Shoutout to the guy who warned me about old cable housing

I was rebuilding a 1990s Trek 520 in my garage last Tuesday and decided to reuse the brake housing since it looked fine. Halfway down a test hill near my house the rear brake stuck open from rust inside the housing and I almost went through a chain link fence. Had to walk the bike back and cut all the housing off with a pair of side cutters. Anyone else ever had old housing fail on them at the worst time?

3 comments

Log in to join the discussion

Log In

3 Comments

wesleyflores5mo ago

Buddy of mine did the same thing on a vintage Fuji. His front cable snapped mid-turn and he ended up eating a mailbox. Ever swap out the whole cable set now after that close call?

4

paige_robinson245mo ago

Haha yeah that's a great way to end a ride, eating a mailbox. Nah I'm a gambler, I just check em once a year and hope for the best.

7

colescott5mo ago

Hear you @wesleyflores but honestly unless you're racing the TdF a snapped cable once in a blue moon ain't worth overthinking.

-2