Hi
So, I got new brakes to replace my old ones, and I decided to install them myself. Since I don't have a dedicated hose cutter and read in a couple places that it could be done with a utility knife, I did it that way.
Imma guess that, no, it's not. But still holding hope, I ask: is this good enough of a cut?
by JustACommonHorse
13 Comments
I’ve seen worse, definitely not by me 👀, what kind of barb or interface goes with the raw end here?
No, you need a perfect flat cut. Sram Hose Cutter Pro will do the trick. If you want to do it by yourself, use a hose cutter. The hydraulic brake system needs to be a perfectly closed circuit, otherwise air can get in and brake might fail with fatal consequences.
It’s not the cleanest cut, but it should be fine.
But, if you haven’t gone past that point, you could sacrifice another 2-3mm and make a better cut, if you were concerned. Put it on a flat surface, and a sharp utility knife blade should be able to go through it in one, clean cut.
This will work fine. As already mentioned, the quality of the cut isn’t what seals the line.
I got a hose cutter (and barb press) from AliEx for a few Euro and it worked well
More than acceptable, I’ve seen some heinous cuts even from factory and they never leaked, since the hose doesn’t really do any of the sealing, its the olive and barb combo that does.
I’ve done plenty with a Stanley knife or hobby scalpel (that’s usually cleaner tbh) over the years and never an issue.
Hose cutters can be nice, mostly because they’re just convenient and quicker to get a nice clean cut.
SRAM makes a cheap and very nice line cutter
Good enough. That part isn’t sealing anyway, its the teeth of the hose barb. The cut should be +-90°, so the hose can properly bottom out on the barb.
I have cut my brakes with side cutters since they are steel braided hoses. No normal bicycle hose cutter has a chance of cutting them, a hydraulic hose cutter would be the right choice there, a cutter for cable sleeves (shift cable, dropper cable) would probably work as well.
My ex-boss almost lost his finger when cutting a brake hose via knife. Please buy a dedicated tool, something like that can cost you around two beers.
I did mine with a blade as well, totally fine. Yours even looks better than mine!
Thats fine dont worry, the olive seals the whole thing not the cut.
Send it
(after you’ve connected it😀)
I cut them with the $15 hardware store tubing cutter. works fine