Quote Originally Posted by Catrin View Post
I doubt the noise coming from the rear rubber housing means anything.
I wouldn't be so quick. The cable is supposed to glide smoothly through the housing. It has to be hanging up pretty badly before it will make noise. There's probably either corrosion or a whole lot of crud in there and it's going to need to be replaced. Hearing a noise and the brake feeling soft are probably coming from the same problem - the cable going erratically and slowly through the housing.

Still, you're right that if you can't bring the bike to a stop at all, it's not the rear brake that's responsible. Front brake alone is plenty on pavement with reasonable traction when you're not going a million miles an hour. I'd still suspect glazing if the front brake feels normal at the lever but just doesn't work. Two thousand miles is enough to glaze, not nearly enough to need replacement.