nashvillebill

Finagling with an old non-aero DC brake lever, took it off the bar, and a small spring fell out, about 1/8 inch diameter and 1/2 inch long.

No obvious location to re-insert said spring, but it seems necessary to help the lever return to position (other side returns to position without cable attached, this side just flops downward).

Where does this spring go? How to re-insert it without having it launch across the room? (Anybody that has ever worked on old Dual turntables knows about having one of its tiny circlips launch itself into the cosmos, never to be found again--though I figured out a trick for those)

TIA.

79pmooney

Brake levers went many decades without those springs. I'd hook it up and see if not having it is an issue. You will have to keep the lever, cable and caliper in a slightly better state of lubrication but that is hardly "bad". (Another plus - more braking power; you aren'e squeezing against that spring.)

Ben

nashvillebill

Right, I shouldn't have used the word "necessary" but rather "intentional". I'm sure it would work without it. FWIW, I have installed a different set of bars with different levers and longer stem, so these original bars/levers/stem are just going into a box to keep should I ever sell the bike. Since there won't be any cables attached to these unused bars/levers, it just looks odd to have one lever outward and the other lever flopping around loose. In other words, just a tiny tad of obsession with a trivial part.

Chombi1 

I think later brake caliper designs started using weaker springs to lighten the action and help with feel at the levers so the pull effort isn't put too much into just defeating the springs at the calipers. The light duty springs just help this light action work better by making sure the cable is fed back completely towards the calipers when the levers are released as the caliper spring would not have to pull on the lever. I think the brakeset will still work well, as long as the cables and casings are in good shape and specially if you make sure you use cable casings lined with low friction plastic tubing.

T-Mar

This sounds different than Dia-Compe's aero BRS levers, which had a mounting hole in the lower front of the lever body.

Hudson308 

Perhaps the cable goes through it... this would keep the lever extended. Is the spring visible in the other lever?

nashvillebill

This is a small compression spring, not a torsion spring like the aero levers pictured. I don't see it visible on the other lever, must be underneath. It wouldn't go on the cable inside the lever-- that would force the lever in, not extended; also, I've already taken the cable off the other lever and no spring fell out and it's not visible there (but I can feel the spring's operation).

Oh well, it's not a huge deal, just a tiny trivial item which isn't necessary for the brake's function...

Prowler 

Do your brakes have the " safety levers" - aka turkey wings. Those have a spring just as you describe inside the pivot pin. It is under the screw that holds the safety lever on the brake lever body, provides tension to keep the screw from vibrating out. You'll see that the end of that screw has a tooth on the end, engages the spring and the spring keeps the screw tight.

Has that spring fallen out while you had the brake lever assembly apart. Is that spring still in the other sides assembly. BTW, it's a black spring.

nashvillebill

Ah-ha! That's exactly it, this has the turkey wings, and I had taken the lever off (was thinking about using the hoods on the other set of brake levers till it dawned on me that these hoods have holes for the safety levers). Piece of cake then. And yes it was a black spring.

So it did not have anything to do with returning the lever to the outward position-- after looking closer it appears the gum hood was what was pushing the lever back out some and not this stupid spring.

Thanks for solving one of the great mysteries of life. I was losing sleep over it, you know

Prowler 

Glad to help. I've lost too many of those by not paying attention. Now I keep a magnet handy when I remove a turkey wing, grab that spring right off and drop it into a zip lock bag for safe keeping. PIA for that lever to fall off out in the wild after the screw bounced into the weeds way back......

Oh yes, I do still use the wings on a couple of bikes but I hack off about 3" and straighten the rest. I can then operate them for mild braking while my hands are on the ramps, a location I use a lot. I go to the proper brake levers when I'm in traffic or blazing down hill.

vmalmgren

I have similar Dia Compe levers, 287V. The spring and the way it fits in the lever is basically the same. Somehow, the spring came out of one of them. Is it possible to replace the spring without taking the lever apart? If not, what's the best way to take the lever apart? Do you have to knock the pivot out with a punch or something? Once you've got the lever apart, is there some technique for holding the spring in place when put it all back together?

wills608

So glad i checked this. thats exactly where they should go!

SJX426 

vmalmgren PUll back the hood to see if there is a slot for a screw driver If not, punch it out to disassemble.
Can you replace the spring without disassembly? If Dia Compe made the levers for the SuperBe Pro and these are the same ones, then no you cannot avoid disassembly and yes you will have to punch the pivot out. Hope you don't damage any parts in the process. IMHO, I would live with it. Plutting a sping in there just doesn't make sense to me except to avoid a rattling lever. If friction is high enough for the brake spring to NOT return the lever, you have different issues.

BTW I have a couple of sets of hidden spring calipers that are matched to the Superbe Pro's BRS and only one caliper has a weak spring that the lever might help with.