Front Brake Cable?
 

Hi

Please help me out. I just bought a BMX for my 12 year old son. But in order for the front tire to spin all the way around, I have to disconnect the front cable. Is this Normal? or should it be connected? The rear brakes have the detangeler. So why have that if the front one Twistes? As you can tell, i do not know much about BMX. So help me out Please.

you mean you can't spin the handlebars in a 360 degree rotation or the front brake cable will get tight/wound up?

where did you get this bike?

on most bmx bikes that run front brakes, the cable goes down the center of the fork steer tube. it can be easy to set this up, depending on what bike you have.

so, what bike is it?

Its a Mongoose Team. So Im guessing it was just set up wrong then? I will Check it when I get home. Thanks for your help. I knew somthing wasent right. :D

sounds like it. you bought it at wal-mart? I would seriously consider taking it to a real bike shop and have them go over it. if the kid at wal-mart that put the bike together doesn't know how to put the front brake cable on, what else did he forget to tighten or put on correctly?

it's your childs safety.

The above statements were accurate.

Please check the photos at www.bmxtrix.com -> how-to -> fix your bike -> bike basics.

It shows the front brake cable being routed down through a hole in the stem, down the forks, and then it loops back up into the front brakes from underneath.

If the bike you bought has this hole but brakes were not setup this way and the models at the store that you bought the bike from ARE setup correctly, then return the bike.

It is always recommended that you (at the very least) buy a bike from a bike shop instead of a toy store. While bikes are fun, they are also your childs main form of transportation and need the same reliability as your car does. Would you buy your car from a department store if you knew a minimum wage employee put it together? Just some thought. Bikes from toy stores can be marginally okay, but should be checked by a mechanic for proper setup.

you could just go to your lbs and have them do it for pretty much free unless you need the hollow bolt top cap, which only runs like 10 bucks

Yeah, local bike shops don't charge you labor :rolleyes:

They stay in business BY charging labor! They may charge 30 bucks or more to fix a problem with the bike that should not have been there from the beginning. If the bike is not designed to use a gyro/front brake setup, then the bike not only won't have a hollow aheadset bolt it may not have front brakes that can be used with the cable coming up from underneath. That would mean about 30 to 40 bucks in cost, plus labor to install everything. That ends up being probably closer to 100 bucks - or half (or more) the bike's total value brand new.

Have the place of purchase take care of the bike, or return it and go to a bike shop. A bike shop usually offers 1 year service on the bike for free! That alone is worth the extra money you pay. The quality mechanic is the goal to ensuring safety.

Thank you all for your help. I fixed the problem. Those pictures really helped BMXTRIX. It was just as the pictures showed. Thanks again all for your replys. And i will show my son this site for all his future questions.