That moment a seized cable almost caused a crash on a test ride in Boulder

I was testing a road bike after a full cable swap last Tuesday. Got halfway down a steep hill and the rear brake cable froze up inside the housing - wouldn't release at all. The liner had shifted during installation (my fault, I rushed it) and pinched against the frame exit port. Had to jam my heel into the pavement to scrub speed before hitting a busy intersection. Has anyone else dealt with this specific failure from not double checking housing alignment at the ferrule?

3 comments

3 Comments

hayden7091mo ago

Jake from the shop told me he saw a guy eat pavement in Golden from the exact same thing. Said the housing liner bunched up like a cheap straw. Ever since I started putting a tiny drop of tri-flow inside ferrules before seating them and haven't had that problem since.

loganl221mo ago

Read something similar on a MTBR forum thread. Guy in the front range broke his collarbone that way. @hayden709 has the right idea with the tri-flow trick though, seen a few people swear by it.

simonl1117d ago

Happened to me on a century ride last year, rear brake locked up halfway down a mountain pass and I had to drag my foot for what felt like forever. Tri-flow trick saved me too, now it’s the first thing I do on every build.