Front Brake Line Coming out of its Mount

[a tub of adam]

Hey,

Having a problem with my front break line, whenever the I steer the handlebars right too much, the brake line comes out of the mount at the front of the frame. The tension of the wire is not tight enough and i've tried pulling it through more at the brake end to no avail. I don't feel i'm experienced enough with bikes to know what to do and so thought I would ask for some advice on here. If I'm not being specific enough or you need more info. to help me please let me know.

Thanks.

[nfmisso]

Pictures are absolutely required.

For a front brake, there is no mount on the frame. There are stops mounted to the steerer or fork on some models.

What kind of brakes do you have?

Don't break your brakes!! Brakes are what slow you down; broken brakes = crash.

[cny-man]

The front brake cable/housing always turns with the front wheel, so I suspect you mean the front section of the housing for the REAR brake comes out of the ferrule. That would mean that the housing is too short - did you recently raise the handlebars or was a new brake cable/housing installed?

[DaveM]

Sounds to me like the brake cable is binding up in the housing so it does not pull itself tightly into the brake lever when you are not applying the brakes. If so, this usually mean that there is either a kink in the brake cable or housing somewhere that is preventing it from sliding smoothly or that the cable is rusted a little inside. Check the whole run of the cable for kinks, tight bends, cracks and try to flush some chain lube down inside the housing. Lastly, could be a problem with the spring on the brake at the wheel. If that's failed or binding it, it also won't be able to keep enough tension on the cable to pull it tight.

[a tub of adam]

Sorry, i might not have used the correct terminology. So basically as i'm clasping the rear brake, that action is pulling the wire out of its stopper. The brake works absolutely fine but when it has been pulled out and is loose it obviously isn't working to its potential. Does this sound like a problem with the stopper itself (i.e. I need to attach the wire to stopper more securely) or more of a problem with the tension of the brake line?

Thanks again

[cny-man]

I thought you said the problem occurred when you turned too sharply to the right. Either way, as I said above, the problem is likely that the front section of housing is too short. Terminology: The (usually black) *housing* encloses the actual *cable*. The housing fits into a *ferrule* on the lever or *cable stop* on the frame. When did the problem start and was anything done to the bike just before then?

NOTE: If the problem were binding/friction or a weak spring the problem described would show up when the OP releases the lever, not when he pulls on it.

[a tub of adam]

Yes the problem does occur when I turn sharply to the right but braking also pulls it out of the stopper.
I bought the bike off of a friend of my mother, supposedly it was only used a few times and it is in really good condition. I was told about the brake line problem when I collected but unfortunately don't know how long the problem has existed.

[cny-man]

That's OK, just needed the background. You just need a longer length of brake housing, but if the cable itself is not long enough or badly frayed at the end you may need the cable (inner wire) as well. Is there a bike co-op where you live? Just Google the name of your town (or a nearby large one) and "bike co-op".

[a tub of adam]

Living in the UK, I don't think we have any in my area. There is a bike store near me so i'll prob. book a servicing in. Cheers for your help.

[cny-man]

You might be surprised - there are co-ops in UK as well, but going to a shop sounds fine. Should not be an expensive fix, but a good idea to have them look over the rest of the bike to let you know of any other problems so you can decide whether to address them.