V brake problem

[lesley_x]

I will say before I start - this is 100% my own fault, botched DIY, haha.

Adjusting my v brakes with new pads and all of a sudden lost all cable tension.

I have little levers on the tops that look like these


and for the front brake (the one I was messing with) the cable is now pulled out beyond the screw thing and I can't get it secured again.

As such as I can't get any tension through the front brake. The lever on the hoods has no tension.

I have no idea what happened, what I did, but how do I fix it or just go straight to bike shop?

I am so annoyed as I had it and was 99% happy and thought I'll make one little adjustment and ping - all gone!

 

[Garethgas]

When you manually squeeze the caliper, does it spring back open?

 

[lesley_x]

Yes, when everything is done up properly it still springs open a certain amount. The cable appears to be loose/under no tension further up than the brake itself. I can see it's slipped out of the brake lever on the tops

 

[Garethgas]

Just to clarify, is the pinch bolt gripping properly or is the cable running through it when you pull the lever?

 

[mrandmrspoves]

So it sounds like you need to reinsert the cable nipple into the holder within the brake lever. This is the main brake lever, not your auxiliary top lever. To do this you will need to slacken the cable. To slacken the cable you can either loosen the cable clamp on the brake calliper or squeeze the two brake callipers together and disengage the noodle (the bendy metal tube where the brake cable meets the calliper) Once the cable is slack you will be abe to push the cable nipple back into the holder and then re tighten the cable to the correct tension.

 

[Garethgas]

There should be two nipples...one going through the small lever and the other going to the main one.
Actually, the small one isn't really a nipple as it pushes on the housing.
Check that both are in position.

 

[lesley_x]

Right so on the new 105 I guess I'm going to have to pull back the rubber hoods and have a look? My other bike with old 105 the cable sticks out the side but not on the new shifters?

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Once you have loosened the cable off - you can push the cable up from the bottom (near to the brake calliper) back through the cable outer. This will cause the cable nipple to try to push itself out of the brake lever. If you then squeeze the brake lever into the on position, the excess cable will come through the gap between the brake body and the lever. If you look into the gap - you will see a nipple holder similar to the picture below.(yours will be attached to the brake lever and may need to be rotated round before you can insert the cable nipple.) Insert the cable nipple into the holder and then pull the cable back from the bottom to pull the brake lever back into the fully off position. Now re tension the cable by replacing the noodle, or by re - tightening the cable clamp.

 

[lesley_x]

Thanks! When I went back down tonight the cable had quite clearly popped,out the lever and it was quite an easy fix when I could see that. I could see what you were talking about. You've all been a marvellous help and my brake is running sweetly! Many thanks

 

[Garethgas]

Mrandmrsporves seem to have nailed it on the head without my silly questions

 

[mrandmrspoves]

Well done Lesley - save the difficult jobs for the LBS, but with a little perseverance most cycle repairs are fairly easy!