Complete noob question
First time doing anything bike related on my new to me bike and fitted a front brake. I see pictures of bikes and they have way more cable / housing. Is this too tight should have have done more? Thanks
by mk4feller
Complete noob question
First time doing anything bike related on my new to me bike and fitted a front brake. I see pictures of bikes and they have way more cable / housing. Is this too tight should have have done more? Thanks
by mk4feller
23 Comments
Too short. You need enough line that the bars can spin around in case you get into a crash
Your brake lever seems to be meant with a barrel adjuster, so it looks a bit strange. I would have made it a bit longer, but thats just taste. And usually front sits left
It’s a little tight/short, and the ferrule looks a bit deformed. And it’s a front brake for the right hand, but it looks like you are in the UK so that’s likely what you are accustomed to.
If you never turn your bar and cornering by leaning only, probably.
Because the front brake is connected to the bars which are connected to fork, it all moves as one so it should be okay. That being said if you ever end up mounting things to your bars you may find the cable to get in the way due to the lack of slack. Generally rear brake cable you want to be able to comfortably turn the bars around as far as you’d need without the cable restricting movement.
Looks good to me! It’s unlikely to bind in a crash since the cable is on the same side as lever. I’m not sure where you’re located (outlets don’t look familiar to me) but where I live the front brake is on the left. If that’s not the case for you, ride on!
Too short and you appear to be missing the correct ferrule for that brake lever.
Ya it’s good! As long as you don’t plan on turning.
Thanks for quick replies – this was just some cable and housing I already had lying around the house. The wheel still turns obviously as the brake is connected to the front wheel so all moves as one unit…
I’ll order some new bits and make it a bit longer next week, at least I can ride to work for the time being
It’s a little too short. I’d also be careful if you’re only using one brake on this setup. I rode this lever for a few years and found the cable head could slip out of the lever if the little black piece is jostled the wrong way. Anytime I wore bulky gloves on a winter commute I risked disconnecting my brakes if I wasn’t mindful. They looked so cool with that bike so I lived with the risk at the time…
Will it work? Yes. Should the housing be longer? Also, yes.
Yeah that’s not a proper amount of housing it should be longer!
https://preview.redd.it/a9ve0iflnldh1.png?width=610&format=png&auto=webp&s=b99ba66ac7d6485eea6a74ea0449ec1958621e15
I’d want it to look more like this.
The main question is: does it work?
If it works while turning the handlebars and doesn’t pull then it’s ok. If that’s what you had available it’ll probably work fine for now.
Personally, I’d have it about 6 inches longer, so there’s an easier curve on it.
It’s definitely not too long, I’ll say that!
While it’s on the short side, it will function just fine, assuming you don’t want to raise that stem.
Not totally sure but it looks like the cable is just cut and the end is exposed. If so, you need a little metal cap thing crimped onto the end (any bike shop will probably just give you one 🙂 ).
I just came to say “nice bike!” I have the same one
Well you definitely won’t be doing any bar spins.
Surprised no one has suggested this, but if you don’t want to swap cable and housing, you could probably get away with sliding the brake lever inwards a cm or 2. That would give you a bit more slack.
I would probably just throw on longer housing and cable though
its not egregious but the housing is too short, particularly with the plastic ferrules, they looked deformed..
A bit short for my liking, but I’m cheap so I’d run it on my bike, probably slide it inwards a couple cm’s.
Personally on my beater fixie I run it even shorter than that lol.
Sure. It works. Advantage is very short housing so less flex and compression. Disadvantage is not much option for adjusting lever and it ( maybe ) could cause a problem with hanging a bag or basket. Also, the bicycle convention is to have front brake on the left, if you’ve learned that you could grab the wrong brake in a panic. I grew up on motorcycles so I use RH front for the same reason.
Looks too short, like it would max-out on a tight corner.