It is a relatively simple task to lubricate your brake cables periodically. To insure complete lubrication, you should disconnect the cable and lube the entire length of the cable, and also the inside of the housing, or housings (the black plastic cable housing). This involves releasing the cable at both ends and removing it from the housings. If your brakes feel like they are hard to operate, or sticking, you may need to do this. Here's how: First, detach the cable from near the wheel just as if you were going to remove the wheel. No tools are needed to do this. Then loosen the locking hex nut that controls the cable tension near the rear brake using an allen wrench. This takes the tension off the cable and allows it to be pulled thru the housing once the cable end cap is removed. Next, go to the handlebar barrel adjuster and the lock nut on the barrel. These are located near the brake levers on the handlebars and used to fine tune the cable tension. Line up the nut and the barrel so that the slot in each is aligned and that the cable can be removed thru the slot, (see above picture). Next, remove the cable thru the slot and take out the little cylindrical end of the cable from the lever. You can then have no tension on the cable and this allows easy manipulation and moving the housing to allow lubrication of the cable along it's length. On some bikes, you may want to remove the cable cap on the end of the cable that prevents fraying, and slide the whole cable out of the housing. Then, just lube the whole length using oil or chain lube, and also squirt some in the housing to clean and lube it as well. To finish, simply repeat the steps in reverse to put it back together. Attach to the brake lever first thru the slots, insert the cylinder into the lever, route the cables back into the housing and thru their guides, and then tighten hex nut near other end of cable (near the wheels) to set the tension if you had to loosen it (sometimes you don't need to do this if the cable has multiple housing sections). Fine tune at the handlebar using the barrel adjuster and then tighten the lock nut. You may also want to lube the levers themselves where they are attached to the pivot rivet, and then double check everything by riding. |
