Rough brake pull

ive got some old shimano tournay u-brakes, but the pull is really rough.

should i grease the cable? id imagine grease would just clog up the cable inside the slinky esque cover.

what do you reckon i should do?

Replace the cables. When you cut the ends of the outers make sure they are cleanly cut. Ideally file down the ends to a nice flat finish.

don't grease the cable, when the grase dries a bit, became more difficult to move

go to maplin. buy some silicone grease for 4 quid. grease cable. silicone doesn't dry. or use teflon based again it does not dry.

Most brake liners have plastic inner liner to prevent friction,
soooo,
replace the cable and liners/sheaths and then if you want,
spray WD40 or any thin oil into the liners to keep the water at bay if you leave it outside.
all told about £5

even with the ptfe liner on most cable outers a cable still needs a small amount of grease. using silicone grease is the best option.

wd-40 the calipers and then clean 'em down lots of oil in calipers grease / oil cable afore ye put it in the outer should run nice and smooth

installed a new cable, didnt use any grease but its nice and smooth now.

why do people think it's ok to run a cable without grease. you wont run a chain without oil.

The cable is only a small part of the issue here.

On old well used brakes the bolt starts to corrode, this is the point which the brakes pivot around so the brake will feel very stiff.

In the case of a U brake, it doesnt pivot around a bolt but 2 x brake lugs.

Remove the brake, get out some emery paper. Use it to buff up the lugs/bosses to a shine.

Plonk some grease on it, reinstall brake (clean out the innards if they are mucky)

You should straight away notice a very smooth pivoting brake.

Now is the time to concern yourself with the cable. If its pretty old, consider changing the outer at least. DO grease the cable, good cables come pregreased, but stick some more in.

Then importantly, make sure the path of the cable has minimum bends. In the case that this is unavoidable. Get your self an odyssey Linear brake cable. cost the same as regular brake cable, but can be bent and twisted a lot without affecting braking.

even with the ptfe liner on most cable outers a cable still needs a small amount of grease. using silicone grease is the best option.

your old fashioned. u don't NEED oil, it's just an option.

its a steel cable and there is no grease between the the strands. you grease the cable so it slides within it's self on bends as much as you grease so it slides though the sleave. its a moving part for fuck sake any moving part needs some sort of lubricant to reduce friction.

why do people think it's ok to run a cable without grease. you wont run a chain without oil.

I do, loads of track cyclists run dry chains.

track is a bit different though. it's in a dry environment with a chain thats not expected to run for years in all sorts of conditions. how many times do you change your chain a year. (i now expect the reply of "i've been using the same chain for years" even if thats true it's not exacly what you want from a moving part)

novocaine, please show a book, web or refenrence where it say that you nee dto oil the break cable.

no oil, please!!

not done you cycle ops training then mate.

wonder why these are pre-lube
http://www.ukbikestore.co.uk/Product/0/CK7136/ukbs/clarks-mtb-pre-lube-brake-cable-kit.html

http://bicycletutor.com/lube-brake-shift-cables/

http://www.bikewebsite.com/dercable.htm

http://www.bikerepaironline.com/bike_lubrication.htm

anymore for anymore

novocaine clever chap,

the more grease the better. Also my method for servicing brakes, is like gold. Please use it and treasure the results.

thankyou, i think as long as you are being serious. so hard to tell on a forum.

thankyou, i think as long as you are being serious. so hard to tell on a forum.

definetly serious this time,

these "grease deniers" are like "holocaust deniers"

its a steel cable and there is no grease between the the strands. you grease the cable so it slides within it's self on bends as much as you grease so it slides though the sleave. its a moving part for fuck sake any moving part needs some sort of lubricant to reduce friction.

the whole point of the ptfe liner is to not need grease.
the cable will slide equally well with or without grease.
grease is an option for waterproofing i'd say.

ok.
from Sheldon himself.

Cable Lubrication[INDENT]In the old days, before the developement of plastic-lined housing, it was necessary to coat the inner cable with light grease or heavy oil. Modern plastic-lined cables have made the use of grease in-appropriate, because the viscosity of the grease makes for sluggish cable movement. This is a more critical concern with modern brake and gear systems that use weaker return springs, and with indexed shifting in general.
Many manufacturers now recommend against using any lubrication on cables. It certainly should be avoided in the case of sealed systems such as Gore-Tex ®. Bicycles used in wet conditions, however, will often benefit by the application of a bit of oil, more as a rust-preventive than as a lubricant. The area of particular concern is the short loop of housing which carries the rear derailer cable around from the chain stay to the derailer.
Some bicycles provide awkward cable routing which forces housing to enter cable stops/adjusting barrels at a fairly sharp angle. This is particularly common on rear cantilever brakes. It often helps to put a bit of grease on the bit of cable that runs through such fittings.
[/INDENT]

so novacaine. it's actually counter productive to use grease, as sheldon says, it's sometimes benefitial as a rust preventative

I don't lube my cables. Lets just get that out of the way.
Maybe silly con grease wouldn't hurt, but I'd definitely not use any sort of thick shit that would congeal in the cables and do more harm than good.

What does Sheldon say?

EDIT: Ha! Just as I ask what Sheldon would say, Dylan comes up with the goods! :)

What does Sheldon say?

pretty much what u said.

funny as i suggested silicone or teflon not some thick shit that will gung up the cable.
the bottom of that extract say's about tight bends. as said above it's about the cable not just about the sleave.

I silicon spray the inside of my brake cables on my BMX as it means that barspins don't make the brake bind as much.

I leave my rear V-brake cable on the mountain bike the fuck alone.
I fill my front brake with oil. But then it is a hydraulic disk.

I don't use brakes on my onroad fixed wheels.