Routing new brake cable and segmented housing (Jagwire) to new v-brakes and having issues: the cable hangs up on the brazed-on frame guide. I might’ve had this issue before (the cable always felt a bit slack) but it’s super bad now.
I’ve tried putting lube on the cable and in the guide – no luck with that.
Ideas? Is there liner tubing I could get and insert in this maybe? The other next attempt I was going to do is get wire pipe cleaner to make sure it’s smooth inside (but it appears to be already).
by rikaru
9 Comments
And secondary question: does it matter which of the three holes the v-brake spring pin connects to? I think it’s on the bottom-most now but could possibly work on the middle? (Wish I had noticed how the original brakes were installed)
Is it really the cable that is stuck? Maybe try disconnect the cable from the brake and see if the cable can move.
Or: sometimes the outer cable is compressed during cutting. Cut it again and make sure the hole is properly open
Looks like the cable kinks coming out of the guide, if you have a longer piece of housing try shave it down and run it through the guide, using unshaved housing as the stop. Should make a smoother path, also check spring tension on brakes
Its not fully clear from the photo, but the ferrule coming out of the frame guide to the brake does not look to be seated, so the cable is probably rubbing against it.
You can get cable sheaths which may help here
[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oniissy-Bicycle-Internal-Housing-Routing/dp/B09YRFFHSR](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Oniissy-Bicycle-Internal-Housing-Routing/dp/B09YRFFHSR)
…but I’d start by looking at that ferrule. I’d expect it to fit snugly into the guide (much in the same way as all the others we can see are, with the cable entering in straight. There is always the option of keeping the outer on the cable from the lever to the brake and bypass that guide (just cable-tie the complete cable to the side of it).
1. Given the recoil problem, you want the tightest (top hole, I think) spring rate option. Might fix your noodle/guide issue.
2. you can get a little teflon sleeve liner inside the guide to improve slide in it
3. lots of people running rockhoppers with V brakes skip the guide and run housing along the top tube direct to the brake.
4. purple housing slaps, good job
The issue is that guide you are using at the seatpost isn’t meant for housing and doesn’t have a housing stop.
Those guides are designed for just the cable to run directly to a cantilever brake.
To run V-brakes you need to add a [cable stop](https://www.clcycle.ca/en/origin8-clamp-on-double-cable-guide-housing-stop.html) or run full length housing zip tied to the top tube or with a [stick on guide](https://www.clcycle.ca/en/jagwire-stick-on-cable-guide-with-adhesive.html)
I can’t help but i commend you on the choice of housing color 😁
There’s a couple things wrong here.
* That looks like Jagwire KEB-SL and if so, it can’t go directly into the noodle like that. If the noodle you have won’t take a normal ferrule, that’s what the included POP ferrules for are for. Using a ferrule other than the ones intended will cause the wires to pull through.
* Presuming there’s no cable stop on the other side of the TT that the FD housing could be using instead, the good options for setting up the routing for a rear v-brake on this bike are either run it continuous or use a clamp-on housing stop if the TT is round and one of the sizes you can get them in. Best no-fuss option is run it continuous with a stick-on guide.
* If you’re going to do what you’re doing anyway, using the bare cable routing pipe thing around the seattube, the common 90 degree noodle is the last one you’d want to use. It should be either a flex noodle or a 135 degree one. But mostly there’s no good reason to do it this way.
* Yes a bare cable going through one of those bits should always have a liner. Shops have it in bulk rolls. You can also harvest it from a piece of shifting housing by cutting the plastic longitudinally, then whipping it against a hard surface until all the wires come loose.
* The 3 holes set the return spring force. If you max out the force, yes it might be enough to overcome all the friction being generated by the bad setup choices here. That doesn’t mean you want to set it up in a way that generates a ton of friction.
I believe this bike was built for center pull cantilever brakes and was never intended for housing to come out of that cable guide tube. If you want to use V-brakes on that frame, I suggest skipping that tube and using a clamp-on housing stop or full length housing.