Yup, all the road trips are canceled for the year. The Fuji TS III I rehab'd last winter was all dressed up for those trips but..... Well, I've been enjoying it locally at least.
On a recent trip "around the block" I got back to the shop and noticed a rear brake pad dragging. I quickly found that the tension spring had broken so the tension spring on the other side was pulling the caliper - Dia Compe 960. I found that the tab on the spring that engages the hole in the stud mount was gone, broken off at the bend. Well as I did not know that I could not do it, I went down the spring a bit and bent a new tab. Not quite a 90deg bend though so less stress. It works just fine and does not seem to have changed the centering of the pads. Nice. Then....
As I did not know I could not do it, I searched my piles of "junk too small to throw away" and found a spring that was pretty close to the same diameter. I fussed and cut and struggled and was able to fabricate another spring to do the same job. Not pretty but functional. I've no intention of doing more unless I need them, beyond the spare I now have. If I had to make a living at this I would starve to death in a week. Next time I'm at the LBS I'll rummage in the Bygone Brakes Box to see the dimensions of a V brake return spring. I may try to fab another spring for these 960s from that. Worse that can happen is I just recycle the metal.
stock spring from front and spring I started with.
again, stock spring (R) and the one I made (L). Ugly but functional. Nice to have a back up. If one breaks then another will.