I have a twenty year old Cannondale Bike that has quite alot of mileage over its first 15 years and much less over the last five. At my age, I expect the miles ridden to continue to drop over the next few years. I am not in the financial position to replace the bike right now (and I am not quite ready to make a transition to a "grandpa bike").
Last week, My left brake came off (see pic one). Apparently whatever held the lever in the bracket broke and it is now hanging loose. The threads at the bottom are stripped, but not all the way down. I see I can source used replacements, which is the easy solution.
Except: I have a birth defect of the right hand, which means my fingers are less than two-thirds the size of my left and as such I have a difficult time reaching the brake lever, especially in a fast stop. Previously, I just switched the brake cables (rear brake activated by my left hand, etc). When I bought the bike, the retailers gave me a more elegant solution that has worked without a problem. They installed 1:2 cable doubler, which allowed the left lever to work both brakes (pic two).
Here's the dilemma: I'd like to keep the current configuration (1:2 doubler using the replacement bracket-and lever). Here's where the challenges come up: 1) the retailer I bought the bike went out of business many years ago. My current bike retailer/repair has refused to do anything with the doubler, so it has never been overhauled, which means I am using the original cables, which would have to be cut in order to replace the brake, which I would have to do with this fix.
Here are the questions: 1) Can I still, if worse comes to worse, is there anything to prevent the installing the rear brake on the left lever? 2) I see that a company called Problem solvers builds a doubler. It looks like they have a monopoly. I haven't found another manufacturer. The company that sells these says "backorder, no confirmed availability." So here's the question: I have schematics on the doubler, but no information on how to uninstall it. Does anyone have an idea how to take it apart and how conducive would it be to put a used double back together?
Thanks in advance.
Last week, My left brake came off (see pic one). Apparently whatever held the lever in the bracket broke and it is now hanging loose. The threads at the bottom are stripped, but not all the way down. I see I can source used replacements, which is the easy solution.
Except: I have a birth defect of the right hand, which means my fingers are less than two-thirds the size of my left and as such I have a difficult time reaching the brake lever, especially in a fast stop. Previously, I just switched the brake cables (rear brake activated by my left hand, etc). When I bought the bike, the retailers gave me a more elegant solution that has worked without a problem. They installed 1:2 cable doubler, which allowed the left lever to work both brakes (pic two).
Here's the dilemma: I'd like to keep the current configuration (1:2 doubler using the replacement bracket-and lever). Here's where the challenges come up: 1) the retailer I bought the bike went out of business many years ago. My current bike retailer/repair has refused to do anything with the doubler, so it has never been overhauled, which means I am using the original cables, which would have to be cut in order to replace the brake, which I would have to do with this fix.
Here are the questions: 1) Can I still, if worse comes to worse, is there anything to prevent the installing the rear brake on the left lever? 2) I see that a company called Problem solvers builds a doubler. It looks like they have a monopoly. I haven't found another manufacturer. The company that sells these says "backorder, no confirmed availability." So here's the question: I have schematics on the doubler, but no information on how to uninstall it. Does anyone have an idea how to take it apart and how conducive would it be to put a used double back together?
Thanks in advance.
Removing the brake cable from both calipers might help loosen the doubler's end caps. If they don't come off easily, give it a good twist like you're unscrewing them. They may not be threaded, but twisting should do the trick. Just be cautious not to damage anything. If all else fails, gently use two vice grips to carefully untwist and remove them. Good luck!
