Newbie brake question
05-04-08 | 10:45 AM
#1
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 5
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From: massachusetts
Bikes: trek
Newbie brake question
My wife and I gave each other Trek Hybrid bikes for Christmas. We live by the sea and rusting brake cables is a problem.
Where can I get information on removing to maintain and replace the brake cables? Also is it aircraft cable and would stainless (coated or otherwise) work?
I use 3/32 coated for garden enclosures and realize that would be too large but do know where I can buy by the roll.
Where can I get information on removing to maintain and replace the brake cables? Also is it aircraft cable and would stainless (coated or otherwise) work?
I use 3/32 coated for garden enclosures and realize that would be too large but do know where I can buy by the roll.
05-04-08 | 10:59 AM
#2
Senior Member
Joined: Feb 2004
Posts: 30,225
Likes: 649
From: St Peters, Missouri
Bikes: Catrike 559 I own some others but they don't get ridden very much.
Easier than you think. Stainless brake and shifter cables are readily available. You can get them at any bike shop and they aren't too expensive. You need real bike cables because they have a special head on one end. There's different ones so be sure that you get the right kind. It might require a special order because the generic cables that most bike shops keep on hand are galvanized rather than stainless.
When you get ready to install them goto parktool.com. They'll have easy step-by-stem directions.
When you get ready to install them goto parktool.com. They'll have easy step-by-stem directions.
05-05-08 | 05:11 AM
#3
Senior Member
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 103
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From: London but shortly Sydney
Bikes: Bianchi Road Bike & Gary Fisher Mountain Bike
You might also want to check out www.bicycletutor.com
There is some very helpful instructional videos - including brakes.
There is some very helpful instructional videos - including brakes.
05-05-08 | 05:43 AM
#4
Keep on climbing
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 2,193
Likes: 2
From: Marlborough, Massachusetts
Bikes: 2004 Calfee Tetra Pro
Everything you could ever want to know about brake cables is here: https://sheldonbrown.com/cables.html
05-05-08 | 07:21 AM
#5
Life is good
Joined: Jan 2001
Posts: 18,208
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From: Not far from the Withlacoochee Trail. 🚴🏻
Bikes: 2018 Lynskey Helix Pro
The brake and shifter housings can also get rusted and corroded. Be sure to lube inside the housings with Tri-Flow or something similar.
DO NOT USE WD-40!!!!
DO NOT USE WD-40!!!!
__________________
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. - Psalm 103:8
I am a cyclist. I am not the fastest or the fittest. But I will get to where I'm going with a smile on my face.
The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. - Psalm 103:8
I am a cyclist. I am not the fastest or the fittest. But I will get to where I'm going with a smile on my face.
05-05-08 | 08:38 AM
#6
Mad bike riding scientist
Joined: Nov 2004
Posts: 29,194
Likes: 6,279
From: Denver, CO
Bikes: Some silver ones, a red one, a black and orange one, and a few titanium ones
A little bearing grease on the cable before it goes in the housing is enough lubrication. Teflon coated cables help too.
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Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
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Stuart Black
Dreamin' of Bemidji Down the Mississippi (in part)
Plan Epsilon Around Lake Michigan in the era of Covid
Gold Fever Three days of dirt in Colorado
Pokin' around the Poconos A cold ride around Lake Erie
Dinosaurs in Colorado A mountain bike guide to the Purgatory Canyon dinosaur trackway
Solo Without Pie. The search for pie in the Midwest.
Picking the Scablands. Washington and Oregon, 2005. Pie and spiders on the Columbia River!
