For Christmas I got a full knew brake set-up complete with top and bottom Odyssey Brake Line cables, Odyssey GTX gyro anda Snafu C-lever. A couple days ago my top gyro cable broke, the bead type thing that hooks into they brake lever broke off from the cables, so I sent it back to Dans to get it replaced. After I sent it I put on an old gyro cable and the same thing happened within 3 days. Since the cables and they brake lever are bolth brand new and I didn't notice any rough edges(or any edges at all) that was comming in contact with the cable to make it fray/brake. Have any of you had this problem before? If you did, did you find out what was wrong? Thanks for all your help!

get a different lever. and try not to buy Snafu parts in the future.

I'm guessing there is something rough in the lever causing the cable to get pinched or cut when you pull the lever.

What lever(s) would you suggest? I was thinking about the Dia-tech Dirt Harry.

I personally like Tech 77's. good two finger levers. Dirty harry is a one finger lever I think, so your brakes need to work really well if you have that lever.

Odyssey has some new levers out and I'd be willing to bet those are good. basicly, I would look for a lever that you think you'd like to have your fingers on. if you like the shape of the Snafu lever, look for something that has that shape.

I use Tektro Levers and I have only broken 2 Detanglars (that is what the upper gyro cable is called). Though it may not be the levers. It can be the cable itself. I use SST Oryg Detanglars. They are the best on the market. (atleast thats what they say) And I believe it. Before you go out and spend all that money on a new lever, you should consider trying a new detanglar. Then if it still breaks the first few days, then you are probably breaking to hard. Or maby it is your levers. You just have to experiment.

you don't know a thing about what you are talking about. the detangler is the thing that the upper and lower cables are attatched to. they are two seperate pieces with bearings,allowing it to spin without getting tangled. the sst cables are on stock bikes and they are alright.

Isn't what you are describing a gyro? Because both the top and bottom brake cables attatch to it (the gyro), and it has bearings so it can spin in any direction without the brake cables ripping off or getting in the way. I'm not sure, and I'm not trying to say that you are wrong, it just sounds like what you're explaining is the gyro, but I could be mistaken. I'm sorry if I am.

when mine broke(tektro/oryg) i just took it off, and used a slick cable. when that broke, i took that off and now i'm brakeless. my riding is improving EXTREMELY quick.

Dia-Compe Tech 77s with the Dragonfly cable router, Odyssey Modulevers, or the new Odyssey M2 (Monolever with a dual-cable setup).

Odyssey's monolevers are really nice and it is the only lever that i havent broken within a month or riding......as for your cables.....unless you are doing double barspins, tailwhips more than once in a session dont bother with Gyro's there harder to dial in and they have lots of play ......just my opinion........get an Odyssey Linear cable.....
-taylor

the detangler is the thing that spins that is in between the stem and the upper headset cup.
this kid is calling the upper gyro cables the detangler

I've used about everything and have to say that Modulvers are about the only thing I will use for brake levers from here on out. I haven't broken one Modulever brake cable in two years.

Now, when I see brake cables snap, it almost always was because the cable and brake lever barrels had been completely unscrewed and when you pulled the lever you could feel the cable bottom out. This means that when you pull the brake lever, you then aren't pulling the cable tighter, but are just trying to rip it apart. You need to screw the barrel adjuster back into your brake lever, unscrew the one all the way on the cable itself, and unscrew the barrels on the top plate of your detangler.

Also, put some grease on the exposed wire inside your brake lever. This will reduce friction inside the lever and reduce wear.