My rear brake is messed up...help? (beware - whiny post)

It was 60 glorious, sunny degrees. I managed to get my beautiful HepCat down into the garage as a starting point for my first long ride since I got the bike (too much rain these past few days and I don't want to get baby wet - yet). I started up the driveway and discovered my back brakes were AWOL - the lever was completely slack! I hate to admit it, but I have NO idea what happened and I was unable to fix it.

So rather than putting it on my rack and taking it to the shop, I decided to remove the front wheel and place the bike in my car. What a mistake. Now the front brakes don't work either because I can't get the little bracket thing that I undid when I took off the wheel redone. And the shop is closed on Mondays. What a wreck of an evening.

I did notice that ever since I got the bike when I walk it and turn the front wheel to the right, the brakes engage. But whether they are the front or back I don't know. I guess I am not looking for answers, but thank you for listening to my whine. I just can't believe how disappointed I am.

 

Check that your brake cable housing hasn't pulled out of one of the braze-on stops (for the front brake and rear).

Then turn your steerer to the left to re-engage the front brake (or loosen the front brake adjustment at the lever - then re-tighten when front brake is put back together).

Also your brake cable housing is too tight around your steerer (causing the brake to actuate when you turn sharply to the right).

 

R2D2 wrote:
> ... Also your brake cable housing is too tight around your steerer (causing the brake to actuate
> when you turn sharply to the right)....

Sounds like a couple of P-38's I have ridden.

Tom Sherman - Quad Cities USA (Illinois side)

 

PBb,

I've had this problem twice with my Canto and I suspect you've done the same thing I did. When you step over the frame to sit down (or step out of the framet to get off the bike), you may be unconsciously popping the brake cable out of the braze-on brackets (little one-inch long tubes with slot in them for the brake cable). If your foot hits the cable, you can easily pull the cable just enough to pop it out. When this happens, the brake lever goes "totally slack" as you described it and the brakes won't work.

Follow the cable from you brake lever to the brake and you'll see where the problem is.

If you don't know how to reconnect everything, take it to you LBS or to a biker friend and have them show you. Once you've seen how it fits together you'll be able to do it yourself.

Hope this is helpful,
Ben

 

PB, Alas, this is a design flaw that I have found on the HepCat. I do so love the bike, but this is
just a pain. The answer is to prevent the cable from slipping out of the braze-on by wrapping a
velcro strap around the tube so that it covers the braze-on. I use a velcro cable tie thingy. Strap
it up and then forget it.
ps: HepCats like to get wet. Just wipe it down and don't forget under the seat.

Lon HepCat X2

Ben wrote:

> PreciousBbird wrote:
> > It was 60 glorious, sunny degrees. I managed to get my beautiful HepCat down into the garage
> > as a starting point for my first long ride since I got the bike (too much rain these past few
> > days and I don't want to get baby wet - yet). I started up the driveway and discovered my back
> > brakes were AWOL - the lever was completely slack! I hate to admit it, but I have NO idea what
> > happened and I was unable to fix it. So rather than putting it on my rack and taking it to the
> > shop, I decided to remove the front wheel and place the bike in my car. What a mistake. Now
> > the front brakes don't work either because I can't get the little bracket thing that I undid
> > when I took off the wheel redone. And the shop is closed on Mondays. What a wreck of an
> > evening. I did notice that ever since I got the bike when I walk it and turn the front
> > wheel to the right, the brakes engage. But whether they are the front or back I don't know. I
> > guess I am not looking for answers, but thank you for listening to my whine. I just can't
> > believe how disappointed I am.
>
> PBb,
>
> I've had this problem twice with my Canto and I suspect you've done the same thing I did. When you
> step over the frame to sit down (or step out of the framet to get off the bike), you may be
> unconsciously popping the brake cable out of the braze-on brackets (little one-inch long tubes
> with slot in them for the brake cable). If your foot hits the cable, you can easily pull the cable
> just enough to pop it out. When this happens, the brake lever goes "totally slack" as you
> described it and the brakes won't work.
>
> Follow the cable from you brake lever to the brake and you'll see where the problem is.
>
> If you don't know how to reconnect everything, take it to you LBS or to a biker friend and have
> them show you. Once you've seen how it fits together you'll be able to do it yourself.
>
> Hope this is helpful, Ben
>
> --
> >--------------------------<
> Posted via cyclingforums.com http://www.cyclingforums.com

 

Wow - Thank you for the info! And that was the problem - the cable slipped out of the braze-on. While I had it back at the shop, though, the mechanic made the attachment of the rear fender better; adjusted the gears; plus gave me some invaluable instruction. It does seem to happen very easily - and the other thing is that the brake clip on the front wheel really likes to swing backwards, which makes sharp turning to the right an experience in sudden stopping. When I brought it in from its Victory Ride, unfortunately something different happened to the rear brake! Now it is 'on' all the time!! I do not want to go back to the shop again only to have it be a tiny little adjustment that I should have figured out for myself! So that's my next mission - figure out why the rear brake is now always engaged. *sigh*