devinfan

Hi all,

In the midst of Winter overhauls, and am trying to eliminate the rattle that occurs from Jenny's left brake lever. It is a Mafac Competition. I tried changing cables and housings, even brake calipers, but the rattle persists. It happens on and off, maybe 50% of the time, and seems to be coming from the rotating stop that the brake cable end pulls into. If I give the lever a tap in that spot while riding it will usually stop for a while, but I'm tired of disciplining it.

Is there any way to fix this? I really like the levers otherwise.

Pic of what the lever looks like:



Many thanks!!!

Bianchigirll 

It seems odd that the cable anchor would rattle, the tension of the brake cable should prevent it. How about a pic of the inside? Could there be a loose washer or an old cable end in there?

devinfan

That's exactly what I thought! I will look for a cable end, that is a good idea. Although, the left cable anchor seems "looser" in the lever body than the right even when there are no cables attached.

JPZ66

Well, I don't know the Mafac's, but my Balilla and Universal levers, have thin plastic or nylon washers between the lever and the housing on the cross pin that hold them in. Perhaps you can find or make some thin washers to fit in there.
Joe

devinfan

That's a great idea, but wouldn't that entail removing the cable anchor to install the washers? Not sure how I would do that without damaging it...

dddd

I'm thinking that the brake's return-spring tension is somehow too low, but it's good that the cables were serviced if only as a diagnostic elimination step.

If you first slide the pad posts fully home into their eyebolts, the caliper springs will then have more tension after readjusting the pads (by tensioning the cable) to the usual proximity to the rim sidewalls.