moving lever when you apply the brakes. This is usually the 5 mm size, sometimes 4 mm. A "balldriver" type Allen wrench is usually most convenient for this. ('80s and older bikes may use a flat blade screwdriver, or a nutdriver/socket wrench, typically 8 or 9 mm size.)
If your bike has combined brake/shift levers ("brifters") the Allen bolt is accessible by sticking the wrench under the rubber cover along the outer/upper edge of the stationary lever hood.
Sheldon "Those Are The Usual Options" Brown
Code:
+-----------------------------------------------------+ | Life is the art of drawing sufficient conclusions | | from insufficient premises. --Samuel Butler | +-----------------------------------------------------+
01-30-07, 07:52 PM
#3
Ex-Lion Tamer
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Brooklyn, N.Y.
Posts: 1,152
Bikes: 1982 Lotus Legend (steel-frame touring bike); 1982 Fuji S10S (converted to a singlespeed: 46x16); Specialized Crossroads hybrid (the child taxi).
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Thank you very much. Yes, road levers, you're correct. Nonaero, on an early-80's road bike. I'll arm myself with an allen wrench and a screwdriver.
01-31-07, 06:15 AM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 1,616
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 1 Time
in
1 Post
Originally Posted by Bklyn
Thank you very much. Yes, road levers, you're correct. Nonaero, on an early-80's road bike. I'll arm myself with an allen wrench and a screwdriver.
Do not over-tighten the lever. When a bicycle falls over (via crashing, or sometimes simply just falling over), typically the levers strike the ground in the process. You want the lever to "give" a little on impact. Straightening it is highly preferable to having to replace it if it breaks on impact.
Bob
