Bent / Smushed Top Tube Cable Guide / Stop
 

Hey y'all. The first little loop of the forward braze on cable guide on my steel frame was dinged and deformed inward slightly. I had to cut the old rear brake cable to get it out of the guide, and when I test installed a new cable the guide was so tight it stripped the housing off the cable as I pulled it through. I *might* be able to thread a cable through it as is but it would be a painstaking process. So, is there any good option to re-form/bend the cable stop to get it back nearer to round? Of course I don't want the braze on to be pulled off or otherwise damaged.

I'll try to post a pic later but hopefully for now this problem is simple enough to imagine without a visual aid. Thanks for your help.

A suitable tapered "alignment punch" could be tapped into the guide from both ends to restore it's round shape.

Thanks HillRider. Quick question if you've got a minute: do you think this is a job better left to my LBS?

^^ Doesn't take a lot of skill. Place the tapered punch through the guide. Then gentle taps to round it out. But if you are not confident, bring it to someone.

I don't like tapping on a punch against the guide (except for very gentle tapping) because it places all the stress on the attachment of the guide to the frame, and they can and do break if manhandled.

So I usually take a steel ball of the right diameter, or a bullet shaped plug (drill rod, or shank of dead twist drill, shaped on bench grinder) and use a pair of pliers to squeeze it into the end of the fitting. I eject it with a small punch from the other end.

This technique is probably overly cautious for brazed steel fittings, but can prevent detaching the bonded fittings on Carbon or aluminum frames.

Been there done that on a cable guide on my Colnago BB. The material is fairly soft so go easy.

Just use a tapered smooth punch of some type, working from both sides of the guide clamp. You don't want to disturb the guide clamp too much or you can break it off from the frame. Work slowly and gently to reshape the guide clamp.

Thanks all, good advice. This falls under my "better to not screw this up" category so I took the frame to my LBS. They gently tweaked the loop via upward pressure with a punch. I like many of the ideas here better -- including FBs approach -- but it worked fine. Next time I'll try it myself.