Fused cable-cap / brake barrel adjuster

[goo_mason]

My rear brake has been a bit dodgy lately (feels stiff and grind-y when I'm pulling on the lever), so I loosened it off to slide the cable-covers out of the way and lube the dirty, dry cable. That was all fine, until I realised that the cable cap was no longer on the end of the cable.

It was still in the barrel-adjuster, and appears to have fused with it. No amount of teasing with a tiny screwdriver blade / WD40 application / attempting to grip and pull with pliers worked.

I may try to get hold of some needle-nose pliers and try to get more purchase on it - but should I need to replace the fancy barrel-adjuster on the rear brake of my 2008 Giant SCR2, where do I go ? I've been googling without much success.

 

[Landslide]

Have you tried tapping it out with a thin punch or similar?

 

[goo_mason]

Not yet, but I'll give it a try tonight if I can find anything small enough to go through a cable-sized hole !

 

[mickle]

An spoke will do it.

 

[goo_mason]

An spoke will do it.

Thanks Mickle - never thought of that ! I have a few spare spokes kicking around in the toolbox so I'll use one of those.

 

[mickle]

Aye, nay bother.

 

[goo_mason]

Well, spoke just went through hole in the middle of the cap, and I couldn't twist it to push against the bottom of the cap because the long, long barrel stopped me doing so.

Tried soaking in degreaser, boiling water etc etc and then finally mashed the cap trying to pull it with pliers. After much twisting and pulling on the shredded, mangled thin metal, I was able to push the spoke in through the bottom and bang the thing out, since the once-open end was crushed shut and provided something to push against.

Using a temporary plastic cable cap off an old gear cable until I get a proper brake-cable width one from Wiggle.

 

[jimboalee]

This is a difficult situation.
If a bike dealer or LBS told their customers to 'Weatherproof' their new bikes, the aftermarket repair income would dry-up and their profits would suffer.
The even more difficult situation is explaining to bike owners what they 'Should have done' when they got their new bike.

Goo seems to be the unfortunate who didn't receive 'withheld information'. The chances are he would return to his LBS for some replacement parts, or a repair.

Where the cable end cap fits in the barrel adjuster is a dead-cert water trap and wants filling with silicone furniture polish before the cable is seated in, or needs silicone polish squeezed in when the bike is new.


Go round the bike and assess "What could go wrong" and take a measure to prevent it.

 

[goo_mason]

This is a difficult situation.
If a bike dealer or LBS told their customers to 'Weatherproof' their new bikes, the aftermarket repair income would dry-up and their profits would suffer.
The even more difficult situation is explaining to bike owners what they 'Should have done' when they got their new bike.

Goo seems to be the unfortunate who didn't receive 'withheld information'. The chances are he would return to his LBS for some replacement parts, or a repair.

Where the cable end cap fits in the barrel adjuster is a dead-cert water trap and wants filling with silicone furniture polish before the cable is seated in, or needs silicone polish squeezed in when the bike is new.


Go round the bike and assess "What could go wrong" and take a measure to prevent it.

I actually thoughtd I'd greased / lubed / protected everything that could possibly corrode / stick, but the metal cap on the end of the cable going into the barrel adjuster never occurred to me. I always remember to lube the ones that go into the lugs (?) on the frame though, as they start creaking away when you turn the bars if you don't.

Silicon polish is a new one on me - I'll give that ago on the others. Cheers Jimbo.