Tektra "chicken drumsticks" top mount brakes

[BenScoobert]

I recently got the croix de fer and it no longer comes with the tekra top mount brakes. I decided they were ideal for traffic situations and ordered them.

In the shop I asked how they gripped the cable and either I'm stupid or he is bad at explaining things.

He said you cut the cable and it is gripped by the lever.
I said if you cut the cable you have 2 frayed ends.
He said you pull the cable out 1st.
I said ah so you cut the outer sleeve and it grips the cable in the gap you make
He said yes

Looking at the levers theres nothing which grips anything, just a hole for the cable to pass through and a wider bit around it for the plastic, I still fail to see how that pulls the cable inside the sleeve outer. Common sense says it pulls it all.

Can anyone explain it to me?

 

[GrasB]

When you pull the brake lever the outer cable is lengthened compared to the inner cable, this effectively pulls the inner cable through the outer & thus the brakes work.

 

[BenScoobert]

I think I'll just let the shop fit it, to save the hair I have left.

 

[rh100]

Are we talking about the in-line brake levers for the top of racing handlebars?

If so, IIRC the outer cable is terminated on each side of the lever, but the inner goes through in one piece. The inner is kept under tension by the brake arms as normal. When the in line lever is normal, then the levers on the drops act as normal, pulling the inner wire. When you operate the in line lever, it separates the two ends of the outer cable that you terminated either side of the lever - opening a gap in the cable, pushing the loose side of the outer away from the lever which I think puts more tension on the inner, therefore operating the brake.

If I've got it wrong someone will point it out

 

[BenScoobert]

So when it seperates the outer, does the drop brake lever move?

 

[TheDoctor]

No, it doesn't.
I've got these levers, and they really are good.
Fitting is a doddle.
Bolt the levers where you want them, remove cable inner, cut cable outer so it butts neatly up to the lever, refit inner, ride.
It really is that simple.

 

[BenScoobert]

No, it doesn't.
I've got these levers, and they really are good.
Fitting is a doddle.
Bolt the levers where you want them, remove cable inner, cut cable outer so it butts neatly up to the lever, refit inner, ride.
It really is that simple.

Back to my original thought then "I must be stupid" :-)

 

[TheDoctor]

No, not at all.
They're just a bit counter-intuitive. You expect a brake lever to work by pulling the cable, not pushing the outer...

 

[rh100]

So when it seperates the outer, does the drop brake lever move?

As Doc says, no.

The lever is sprung in place, so it will stay put unless you move it.

When you see it, you'll get it straight away.

 

[P.H]

Instructions here for the Salsa version, the Tektros are the same;

http://salsacycles.com/files/tech/SalsaCrossInstructions.pdf

But before you do anything check that they will pull enough cable to operate the disk brakes.  I don't know that they won't. I'm just wondering why they've been taken off the spec.

 

[Norm]

No, not at all.
They're just a bit counter-intuitive. You expect a brake lever to work by pulling the cable, not pushing the outer...

That's about the size of it.

I had it explained several times but it was only when I had someone show me exactly what to do whilst I did it to my own bike that I had that little "ah ha!" moment and figured out how it worked.

 

[BenScoobert]

Instructions here for the Salsa version, the Tektros are the same;

http://salsacycles.c...nstructions.pdf

But before you do anything check that they will pull enough cable to operate the disk brakes. I don't know that they won't. I'm just wondering why they've been taken off the spec.

I emailed genesis, they said it was to keep it under £1000 for ctw scheme, something had to give.

 

[BenScoobert]

Instructions here for the Salsa version, the Tektros are the same;

http://salsacycles.c...nstructions.pdf

But before you do anything check that they will pull enough cable to operate the disk brakes. I don't know that they won't. I'm just wondering why they've been taken off the spec.

Very useful, thanks

 

[battered]

As others have said they work by lengthening the outer, which has the same effect on the brakes as shortening the inner. If you think about it this is exactly the same as a cable adjuster, these work by adjusting the outer length while the inner remains fixed. If you were to get a correctly adjusted brake and then turn the adjuster anticlockwise by a few turns, the brake would come on. This would happen without the handlebar levers moving. Dashed clever, these Japanese. :-)