uncle uncle

So, I have, for the first time, come face to face with top tube brake housing clamps. Most of the time, I'm dealing with late 70's or 80's stuff that isn't first page catalog material, and thus hasn't got the tubing pedigree to warrant brake housing clamps. But, my 80's Fuji GT-SE has them. I think it was a cost consensus for this model, but anyway, there they are. I thought I was going to have to find a tiny nut driver to deal with these, but with some cleaning, and close inspection, I found that they had a screw with a phillips head. The screws have some rust, and the frame too, where the clamps reside. If you have some tricks related to these issues, or anything related to these clamps, and feel like you'd like the share, I'd be grateful to hear you out. Thanks in advance.

Dylansbob 

Spray the crap out of them with a penetrating oil and don't even look at them again for 24hrs before trying to remove them.


There are several different ones out there of varying quality. Nice ones have a captured nut, some have loose which is guaranteed to get lost.

uncle uncle

I have them soaking as I type this...

oneclick 

If they are rusted so badly you have to cut them off, delicate use of a dremel with a cutoff wheel is called for. If you are lucky the screw will be exposed between the two ends of the clamp, otherwise the clamp may have to be cut as well.

Most were made from chromed steel. Shimano made them of stainless, you can get new stainless ones from sellers on that auction site but they are not particularly nice, a bit thick and the edges and corners need a bit of smoothing.

TPL

diagonal cutters from underside

roadcrankr

Dang. Went on eBay and saw new or used Campy trios from the 70's sell for forty bucks.

squirtdad

If they are dura ace....do not loose the screws they are super tiny, I lost one in my less than perfectly ordered and clean garage, got super lucky and found it a month later

Chuck M 

Velo Orange has decent Dia-Compe clamps at a reasonable price if your clamps can't be saved.

nlerner

I use a small Phillips head precision screwdriver and inevitably lose the screw, the nutted part, or both.

The Golden Boy 

Although it wasn't a DA cable clamp screw-

I lost a set screw- it could have been anywhere. No idea when I'd lost it. One day- months later- sitting on the floor in my friend's basement- and I found this little threaded pellet... and realized it was my set screw.

gugie 

Frame Builder Supply has stainless housing clips, nicer than others I've seen. I've used them on a couple of bikes, no one can tell they're not OEM unless they notice that they're not rusty.




@DPL does it the same way I do - pair of diagonal cutters takes them right off.

Check out the rest of their hardware - seat post binder bolts for under $4 in several lengths, and some nice dropout adjustment screws.

uncle uncle

Yikes. Someone tell me why these are worth the extra change? Where's the marginal gain, except for you wallet be lighter?

uncle uncle

These are "no namer" ones. Looking thru some sales on Ebay, the Shimano ones always seem to be identified as such... I couldn't find any that looked exactly like mine. Good call on trying to do the work where, if I lose a screw or nut, I have a good chance of retrieving it if a search and rescue mission is required.

xiaoman1 

A 'good' hardware store will have some bolts and nuts...been there before.
GL, Ben

Glennfordx4

If the screws are rusty use a dremel cut them in the center then throw them in some Evaporust for a few days and with some vice grips or pliers they should come out. I have saved some of the nastiest ones around this way.

Drillium Dude 

Captive nuts, for one thing. Some were stainless steel, too, which is costlier because it tends to shrug off rust. Plus, they're vintage - Campy vintage.

If you wanna play, sometimes you gotta pay

DD

uncle uncle

My "no namer" ones have the nut captive design... I can see how that is something to pay extra for, as would the rust resistant stainless steel being a bonus.