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Old 09-25-22, 10:25 AM
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Unca_Sam
The dropped
 
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Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: Columbus, OH
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Bikes: Pake C'Mute Touring/Commuter Build, 1989 Kona Cinder Cone, 1995 Trek 5200, 1973 Raleigh Super Course FG, 1960/61 Montgomery Ward Hawthorne "thrift" 3 speed, by Hercules (sold) : 1966 Schwinn Deluxe Racer (sold)

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Originally Posted by tenrec
Any idea what's going on with my brake levers? These are not scratches or scrapes -- they are some sort of curlicue lines in the aluminum of the levers. They remind me of worm damage to wooden ships at sea. These are the original brake levers that came with my bike. Thay are 2009 Shimano Ultegra and they're mounted on a 2009 Trek Madone 4.7. The deterioration began a number of years ago and had been getting gradually worse.

Those parts are anodized, or they should be. While the oxide layer created by anodizing is tough, it's not invincible. Besides sanding, one of the only ways to get through anodizing is a strong basic solution, or enough time with a weaker solution.

To be perfectly honest, it looks like someone took a fine grinding stone in a Dremel and let it skip across the surface of your levers. Usually when anodizing wears through it has an obvious cause.
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