Spongy braking from cross top lever

While installing new bars yesterday, I took the opportunity to fit a rear brake due to being crap at back-pedal braking on the rear.

I am using standalone tektro cross top levers front and rear. Although the front brake is sharp and effective, the rear feels well spongy and doesn't really do the job.

From searching various websites, I can't really solve thie issue, but suspect that the cause of the problem is that the cable outer to the rear brake is split in two due to the design of the cable stays (?) on the frame, i.e. there is a short run of outer from the lever to the front couple of inches of top tube, and then it ends and the inner continues along most of rest of top tube, then a new outer section resumes and carries the inner to the brake.

As these work differently to regular brake levers in that they seem to 'push' the cable outer rather than pull the inner, is the splitting of the outer likely to be the cause of the bad braking?

Solution in my mind is drilling through the cable stays on the frame so the outer will fit through in one single piece?

any thoughts or experience on if a single outer run will improve it before i hit the shop?

Thanks

Simon

What you are descibing is usual for a rear brake line, to have the gap. It is there to let grime and water get into the cable :-)

This shouldn't be causing a problem, but does give twice the opportunities for a brake outer cable issue as twice as many ends to be badly cut/go wrong.
Are the outer cable pieces both new, are the ends straight and tidy?

ok thanks - the outer pieces were new, but after cutting them (with proper cutters) they didn't look that clean. I couldn't find my file at the time so made the hole good(ish) with a bradawl and just stuck them on. Maybe need to do some rework...

are you missing a ferrule from the housing?

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.bikegoo.co.uk/shopimages/products/normal/clarksferrules.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.bikegoo.co.uk/product.php/429/cable_ferrule_5mm_metal&usg=WE-Or6c4i3UHoFGvY5X4P6zz0eA=&h=250&w=250&sz=37&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=7hVEsgoGveAcQM:&tbnh=111&tbnw=111&prev=/images%3Fq%3D5mm%2Bferrule%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26rls%3Dcom.microsoft:en-gb:IE-SearchBox%26um%3D1

Back brake *should *feel 'spongy' compared to the front - longer cable, often single rather than dual-pivot, etc.

If it managed to 'bite' like the front, it would most likely lock up the wheel every time. Back brake's only there to scrub a little speed really.

oh dear it's all coming out now.

in fact the ferrules i had to hand (which were from a shimano MTB cable set i had for another bike) did not fit into the cable stays on the top tube (too large), so i just let the cable outer sit in the stays with no ferrules...i didn't think that this in itself would have caused a problem...but am well experienced in being wrong. Have to look for some smaller ferrules. The frame is late 1970's Dawes Road bike, will have to do a Sheldon to see what array of information he might have on ferrule diameters for bikes across the ages, and then of course a new smaller ferrule will mean a smaller diameter outer...

Thanks
Simon

Take the cable out of the outer and run chain lube all over it... will cut down friction and should sharpen it up a bit but, as always, BMMF is correct; it will never & should never feel the same as the front brake.

Pop into your LBS- Evans have always given me a handful of ferrules when I have asked for them.