John E

Been there ... done that ... twice. When I was an undergrad I collided gently with the back wall of my grandfather's garage after my front brake cable snapped. No real damage done, but it certainly got my attention.

The scarier event occurred last year, when I ended up going through an intersection instead of stopping as intended on the yellow light. No problem that time, but it could have been worse, of course.

Both times the cable broke at the lever end, not far from the ball of solder. I do inspect my cables and replace at the first sign of fraying, but I admittedly was not on top of this.

My escape plan in case of brake failure is to put my left foot on the chainstay and gently push my left heel against the tire. With a stiff-soled shoe and some caution, I should be able to avoid a total lockup skid.