Hi friendly people!
Tl;Dr
Alloy cable stop no longer attached to carbon frame. Can I epoxy this back on? Should I go full outer cable? Bring it in to a shop?
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I bought a used bike, the brakes were pretty poorly adjusted so I re-aligned and tensioned them. When I gave the back brake a firm squeeze I heard a pop sound and the cable stop/hanger had popped right off.
As I understand it I can retoute the brake cable with a full length housing and be done with it. But I would like to keep it as close to original as possible. It seems like the rivet that originally sat in the frame was there to keep the stop in place during curing (it does not big enough for bonding?) came out fully. The carbon still feels and sounds solid, is it fine to ride?
Specs:
- carbon Ridley Excalibur from ~2009/2010
- alloy cable stop, factory part (unsure if it had failed before)
- rear brake routed along the top tube
- campagnolo athena 11s rim brakes
There was a similar thread here a year ago but for an aluminium frame: https://www.reddit.com/r/bikewrench/comments/1j84y9f/broken_brake_cable_hanger/
Thanks for any input!
by 3EmO0
6 Comments
It is most likely fine to ride, but you could always ask a shop for a quick opinion.
As far as fixing it, you have three options:
Try to epoxy that stop back on (clean it all well and get an epoxy that will work for aluminum and for carbon). The risk is it breaks again when you need the brakes.
Use a clamp on cable stop.
Use full length outer housing.
Go full outer cable.
It’s insane how stuff like this even exists. A matter of life and death hanging on one shitty aluminium rivet.
Full outer housing on a 15yr old carbon frame is the move, no point risking epoxy failing mid ride when brakes matter
Drill the old cable stop all the way through, epoxy it on and use it as a cable guide when you route a full housing for your brakes. Do the same for the other one that is still on the bike too. Will never be an issue again!
Similar issue on a 2012 Cervelo R3. Trusted mechanic suggested a carbon repairer who is local. He replaced the rivet and epoxied it. It has held up fine for a couple years.
Had the same thing with a carbon frame and alloy stop. Drillout the old rivet. Clean both sides up with sand paper and alcohol. Rivet back together with some epoxy between pieces. Two part in a plunger is available at most hardware stores for marine applications which will do great outside on the bike.