Rear brake cable dropped tension (help/pics)

Zyzz

Not exactly sure what happened, just came out of the blue as I noticed it on a spin this evening! The cable for the rear brake has dropped tension and I had a fairly weak brake for most of the trip. When I pull on the lever it doesn't seem to be engaging as it usually does, as you can see in the first picture I have the lever slightly pulled but this hasn't kicked the brake in, I have to pull on it more for some slight effect, the front one is perfect..

Ive attached pics so hopefully someone can lead me to a solution as always!

Picture 1 - http://i.imgur.com/uKKcZ.jpg
Picture 2 - http://i.imgur.com/Ifir8.jpg

(images are fairly big so I didnt embed)

Zorba

Zyzz wrote: »

Not exactly sure what happened, just came out of the blue as I noticed it on a spin this evening! The cable for the rear brake has dropped tension and I had a fairly weak brake for most of the trip. When I pull on the lever it doesn't seem to be engaging as it usually does, as you can see in the first picture I have the lever slightly pulled but this hasn't kicked the brake in, I have to pull on it more for some slight effect, the front one is perfect..

Ive attached pics so hopefully someone can lead me to a solution as always!

Picture 1 - http://i.imgur.com/uKKcZ.jpg
Picture 2 - http://i.imgur.com/Ifir8.jpg

(images are fairly big so I didnt embed)

Could be the cable has popped out of it's mounts on the top tube if so just shove her back in.

or

The cable has slipped out of the bolt on the rear brake. If so...

Loosen the bolt, pull the cable through as tight as u can, tighten the bolt and it should be grand, might not be a bad idea to grease/lube the cable while your at it.

Could even be the cable has popped out of it's mounts on the top tube if so just shove her back in.

Zyzz

Zorba wrote: »

Could be the cable has popped out of it's mounts on the top tube if so just shove her back in.

or

The cable has slipped out of the bolt on the rear brake. If so...

Loosen the bolt, pull the cable through as tight as u can, tighten the bolt and it should be grand, might not be a bad idea to grease/lube the cable while your at it.

Could even be the cable has popped out of it's mounts on the top tube if so just shove her back in.

Thanks for the reply, Im a tad confused as to which 'top tube' this is? The cable is still attached to the bolt on the actual brake so Im thinking the issue is somewhere else, possibly in the lever

Icyseanfitz

make sure the cable is running through all the outer cable properly (as zorba said, make sure the outer cable is sitting in the little mounts on the frame), after doing that id loosen the cable from the caliper, you can check here to see if the brake lever is working right by simply holding the cable while pulling the lever, if its pulling its working, then just tighten the cable onto the caliper again (make sure to pull tight) and it should work

Holyboy

Your caliper needs to be cleaned and lubed it's not releasing fully, you really need to strip it down completely to do this but you could just spay a load of oil on the pivots and try to work it in by opening and closing the brake with your hands for a bit.

at1withmyself

If you can disconnect the brake cable at the caliper and as Holyboy suggests see if the pivots are working ok but sounds like the cable might need a bit of grease/oil or replacing. If you are unsure then bring to the Local Bike Shop and they'll be able to help.


Edit - Just re-reading the original post, its hardly the Quick Release on the caliper itself that has been changed to the open position??

Zyzz

at1withmyself wrote: »

If you can disconnect the brake cable at the caliper and as Holyboy suggests see if the pivots are working ok but sounds like the cable might need a bit of grease/oil or replacing. If you are unsure then bring to the Local Bike Shop and they'll be able to help.


Edit - Just re-reading the original post, its hardly the Quick Release on the caliper itself that has been changed to the open position??

Yup, took the brake cable out and a small piece had started to un-ravel so Ill need to get a new cable, grease it and then stick it back in and hopefully problem solved!

Thanks for all the replies