jlieu

Hi all,

I've looked around and tried reading as much as I could, but still can't seem to get this right. Clearly, this is beyond my ability to comprehend so I was hoping someone could help me with this.

Here is how I started as the brake line provided only had one end with this 'head' while the other is just plain. Made sense to me.


Brake line from lever to calipers...I know it still needs to be trimmed and hosed.


So here is where I am having trouble, I am not quite sure where to place this line in order to secure and tighten it. Supposedly, there is a screw (at least on other models) that you remove to attach the line but I have no clue which/where that is.


As you can see, the opening is threaded but I am not sure what goes in there. In addition, I know the quick release lever is suppose to be down for closing/up for opening but it really made no difference for me at this stage.



Also, does it matter which way that opening is facing (on the quick release lever)? It seems to be able to spin freely with the bolt it is attached to.

Thank you, I must be overlooking something simple here...

Puget Pounder

It looks like you are missing a screw and a clamp.That hole is not meant for a cable, it is meant for a screw. The cable is suppose to go parallel to the flat side.

joejack951

Lots of help needed here

First off, those brake levers are not intended to be used by themselves. They are designed to be used inline with a set of regular brakes levers. The spot where you have the cable end is where a piece of housing should go. You also have the lever facing the wrong direction. The lever should be rotated so that you pull the lever towards to brake, rather than push (hopefully this is stating the obvious).

You are definitely missing the pinch bolt at the brake caliper too. Seeing the top tube wrapped in some sort of packing material makes me think that this is a brand new bike. Have you unpacked everything?

Honestly, my first thought is that you should immediately take this project to a bike shop and let them complete the assembly for you. You can study it and learn what they did and on your next bike, or when it comes time to replace some stuff, do it yourself. At the moment, you appear way in over your head. With a lot of effort on your part, you can figure this out but it will likely cost you a lot of time and potentially some money to replace ruined parts.

Puget Pounder

Take a look around Sheldonbrown.com.

I think you should give the DIY a shot, but definitely have someone look over it before you ride.

Those brake levers are intended to be used as secondary levers, but work well in primary as well. It really depends on how you set it all up.

desertdork

As for what's going on at the caliper, maybe this will help clear up what's missing:



You're missing the second half of the clamp as well as the pinch bolt. The cable will be sandwiched between in a shallow groove between the flats of the two halves. Check the box again for small parts rolling about.

I'm thinking this is a fixed/ss using only cross lever(s). If so, the cable feeds from the other direction, with the housing butted up against the barrel adjuster as joejack stated. If this assembly is truly confusing to you, then I concur with joejack's suggestion to get a shop to finish this up for you.

hairnet

Seeing you have a brand new Bikesdirect bike, I suggest you take it to a shop for assembly since you don't know what you're doing. There's more to that bike than just getting the brake installed.

fietsbob

+1, bypassing the dealer and a reasonably experienced, skilled mechanic,
doing the assembly and adjustments to a new bike ,
only works if you are that skilled mechanic.

mikeybikes

Keep digging in the box that bike came in. There's gotta be more parts...

canam73

I see milkbones. What kind of a dog you gots?

cyclist2000

I also didn't see any cable housing on the brake cable, you may find the rest of the brake parts with the housing.

jlieu

I appreciate everybody's concerns, though I just want to throw a go at it before I have my bro-in-law (though he only rides MTB) check it out when he comes for daughter's birthday party later this week or go up the street to LBS to look over it. As such, I greatly appreciate some of the efforts in actually assisting me with this.

It is a FG. We have a Boxer and Rat Terrier lol.

Here is the only bolt and nut (two sets) I found:


**EDIT UPDATE**
Nevermind, I was able to find a photo that helped me understand the mechanics and what I am looking for.

Apparently I am missing these...