eraser215's first build (*insert Pompino quip here*)

General Post your ride
41

Yesss felco

42

Very cool build. Id like to do something similar!

43

Hi P!N20,

Thanks for the tip. I had to squint hard to see the black tape on the black cable housing, but I get it. I’ll stick with red and post some pics when I do it tomorrow!

44

Thanks Water Boy :slight_smile: It hasn’t been terribly hard, and it’s not terribly original, but I am really enjoying doing it.

No reason other than $$$ preventing anybody from having a crack!

45

There’s enough thread on those pads for you to add a spacer that’s a couple mm thick to straighten out the arms.

46

Can you move the pad bolt up in the slot to get it perpendicular to the arm and still hit the rim properly?

47

Hi all,

A brief update, as I could do with some ideas!

  1. I put a washer in on each rear brake arm to act as spacers to fix the rear brake arm pull problem. Worked perfectly :slight_smile:

  2. I followed P!N20’s tip for ensuring that the brake cable housings don’t get pulled up. Was a piece of cake. Will post some pics soon, as I have red tape which shows better than the images in his original thread.

  3. My problem…

The rear brake still doesn’t release cleanly. When I release the lever the brake is slow to return back to position, and I have isolated it to the cable run between the lever and the braze-on at the front of the top tube. My cabling is neat and the bend radii are as nice as I can possibly get them. I replaced the housing and still have the same problem. The housing was cut and finished cleanly on both occasions. The cable itself is undamaged, and I am just plain old stumped. I even tried moving the brake lever around a little to see if the cable/housing was entering at a funky angle, but no dice.

Any ideas what avenues I can pursue next to try and fix this up? It!'s the last thing I need to resolve before wrapping the bars and calling the bike complete!

Thanks!

48

Increase the spring tension on each arm of the brake

but also grease and check the brake studs.

49

Thanks for the replies. I greased the brake studs were when I installed them a few weeks ago. Definitely a cabling issue. I had also cranked the tension on the arms, and still wasn’t happy with the result… I should have mentioned this earlier!

50

How have you isolated it to that bit of cable?

51

pulling on the exposed cable between the front and rear housing and having it release well then?

52

Hi gents,

Yes, I pull on the section of exposed cable (having undone and removed the housing in the rear) and I can feel the resistance. I can’t rotate the housing around, as it’s taped down. And of course I don’t have the problem until I need to bend the cable and housing to tape it down and then run it to the first braze on. Maybe I just have to live with it,but I don’t wanna!

53

Hi all,

Trying to get back on the horse and finish this thing. At this point in time I have 3 options with my rear brake:

  1. Put it back together and live with the stiffness compared to the front brake
  2. Crank the tension on the rear brake arms (using the next hole along in the brake studs on the seat stay)
  3. Spray some WD40 down the housing and see what happens

Anybody got a better idea based on the work I have already done to try and deal with this? If all else fails, it’s down to the LBS I’ll have to go, feeling defeated and ashamed!

54

In the interests of avoiding work, I shall post an update on my steed.

Since last posting I have:

  • Installed SKS longboards
  • Broken the front fender, had the rear brake due to fatigue at the seatstay
  • Install a Wald 137 basket and bought a Terra Rosa bag to go with it, along with a matching saddle bag
  • Added some light mounts to the basket stays
  • Fitted Kool Stop pads. My, what a difference!
  • Installed DMR chain tug, but not sure if pointless or not
  • Enjoyed every minute of riding it

Having said that, there are still a couple of minor annoyances:

  • Never fully fixed my rear brake problem. Even took it to my LBS and all they could do was crank the tension and replace the rear housing
  • Occasional annoying clunk coming from BB or pedal. Cannot figure out which

Since replacing the broken rear fender and MacGyvering the front fender, I can consider the bike complete. Here is a non standards compliant photo if anybody is interested:

Building and riding this bike has given me immense joy over what has been, and still is, a complex and challenging period in my life. I feel that the experience of building and riding it has helped me on many occasions, and am grateful for making the decision to try it 2 years ago.

Have a great Friday, everybody :slight_smile: