Ah, yes, one of those. That is a little doodad that once upon a time served a purpose as part of a complete mechanism of some sort, such a bicycle. Someone came along and separated all the constituent parts of that mechanism, presumably with the intention of maximizing its value. But when he got to this little doodad, separated from the rest of the mechanism, he could no longer identify it. So he turned to the internet.

You may say, of course, I just made that little story up. And you are right. But it has happened many times before.

[QUOTE=mapleleafs-13;15275514]found this thing in a box of parts the other day that i recently aquired from somebody. Can't figure out what it is.

A specialty wrench? Like a crowfoot, with a square drive on one end for a ratchet.

A hipster's nose ring.

I was thinking the same thing, assuming the cutout at the large end fits a standard SAE or metric hex nut and the other fits a square drive breaker bar or ratchet. It might be used to loosen or tighten a fitting with a wire or pipe emerging -- brake line, O2 sensor, etc.

But Clint was such a good singer! His true calling was broadway and he missed it.

That's a fuel pressure line clip from a 1976 Buick Skylark.

It's a clawspangler, part of the cable tension adjusting system on an early 80's era DC Grand Kahuna brake caliper. Threaded portion is keyed and goes into the half-circle end. Disk-shaped nut sits on the top of the other end with the cable socket above it. There's a rubber piece (which actually IS called a doohickey) that the threaded portion goes through in a slight interference fit that sits in the center section and keeps the nut from backing out.

Did a really poor job of maintaining cable tension, which lead to the elimination of the entire Kahuna product line, and eventually the financial implosion of DC and subsequent domination of the market by Shimano.

Sheesh. I thought you guys knew C&V.

skate key

Kidding or not, looks like you're on to something. Maybe a DIY holder for a BMX gyro/detangler. OP: can cable housings fit in there? Looks like the end with the hole would have them stacked side by side, and the the other end, the forked one would have them splayed. Kind of like a zipper. Looks totally overbuild and expensive for that, but... All I got.

Bolo tie?

Shimano 600 or Dura Ace AX brake cable guide. It was used in front, where the two brake cables cross to keep them together and not flop around.

There are a couple in this photo of some Dura Ace brakes:
http://www.pelotoneast.com/imagehost...5943da18ae.jpg

If you have sharp eyes you can see it on this bike.
http://www.redlanterncycles.com/phot...aleigh-AXl.jpg
http://www.redlanterncycles.com/phot...le%20Rearl.jpg

DING! DING! DING! We have a WINNER!

amazing.

Didn't think it was off a 76 Buick...WAY too well made! :lol:

Well that just takes all the fun out of it.

So you were on the right track.

I'm liking the DA/600AX insanity the more I learn about it. Love the bypass for the rear derailleur housing loop in those-

http://i.imgur.com/MKd3Mrt.jpg

And the cam brakes, and the giant pedal axles, and the aero bottle... it's such a play from left field you kind of have to love it.

Wow. Although truthfully, I'm not really that surprised that someone on this forum knew the actual answer.

I'm rather partial to this answer myself:
:lol:

I recognized it immediately. I bought a bike in the early 80's which had a full complement of 600AX. Sold it on two years later, but for some reason I can't remember this little thing was left behind. It still lives in my "Things I have no use for right now but might come in handy sometime" box.

Hmmm... I do have some bananas in the kitchen. I'm tempted...

thank god - now someone post some other oddity for us on a new thread.

I could hunt out something odd....

Holy carp. An obscure, near-useless Shimano part. Who the hell collects this stuff?

...

...

Oh, wait... this is C&V

Do you know where hell is?

HELL-o!

Good call Ragnar! I really like AX.

Strange, it looks a lot like a vacuum advance for a goats A$$, I bet it would work for one in a pinch.


Glenn

Wow nice call! Thanks alot guys. This is why I love his forum!

I didn't think I'd get this many response. It was also highly entertaining to read people's guesses

Also I'm wondering it this cable guide is a critical part of the shimano ax brake system or was it optional

I would say purely optional. When I googled for pictures of it I found many AX-equipped bikes but only one with it installed. When I sold my own bike back in '84, it wasn't mounted, probably because it didn't fit in with the cable routing I used.

It was NOT on the DA AX I had, maybe 600 AX. DA AX was integrated.

I have seen it in the flesh on several DA AX equipped bikes.
Here's another example I found on the web (on this very forum, no less!)
http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...=1#post8076298

http://vomblech.de/kg1.jpg

I'm not sure what you mean by "integrated"?

i've always like the shimano DA AX group, the only thing i don't like are the brake hoods on the levers, i think they're so ugly...