Repair guides › Brakes
Replace brake cable and housing
Pull the brake cables. Long-pull (V-brake/MTB-pull) levers pull more cable per stroke than road levers. Cable-pull ratio must match the caliper: long-pull levers need MTB/long-pull mechanical calipers. Road-pull calipers on these levers feel firm but brake weakly; road levers on V-brakes feel mushy and bottom out on the bar. In the US the left lever works the front brake and the right lever the rear.
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Tools
- Ball-end hex key set (1.5–10 mm): Park Tool HXS-1.2 Professional L-Shaped Hex Set ($$)
- 1/4" click torque wrench (about 2–17 Nm) + bits: Pro Bike Tool 1/4 inch drive click torque wrench set (2.2–16.9 Nm) ($$)
- Cable & housing cutter: Park Tool CN-10 ($$)
- Brake + shift cable/housing kit: Jagwire Sport brake + shift cable kits ($$)
- Cable puller ("fourth hand"): Pedro's Cable Puller ($$)
- Housing awl / pick set: GEARWRENCH 5 pc. hook and pick set 3121D ($)
- Bike grease: Park Tool PPL-1 PolyLube 1000 ($)
Compare Good, Better and Best for each tool
Steps
- Cut the end cap off at the caliper and loosen the anchor bolt. Pull the old cable out through the lever (line up the lever barrel slot with the lever body slot).
- Cut new housing to the same lengths as the old. Smooth bends, no kinks. Use coil-wound brake housing, never lengthwise-strand shift housing: shift housing can split under braking force.
- Grease the cable lightly, feed it through lever, housing and frame stops to the caliper.
- Screw the lever barrel adjuster in to 1 turn out.
- Pull the caliper arm (or squeeze the rim-brake arms) until the pads almost touch the rotor or rim, pull the cable snug, and tighten the anchor bolt.
- Squeeze the lever hard 10 times to seat the housing, then re-adjust with the barrel adjuster.
- Cut, cap, and test: the lever should bite at about one-third of its travel and stop well before the bar.
Torque
| Fastener | Torque |
|---|---|
| Cable anchor bolt (disc or rim) | 6–8 Nm |
Diagram
Side view, chain side toward youHandlebar + Rear derailleur
Signs it needs doing
- Lever touches the bar (cable stretched or pads worn)
- Sticky return
- Lever wobbles