Removing interrupter brakes

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hello O Wise Ones.....

I have a question- I have the auxiliary set of brake levers on the top of my bars called interrupter brakes. I am getting ready to remove them as I don't use them as muc as I used to. You can see them on my bike here:
http://harmonias.com/209.jpg

My question is- can I just take these auxiliary brakes off easily myself without changing the brake cables, or will I have to get new brake cables and/or cable housing tubes when I remove them?
Is it something I should take to the bike shop to do, or is it real easy and obvious when I start removing them?
Obviously, I did not install them myself.

[Tuckervill]

I think you should be able to do it by yourself.

Are you interested in selling those brakes? I just ordered some for my son's bike and I wish now I had gotten some for my bike, too. With my carpal tunnel syndrome, I'd prefer to brake from the top of the bars.

From the description about how they are installed at Nashbar, it's just a matter of unwinding a little tape, disconnecting them and removing them. No rerouting cables, etc. Yours could be different, of course.

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Karen, can you point me to the Nashbar instruction info?
Once I find the time and figure out how to get them off, I probably WOULD want to sell them. But it's a process I'm just getting started on now....

[Tuckervill]

The weblink is long, but I've pasted the blurb below.

http://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...All%20Products

--Take advantage of that bar top position! In-line brake levers allow confident braking from the bar tops on any drop bar equipped bike with brake cables under the tape. To install simply peel back the last inch of tape, cut the cable housing, run the inner wire through the in-line lever, and adjust your brakes as normal. After a few rides you will want them on all your bikes, the best 85 grams you ever added to your bars. Works with most cable operated brakes. --

Now that I think about it, you'll have to take the wire off the calipers to get it in the clamp, no? Yep. I decided to sleep on it, and that's what I've realized. I thought maybe there was some device that encased the cable without having to disconnect it anywhere, but no. You disconnect the one end from the caliper, run it through the lever, and then reconnect it to the caliper.

In your case, disconnect the cable from the caliper, unwind a bit of bar tape, remove the cable from the brake lever, and then remove the lever from the bars. Rewind the bar tape, reattach cables, adjust brakes, and you're done. The length of the cable housing might be an issue. Maybe not, since it looks like you have extra bar tape wrapped up around there. Just carry it on more toward the center and to meet the housing.

No, wait, wouldn't there be a gap in the housing then? That could be a problem.

I definitely think you can do it yourself. You could, in fact, mark the cable in some way so you know precisely where it was in the caliper before you disconnect. At least that would be a starting point for readjustment.

When/if you get done, let me know. I'll be happy to take them off your hands.

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Karen,
Thanks for going through that whole thought process for me!
Yes I think i would at least need new cable housing.
I was thinking of trying out some new handlebars soon. So perhaps this whole project should just be done at the same time.
I really appreciate your input! I will indeed contact you again when I take them off.

Meanwhile- if anyone else has experience with this I'm happy to hear about it.

[Tuckervill]

You're welcome. I was already thinking about it, because I ordered some for Will's bike.

But I want some on my bike, too. I need to redo my bar tape because I bought the bike used and the tape has some gaps. I may even replace it with something spiffy. I think it would be wise to do it all at once, like you said. I'm going to wait and see what you do, and then do mine!

Karen

[Tuckervill]

By the way, I have had that picture of your bike open since yesterday, and I have been looking at it. It's a beautiful steel bike. My husband thinks I'm crazy because I want to take the better components off my Trek 1000 and put them on the vintage steel Fuji with Suntour parts that I'm cannibalizing for Will's John Deere. If the bottom bracket fits, I'm going to do it, even though I don't want to give up the pretty little friction shifters on the Fuji.

I like the curvy, old fashioned bars, much better than the angled ones on the Trek. I always feel like my hands will slip off the drops because of their angle. Not likely, but for someone who rode vintage steel bikes when they were new, the full curve feels more "right".

I just don't like the look of the fatter aluminum tubes, and I love the way the steel lugs look!

I notice you don't have a reflector on the front of your bike. I just take those for granted, because the shop put one on the bars, and said they were required to. (By Trek? State law? hmmmm.) I'm going to take mine off! Have to if I'm going to put on the in-line brake levers!

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

By the way, I have had that picture of your bike open since yesterday, and I have been looking at it. It's a beautiful steel bike. My husband thinks I'm crazy because I want to take the better components off my Trek 1000 and put them on the vintage steel Fuji with Suntour parts that I'm cannibalizing for Will's John Deere. If the bottom bracket fits, I'm going to do it, even though I don't want to give up the pretty little friction shifters on the Fuji.

I like the curvy, old fashioned bars, much better than the angled ones on the Trek. I always feel like my hands will slip off the drops because of their angle. Not likely, but for someone who rode vintage steel bikes when they were new, the full curve feels more "right".

I just don't like the look of the fatter aluminum tubes, and I love the way the steel lugs look!

I notice you don't have a reflector on the front of your bike. I just take those for granted, because the shop put one on the bars, and said they were required to. (By Trek? State law? hmmmm.) I'm going to take mine off! Have to if I'm going to put on the in-line brake levers!

Karen

Karen, these are the handlebars i have in case you are interested in knowing:
http://www.rivbike.com/webalog/handl...ape/16111.html
I'm not sure of the width/size mine are, but they don't seem overly big to me. I can measure them.

And here are the levers I have that Harris Cycles installed when i bought my bike:
http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/brake-levers-drop.html

I don't like the look of "fat tubes" either.
I think you should switch parts around on your bikes any way you want to.

Reflectors don't do anything unless you ride at night, which I never do. I do carry a blinkie light in my saddlebag in case I get caught at twilight on the way home, or in the rain. Anyway, if you do ride in the dark, you should have a headlight and a real working tailight, not a reflector. Plus, I always wear screaming neon safety tops to be visible from far away.

You sound like the kind of Wild Girl who rips those "Do Not Remove Under Penalty of Law" tags off of mattresses too!

[Tuckervill]

Why are you changing your bars? Width? Those are very curvy. The Fuji has Nitto bars on it, and I'll probably keep those. They're more adjustable height-wise than the ones on the Trek 1000.

I don't ride at night, either, except sometimes I take a spin on the MUT on my mountain bike during full moons. I chance not having any lights because the trail is only 2 blocks away, small town, little traffic by the time the moon is up enough to ride.

Yes, I'm a pretty wild girl...I have even been known to ride my bike on the sidewalk!

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Why are you changing your bars? Width? Those are very curvy.

No, I want to try some slightly shorter reach bars- the Salsa Short and Shallow I think.

Yes, I'm a pretty wild girl...I have even been known to ride my bike on the sidewalk!

I'm SHOCKED!!!!

[SR500]

New housings, and while you are at it, good time to replace the cables, you might need to anyway.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Do you think I should replace the brake cables after 4,000 miles use?

[DebW]

Do you think I should replace the brake cables after 4,000 miles use?

You can't correlate mileage with brake cable replacement. Brake cables should be replaced when they are rusty, when any of the cable strands are broken or frayed, or when they are too crimped to reuse. In your case, you should be able to replace the housing, grease up the cable, and reuse it. However, cable is cheap and starting with a new cable may make the job a tad easier.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey thanks Deb!
Great new avatar!!!!!