I have been using my Novara Gotham as my primary transportation for the last three years. I was rolling up to a stop light and pulled the break handles. I heard a odd "sprang!" sound and had no front break effect (I had already shed enough speed that it wasn't a problem).

The cable broke right where it clamps to the caliper . . . not the end of the world.

It is generic caliper, I might use this as a reason to upgrade to hydraulic.